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.