ABOUT THIS BOOK

Early one morning in the year 1754 the stillness of Charlestown, New Hampshire, was shattered by shrill war whoops and the terror of an Indian raid. Young Miriam Willard, on a day which had promised new happiness, found herself instead a captive on a forest trail, caught up in the ebb and flow of the French and Indian War.



It was a horrowing march north. Miriam could only force herself to the next stopping place, the next small portion of food, the next icy stream to be crossed. What waits at the end of the trail--besides an Indian quantlet and a life of slavery?


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elizabeth George Speare has been recognized by literary critics as one of the best writers of historical fiction for children. She was born in Melrose, Massachusetts on November 21, 1908, and attended Smith College and Boston University. Trained as a high school English teacher, Speare published Calico Captive, her first novel, in 1957. She is a two-time winner of the Newbery Medal for The Bronze Bow and The Witch of Blackbird Pond. The Sign of the Beaver, published in 1984, received a Newbery Honor Citation, the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and the Christopher Award. In 1989, Speare received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for her distinguished and enduring contribution to children's literature. Speare died in 1994.