The Sovereignty and Goodness of God

Considered the first American “bestseller”, “The Sovereignty and Goodness of God” follows Mary Rowlandson’s three month holding by the American Algonquian Indians. The first by an Anglo-American woman, Mrs. Rowlandson’s narrative remains a classic tale of captivity, which has captivated readers since its initial publication in 1682, and presents a unique perspective on transcultural interaction between early American settlers and their Native American counterparts. Following King Phillip’s War, Mary and her three children were seized by Algonquian Indians in her town of Lancaster, Massachusetts. What ensued is a harrowing journey of tremendous hardship up to her release. Rowlandson integrates Puritan ideologies and Biblical verses; attributing much of her survival upon her Lord. The book’s popularity inspired a generation of settlement novelists to incorporate the authenticity of Rowlandson’s narrative into their works. This text is of great value to both the scholar and the general reader for its social and historical insight into Indian relations in the early days of American colonization.