Savage Lands by Clare Clark

 

In 1704, Elisabeth Savaret is one of the original twenty-three French girls sent to the Louisiana colony to provide wives for the around two hundred settlers there, the large majority of them men.  These women were known as casket girls for the one small trunk of belongings each woman was allowed to bring.  Elisabeth was the luckiest for she met and married a man, Jean-Claude, who she fell madly in love with.

But Jean-Claude who was a soldier was often away.  He was known for his ability to negotiate with the various Native American tribes surrounding the Louisiana settlement where the colonists huddled and could spend an entire winter with a tribe.  There he encountered a young French boy named Auguste  Auguste had been a cabin boy but was deserted with a tribe as a young boy so that he could learn the language and culture and report back any information he picks up about potential uprisings.

These three individuals formed a tight friendship with both Elisabeth and Auguste idolizing Jean-Claude.  But Jean-Claude is mainly interested in making money and gaining influence which often puts him in danger.  

Clare Clark is an English author who writes in the historical fiction genre.  Both this novel and her novel about London in Victorian times named The Great Stink, were nominated for the Orange Prize, now named The Woman's Prize in Fiction.  Readers will learn about the beginnings of the state of Louisiana, the indigo plantations created there, the early relations in Louisiana with the Native American tribes and about how families were created by the casket girls.  There is tension and love in this novel and one will admire the strength of Elisabeth.  This book is recommended for historical fiction readers.