Northern Nights
Grade : C-

Northern Nights is a well-researched account of relations not just between Indians and whites, but also between different Indians tribes in the Northwest. It is also a formulaic story of a white woman taken captive by a handsome chief.

Isaac (or Fights With Wealth) is both Tsimashian and Haida Indian. His late mother was the sister of a respected Tsimashian chief. When Isaac's father (a Haida chief) enslaved her, her tribe disowned her, even after Isaac's father took her as a wife. Isaac is burdened with his mother's shame and has had no contact with the Tsimshians. When his uncle summons him and offers a way to become a respected member of the tribe, he agrees to participate in the capture of John Butler and James Burt, who murdered the Tsimashian chief's nephew. When they reach the Butler farm, Burt is there as well as Butler's niece from San Francisco, Elizabeth. The Indians take both as their captives and set off for the Tsimashian village.

Elizabeth is a proper but spirited young lady. She stamps her foot and sniffs haughtily at first, but as time goes on, she and Isaac become close and give into temptation. When the tribe tries to kill Elizabeth, Isaac insists that he die in her place, allowing Elizabeth to escape. Elizabeth is heartbroken and pregnant. She finds a nice gentleman who marries her and agrees to raise her child as his own. Yes, Isaac survives and boy, is he mad when he finds out Elizabeth married so soon after his death. He feels that if she really loved him she would "remain single for the rest of days mourning him." Doesn't ask for much, does he? When he finds out she is carrying his child, his big concern is that his child not be shamed the way he was.

It's clear that the author has respect for Indians and their culture; her reference page shows that she made a great effort to be historically accurate. The characters, however, do not transcend stereotypes. Elizabeth is an uptight finishing-school graduate without much character. Isaac is an angry lusty hothead. They both do some growing by the book's end, but I didn't warm up to either of them. Despite her love for Isaac, Elizabeth seems to fear him and not trust him for most of their courtship. And they don't seem to have much going for them besides physical attraction. Something that was particularly annoying was Isaac's pronunciation of Elizabeth's name: "Lis-uh-buth." It only served to bring attention to their cultural differences. Because both characters were so stereotypical, highlighting further differences was not a plus. I wish he had just thought up an endearment for her - even "little one" would have been an improvement.

This is an Indian man/white woman romance with some interesting historical facts. It does not fall into the common trap of portraying Indians as saints and white people as evil. There is good and bad on both sides. But if you want an extraordinary story with this theme, you should look to Kathleen Eagle.

Reviewed by Christine Peterson
Grade : C-
Book Type:

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : October 24, 2000

Publication Date: 2000

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Christine Peterson

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