As a fan of Brooks’ fiction and nonfiction, I just couldn’t omit the exclamation point from the title of this post. Her second novel, March, a riff on Little Women, won the Pulitzer for fiction [read our interview with Brooks about March] and her two other novels were also BookPage favorites.
Her third novel, Caleb’s Crossing (Viking), takes place in the 1660s and is also inspired by a historical event—this time, the graduation of the first Native American from Harvard University. Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck is taken under the wing of a minster who sees the opportunity to convert his tribe through education. Caleb’s story is juxtaposed with that of the minister’s own daughter, who, despite a similar yearning for knowledge, becomes an indentured servant.
Brooks writes some of the smartest historical fiction around, and I can’t wait to read her take on this era of American history—and see if there are any allusions to her debut novel, Year of Wonders, which took place in England around the same time.
I love her novels — and will be reading this one as well!!