Deerfield: What & Why

What Story Am I Telling?

This story has not been neglected. The Deerfield Raid and important figures have been researched by scholars: Evan Haefeli and Kevin Sweeney, John Demos, and Jill Lepore, to wide recognition and acclaim. However, this historical event has not been presented as an illustrated nonfiction book in the genre of the Jeremiad. For its focus and visual presentation, this book is an important contribution. The illustrating this history gives tangible identity and voice to these colonial events and reconnects them with themes existing in our contemporary American dialogue. Considering today’s American social, cultural, political climate, what historical event is better to examine the meaning of identity, nationality, and race?

While I write this novel, I fully respect and acknowledge, perhaps, Eunice didn’t actually want her story told and immortalized. I have tremendous respect for that and will not be attempting to speak for her. From John Demos’ research, after intense pressure by her father’s emissary, still, she politely declined, “maybe not,” she is noted as replying.

Eunice’s story is documented well from the English & Protestant American perspective. Her father, the important Protestant minister and Harvard graduate John Williams, her mother, Eunice Sr., importantly, niece of the influential Puritan Minister Increase Mather and so cousin to Cotton Mather. These men attempted to retrieve Eunice from Canada as early as 1704 and through her the end of Queen Anne’s War, in 1713. As time passed, North America became embroiled in repeated conflicts, Eunice’s life choices,  both her religion and her marriage at age 16, became her biological family’s worst nightmare. She transformed from a traumatized 7-year-old captive into a Catholic, a Canadian, and a Native woman.

 

A comparison of the proposed book to other books now available that are intended for the audience you seek.

Existing work that strongly inspired my book proposal. Lauren Redniss’ publications are historical narrative while being presented in a lush and enveloping style. Not all follow the non-fiction genre, though all are presented in the same captivating, visually compelling manner, such as David Mazzucchelli.

What previously unknown or unfortunately neglected story are you planning to tell? How is this book different from all other books?

This story has not been neglected. The Deerfield Raid and important figures have been researched by scholars: Evan Haefeli and Kevin Sweeney, John Demos, and Jill Lepore, to wide recognition and acclaim. However, this historical event has not been presented as an illustrated nonfiction book in reminiscent of the Jeremiad, however inverting that literary device. For its focus and visual presentation, this book is an important contribution. The illustrating this history gives tangible identity and voice to these colonial events and reconnects them with themes existing in our contemporary American dialogue. Considering today’s American social, cultural, political climate, what historical event is better to examine the meaning of identity, nationality, and race?

A narrative description of the proposed book’s themes, arguments, goals, place in the literature, and expected audience. State your argument concisely and clearly.  (Link)

The primary underlying themes in this book are individual and nationalistic identity. The goal of this book is to recognize the confusion around identity within culture. The goals are to understand the formation of national identity in Early America by illuminating a historical event in frontier America that had the heavy hand in a single white, European, Protestant person’s identity formation. The expected audience for this book are readers of history, biography, and identity.

Audience

This is meant to be a trade book and has not been designed exclusively for historians or subject matter specialists, though they would enjoy it. Students of history, literature, graphic novels could certainly enjoy this creative visualization and exploration of this time period. The book focused on many areas within the larger field of Early American History.

Related Info

  • Deerfield HomeBase
  • An annotated table of contents, with a brief description of the contents of each chapter. (Coming soon! Check back in March 2020)

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