Calico Captive

Calico Captive (1976) is a middle grade novel by American author Elizabeth George Speare. The story takes place in 1754 New Hampshire and follows 14-year-old Miriam Willard and her family, who are captured by Indigenous Americans during the French and Indian War. It is based on the true story A Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Johnson (1796), written by Susanna Johnson. Speare, who is from Massachusetts, won two Newbery Medals for The Witch of Blackbird Pond (1957) and The Sign of the Beaver (1984). Calico Captive (1957) was her first novel, followed by The Bronze Bow (1961). The novel examines the themes of Survival and Resilience, Cultural Clashes and Assimilation, and The Value of Listening to One’s Heart.

This guide is based on the print version of the original 1957 edition published by Clarion Books.

Content Warning: This guide contains discussions of racism and bigoted portrayals of Indigenous peoples that appear in the source text. It uses the term “Indian” in direct quotes and in reference to well-known historical events.

Plot Summary

The novel begins in the small frontier town of Charleston, New Hampshire, where Miriam lives with her older sister, Susanna; Susanna’s husband, James Johnson; and their children, Sylvanus, Polly, and Sue. Miriam is a spirited young woman, who has recently met a handsome young man, Phineas Whitney, who tells her he has feelings for her after a party at the Johnson cabin. The next morning, the family’s cabin is attacked by warriors from the Abenaki tribe, who are allied with the French.

Miriam, Susanna, James, their children, and a neighbor are captured and taken on a harrowing journey through the wilderness, during which Susanna gives birth to a daughter she names Captive. Along the way, Miriam expects cruelty based on the stories she’s been told. While her captors often threaten violence, she is surprised at the consideration they show to her and the other prisoners. When they cross the Canadian border and arrive in St. Francis, the captors threaten them, but no one is injured. Instead, they are each placed in various Abenaki households and integrated into the town.

A young Abenaki man, Mehkoa, proposes marriage to Miriam, and she rejects him. This brings shame to Mehkoa and makes the tribe dislike Miriam. It also allows James to negotiate for them to leave St. Francis. James, Miriam, Sue, and Polly are taken to Montreal and sold to the French while Susanna, Captive, and Sylvanus are left in St. Francis. In Montreal, they are separated and James goes to prison, the girls are adopted into French families, and Miriam works for a wealthy French family, the Du Quesnes.

As Miriam adjusts to life in Montreal, she experiences discomfort because many of the French view her as uncivilized. Despite the initial fear and hatred that she feels toward the French, Miriam learns to navigate this new world and enjoys the luxuries she has never experienced. Miriam catches the attention of Pierre Laroche, a charming and wealthy French trader who takes a romantic interest in her.

Susanna and Captive arrive in Montreal though Sylvanus could not be brought with them. James gets a bond to return to New England and retrieve the ransom money for his family, but he is gone for months. In the meantime, Susanna and Miriam are thrown out of the Du Quesnes’ home and must rely on new friends and their own wits to survive. Miriam uses her skill as a seamstress to rent a room and befriends a wealthy marquise. As she thinks about the future, she is torn between her feelings for Pierre and her loyalty to her family and Phineas Whitney.

Miriam’s life in Montreal is filled with challenges, but she also experiences moments of personal growth and self-discovery. When James finally returns, he and Susanna are put in jail and Miriam must try to free them. She leverages her relationship with Pierre and her friendship with the marquise to help save her family. When Pierre proposes, Miriam is conflicted. But when she secures passage for her family and herself to England, in the modern-day United Kingdom, she leaves. From England, Miriam is able to sail back to New England, America, where she ultimately marries Phineas Whitney.