Hope Leslie: or, Early Times in the Massachusetts

By Catharine Maria Sedgwick and Carolyn L. Karcher

Set in seventeenth-century New England in the aftermath of the Pequod War, Hope Leslie not only chronicles the role of women in building the republic but also refocuses the emergent national literature on the lives, domestic mores, and values of American women.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Nov 1, 1998
• ISBN: 9781101576083

Reviews for Hope Leslie

[pluckybamboo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Written in the early nineteenth century, Hope Leslie is a novel set in Puritanical New England by Catharine Maria Sedgwick. The conflict between the Puritans and the Pequod Native Americans is illustrated by the relationship between Magawisca, an Indian "princess," and the family and relations of Alice "Hope" Leslie. The novel is historical, part romantic comedy, and sentimental. Sedgwick both praises the early settlers of America for their bravery in moving to a new continent, but also heavily critiques the stifling Calvinist society for its strict rules, unabashed bigotry, and deep-set beliefs of superiority. I enjoyed the novel, though sometimes the language was a little difficult to decipher. My favorite characters were Everell, Hope's love interest and a courageous, understanding boy, and Magawisca, the proud, loyal girl of a dying people.

[exlibrisemk · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well written epic novel with sweep by a popular American woman writer in the 1830's, set in the early colonial times, it explores relations between the Puritan settlers and the Native Americans. Sedgwick writes about her ancestors with the attitudes of an upper class woman of the early 19th century but with insight, and with surprising sensibility towards the natives on the other hand right before they were massively pushed westward and greatly decimated.

[crystalee_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A nice tale of Indian/Colonist relations. A promising love element that ended in disapointment. Lots of action. Overall, good story.