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A Novel of Early America
by Amy Belding Brown
From the author of Emily's House comes a "compelling, emotionally gripping"* novel of historical fiction—perfect for readers of America's First Daughter.
Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1676. Even before Mary Rowlandson was captured by Indians on a winter day of violence and terror, she sometimes found herself in conflict with her rigid Puritan community. Now, her home destroyed, her children lost to her, she has been sold into the service of a powerful woman tribal leader, made a pawn in the ongoing bloody struggle between English settlers and native people.
Battling cold, hunger, and exhaustion, Mary witnesses harrowing brutality but also unexpected kindness. To her confused surprise, she is drawn to her captors' open and straightforward way of life, a feeling further complicated by her attraction to a generous, protective English-speaking native known as James Printer. All her life, Mary has been taught to fear God, submit to her husband, and abhor Indians. Now, having lived on the other side of the forest, she begins to question the edicts that have guided her, torn between the life she knew and the wisdom the natives have shown her.
Based on the compelling true narrative of Mary Rowlandson, Flight of the Sparrow is an evocative tale that transports the reader to a little-known time in early America and explores the real meanings of freedom, faith, and acceptance.
"A mesmerizing tale of survival and awakening...The deftly depicted cross cultural friendship reminded me of Caleb's Crossing and the fast-paced story kept me up turning pages." —Donna Thorland, author of The Turncoat and The Rebel Pirate
"Brown's voice transforms a remote period into a fresh and immediate world and, in Mary, gives us a heroine who is broken by sorrow but determined to survive. This is a novel about the true meaning of faith and freedom." —Kelly O'Connor McNees, author of The Island of Doves and The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott
This information about Flight of the Sparrow was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Amy Belding Brown is the author of Mr. Emerson's Wife, and her work has appeared in Yankee, Good Housekeeping, American Way, The Worcester Review and other national, international, and regional magazines. Married to a United Church of Christ minister and the mother of four grown children, she lives in Vermont and currently teaches at Granite State College.
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