1666 – by Lora Chilton – independent book review – Historical Fiction (United States)

NOTE: I received early access to 1666 and am writing this review voluntarily. Thank you netgalley and Sibylline Press. Scheduled Publication: April 2, 2024.

I’ve been reading historical fiction for decades now. But despite the excess of material about our white founding fathers, I’ve come across very little that explores the indigenous stories with insight and honesty. Until now.

Based on a true story and written by a member of the Patawomeck Tribe of Virginia, 1666 tells the story of three strong women and the role each played in the survival of their tribe, following a massacre by English settlers. The novel is based on oral tradition, interviews with tribal elders, written colonial records extensive research, and study of the Patawomeck language. Awarded four stars on Goodreads.

At the start of the book, these peaceful, nature-loving indigenous people are growing increasingly angry with their treatment at the hands of the new settlers — a group the tribe has fed and supported since the settlers arrived. What then unfolds is the story of the tribe’s attempt to resist the settlers’ ever-increasing demands and what happens to many of the women who survive.

If you, like me, usually think of enslavement in the United States as primarily affecting Afro-Americans, this novel will force you to reevaluate that assumption. The Patawomeck women suffer the same violations, the same indignations, and the same loss of autonomy. The book presents a graphic portrait of the institution of slavery that is hard to read.

1666 is a story with power and drama, written in a straightforward and simple voice. The voices of the three women narrating are not well differentiated. But that won’t keep you from feeling the horror of what they endured. Or from admiring their commitments to one another and to their tribal culture.

More about the author, Lora Chilton.