Saturday, November 27, 2021

The Taking of Jemima Boone...

 
History is messy because people are flawed. Even the best of intentions can lead to bad decisions. And it's easy to look back at past events and criticize those involved. But sometimes past heroes really were heroic. Daniel Boone and his daughter, Jemima, are two such people. And they certainly lived through some interesting times.

Frontier life in Kentucky during the Revolutionary War brought Boone and his family into conflict with both the Shawnee and the British. On July 14, 1776, Jemima and two of her friends were captured by a Cherokee-Shawnee raiding party; against all odds, Daniel Boone and his posse brought them back. Hardship, survival and adventure seemed to be the theme of their lives. Daniel was an expert woodsman with a larger-than-life presence. His daughter, Jemima, shared his courage, loyalty, and indomitable spirit. I've always admired them both. It's why I checked this book out.

And I enjoyed reading Matthew Pearl's The Taking of Jemima Boone. He details their life in Boonesboro, Jemima's kidnapping and all its ramifications, the other Colonial settlers in Boonesboro, and their interactions with the Native American tribes living in Kentucky at that time. Some of the intricate political interactions and intrigues got a little too detailed for my liking, but I appreciate Matthew Pearl's in-depth research and how he tried to present a fair and accurate picture of both Daniel Boone and his daughter. This book is a very interesting read, and I quite liked it.

Happy Reading!

40 comments:

  1. i enjoyed Pearl's book on Poe and i'll probably read this too, if i can find it, partly because Boone is one of my ancestors, lol...

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    1. I loved Pearl's book on Poe! And being related to Daniel Boone is kind of awesome. :D

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  2. I've also read a couple of his novels and liked them. I didn't know he wrote nonfiction and hadn't heard about this. Sounds fascinating.

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    1. I think this might be his first nonfiction book? I've read several of his novels, and enjoyed them, too. :)

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  3. This does sound like a worthwhile read. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. It was very interesting. And I really admire Jemima!

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  4. I have read Matthew Pearl's novel The Last Dickens but still haven't read any of his other books. This sounds interesting, particularly as I know very little about Daniel Boone and his daughter.

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    1. I liked both The Dante Club and The Poe Shadow by Pearl. Though I remember there being a few slow parts in one of those books. Still good. And I learned a lot reading this one. :)

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  5. I've always been kind of fascinated with Daniel Boone too, but I didn't know about any of this! I think I'm going to get this one.

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    1. I learned a lot about him. He lived a pretty crazy life!

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  6. "History is messy" is so true. I loved history in school but, for some reason it hasn't had the same appeal now later in life - maybe because it is so "messy."

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    1. And the older we get the more we start to see the negative side of things from the past, I think, which is a little sad. But there you go.

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  7. How interesting! I had no idea that Boone's daughter was captured by a raiding party. Adding this to my list.

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    1. I checked this one out mostly because I wanted to know more about Jemima and her life; to me, she's even more interesting than her more famous father. :)

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  8. This sounds like a fascinating read. I'll have to mention it to my mom. :)

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    1. It's a good one. Though the chapters that focused on some of the battles dragged a bit for me.

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  9. Never heard about Daniel Boone's daughter and I think this does sound like such an interesting read!

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    1. I was wishing this book focused more on her actually, but at least I got to read a little more about her life.

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  10. This does sound interesting. The only thing I know about Daniel Boone and his family is from the very old TV show from the 60's. And I'm sure most of that was highly fictionalized.

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    1. I'm familiar with the show, but I've never really watched it. I'm betting you're right about it being very fictionalized though.

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  11. I've heard his name, but I don't really know much about Daniel Boone. Didn't know he had a daughter captured by a raiding party and then rescued. How harrowing! Sounds like a great read! :)

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    1. Jemima's story is what interested me the most when I picked up this book, but Daniel Boone led a very interesting life, too. :)

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  12. This seems like a very nice read. Thanks for the recommendation. Lovely Post dear! xoxo
    Allurerage 
    Thetrendybride 

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  13. This time of the year, I usually stay close to my tried and true thriller genres and authors. That being said, history based books like this one always tempt me to try something different!

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    1. I've been trying to read more nonfiction this year because I do enjoy it, but it's hard to find time for it among all the fiction books I want to read.

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  14. i haven't heard of this one before but it sounds really interesting. thanks for sharing, and i'm glad you enjoyed it.

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  15. Being from South Africa, I know nothing about this history. I do like that opening sentence, History is messy because people are flawed.

    Have a good week Lark and happy reading!

    Elza Reads

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  16. I've been trying to read more nonfiction and this sounds like one that would interest me since I don't know much about Daniel Boone or his daughter but am always interested in learning more about colonial America.

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    1. It's a fascinating time period, and this gives you a different view of it from the frontier. :)

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  17. Thank you for picking the book up and this really nice write up, Lark! I really appreciate you sharing these thoughts with you community of readers.

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    1. It was a great read. I quite enjoyed it...and I learned a lot!

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  18. This book has been on my radar, so I really appreciate your review. Now I want to read it even more!

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    1. I certainly learned a lot about Daniel Boone that I never knew before reading this book. And Jemima was certainly an impressive person.

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  19. I got a copy of this book from the Library recently ... but I haven't started it yet ... but the story seems incredible .... how long were the girls held for?

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    1. Not super long. I feel like Daniel Boone was able to hunt them down in a matter of a week, or two. Maybe a few days longer.

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