POCAHONTAS AND THE STRANGERS

by Clyde Robert Bulla ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 20, 1971

A contrived opening episode, in which the Indian princess frees an eagle from her brother's snare, too pointedly anticipates both her rescue of John Smith and her closing deathbed words, ""Let the bird go free, Nantaquas."" In between is the story, fictionalized as to conversations and feelings but based on Smith's account and other more reliable reports, of her childhood in the Virginia wilderness, her legendary intercession for Captain Smith and generosity to the Jamestown colonists, her kidnapping by the English settlers, her marriage to John Rolfe, and (in this version) her growing unhappiness in England where she died. Pocahontas' dilemma in bridging two cultures is dramatized with some poignance, despite simplistic characterization and excessive detailing of her emotions; the biography offers a personalized glimpse of early red-white relations and of the Indians' justifiable ambivalence toward the interlopers.

Pub Date: Sept. 20, 1971

ISBN: 0590434810

Page Count: -

Publisher: T. Y. Crowell

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1971

Categories: NONFICTION