Hannah Duston's Sister

by Sybil Smith

Book Overview

Hannah Duston hacks off the scalps of Indian women and children and is a heroine of colonial Massachusetts. Her sister Elizabeth gives birth to illegitimate twins she says were stillborn, yet she is hanged as a murderess. This story of kidnaping, lust, infanticide, and murder sounds like a true crime novel. The difference is, it happened four hundred years ago.

We Americans like to view our history through rose-tinted glasses. We imagine the Puritans...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0595368425
• ISBN13: 9780595368426
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Hannah Dunstons Sister

An excellant gripping well researched & written historical piece. The authors use of the language of the period further enhances this informative work.

A wonderful novel

I agree with the other reviews...set some time aside to read this book. You will not want to be interrupted! Hannah Duston is arguably America's first female hero...and people should know her incredible story. In researching for her novel the author uncovered the unknown, (until now) heartbreaking story of Hannah's sister Elizabeth. Their lives intertwine in an amazing tale of love and loss that will truely touch your heart. The novel is beautifully written. Sybil Smith captures the rawness of the pre-colonial era while at the same time poetically describing moments of true horror and joy that will move you and stay with you long after the book is finished. I loved it.

A Tale Well Told

I read this book in one night and then passed it on to friends who couldn't put it down either. Sybil Smith's lucid prose brings the two women to life for us as she guides us toward understanding of the extraordinary acts and events she describes. Smith's own spiritual connection and her intense compassion for Hannah, her sister and all women infuse every page as this drama of colonial New England is retold. A beautiful and inspiring book.

You Must Read This!

I enjoyed this book immensely. Once I started it I couldn't stop and to me that's the hallmark of a good book. It's well researched and the author does not fall into the trap of sentimenalizing her female characters. Far from it! Her female characters breathe fire and speak the truth in a time when truth was often lost in religious cant and racial slurs.Though some Native Americans may find Hannah Duston offensive for her deed, the author lets us judge her in terms of her time and history, not ours.Read it! It will open your eyes.