Calico Captive

By: Elizabeth George Speare

Narrated by: Barbara Caruso

In the year 1754, the stillness of Charlestown, New Hampshire, is shattered by the terrifying cries of an Indian raid. Young Miriam Willard, on a day that had promised new happiness, finds herself instead a captive on a forest trail, caught up in the ebb and flow of the French and Indian War.

It is a harrowing march north. Miriam can only force herself to the next stopping place, the next small portion of food, the next icy stream to be crossed. At the end of the trail waits a life of hard work and, perhaps, even a life of slavery. Mingled with her thoughts of Phineas Whitney, her sweetheart on his way to Harvard, is the crying of her sister’s baby, Captive, born on the trail.

Miriam and her companions finally reach Montreal, a city of shifting loyalties filled with the intrigue of war, and here, by a sudden twist of fortune, Miriam meets the prominent Du Quesne family, who introduce her to a life she has never imagined.

Based on an actual narrative diary published in 1807, Calico Captive skillfully reenacts an absorbing facet of history.

©1957 Elizabeth George Speare (P)2001 Recorded Books

Calico Captive:

I love this book!
It’s very interesting, and has a great narrator! I think it’s a must read!

I had never really studied the French and Indian war!

The narrator does an excellent job narrating with French accents! I was impressed. I was very unfamiliar with the French and Indian war so this was so educational for me and I hope to go through it again with my kids. It’s so eye opening to get a glimpse into this time period, clashes of cultures, and see what the early settlers and natives endured. I am so thankful for the original journals that Susanna wrote, documenting her struggle and giving us (centuries later) a glimpse into her world

I have so many different places and a lot of them I knew where they are.

Siri, I left the book because it takes toys in the time. I’m worrying about.