When Mary Rowlandson awoke on February 10, 1675, the village of Lancaster, Massachusetts, was already on fire. For two hours, Rowlandson's family fought to protect their home from marauding Narragansett Indians. Finally, their little house was set ablaze, and the Rowlandsons fled into the open, where Mary and her three children were taken captive.
So begins one of the most harrowing and unforgettable captivity narratives in the history of American literature. For eleven weeks, Mary and her surviving children traveled the wilderness with their captors, an arduous ordeal that tested the limits of her faith, and taught her the true meaning of empathy. A thrilling story packed with fascinating details about Native American customs and culture, Mary Rowlandson's account was an immediate bestseller when first published in 1682 and is a must-read for students of American history.