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The Vengeance of Mothers: The Journals of Margaret Kelly & Molly McGill (One Thousand White Women, Bk 2)
The Vengeance of Mothers The Journals of Margaret Kelly Molly McGill - One Thousand White Women, Bk 2
Author: Jim Fergus
9 March 1876My name is Meggie Kelly and I take up this pencil with my twin sister, Susie. We have nothing left, less than nothing. The village of our People has been destroyed, all our possessions burned, our friends butchered by the soldiers, our baby daughters gone, frozen to death on an ungodly trek across these rocky mountains...  more »

So begins the Journal of Margaret Kelly, a woman who participated in the U.S. government's "Brides for Indians" program in 1873, a program whose conceit was that the way to peace between the United States and the Cheyenne Nation was for One Thousand White Woman to be given as brides in exchange for three hundred horses. These "brides" were mostly fallen women; women in prison, prostitutes, the occasional adventurer, or those incarcerated in asylums. No one expected this program to work. And the brides themselves thought of it simply as a chance at freedom. But many of them fell in love with their Cheyenne spouses and had children with them...and became Cheyenne themselves.

The Vengeance of Mothers explores what happens to the bonds between wives and husbands, children and mothers, when society sees them as "unspeakable." What does it mean to be white, to be Cheyenne, and how far will these women go to avenge the ones they love? With vivid detail and keen emotional depth, Jim Fergus brings to light a time and place in American history and fills it with unforgettable characters who live and breathe with a passion we can relate to even today.
ISBN-13: 9781250093431
ISBN-10: 1250093430
Publication Date: 8/21/2018
Pages: 368
Rating:
  • Currently 4.5/5 Stars.
 5

4.5 stars, based on 5 ratings
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Audio CD
Members Wishing: 2
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Bonnie avatar reviewed The Vengeance of Mothers: The Journals of Margaret Kelly & Molly McGill (One Thousand White Women, Bk 2) on + 419 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
First, this is not really a stand alone book though if you picked it up and read it, it would still be an enjoyable read. I absolutely loved this book. It continues the story of One Thousand White Women in quite the satisfying way, and takes itself to an ending that begs book three. That a man can write these books through the voices of women is amazing. He is a genius. The story reminds me of Dances with Wolves (the movie NOT the awful book) in that we see the Cheyenne as people, just humans with some different beliefs and habits, but with the same emotions, hopes, and many similar thoughts.
The best aspect of this book for me is that it is told through those delightful Irish twins, Meggie and Susie.
Read All 1 Book Reviews of "The Vengeance of Mothers The Journals of Margaret Kelly Molly McGill One Thousand White Women Bk 2"


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