Historical Fiction with a Strong Female Lead

Sept. 5, 2017 on Amazon.com | 4.0 out of 5 stars

By Jen C.

Format: Kindle Edition

That Woman: Beating the Odds in Colonial New York by Wayne Clark was more enjoyable than I expected. I was initially put off by its length – it runs over 400 pages. But, as I began to read, I found that I enjoyed Clark’s writing style. The plot is intricate and the setting is vast. Even with the length, I found the story moved along fairly quickly.

This novel is a great piece of historical fiction. I feel like I learned more about New York City during the Colonial period than I did before. I also was horrified to learn about the way indentured servants were treated. The main character, Sarah, suffers rape and violence at the hands of her wicked master. It was hard to reconcile what I thought of servants versus slaves when I read the novel.

Additionally, I loved seeing New York City during this time period. It was rift with money and poverty and grime. I found the setting to be completely enthralling.

But, the thing I loved the most about the novel is the strong female lead. Sarah Da Silva fights for her freedom and for herself. She stands up to evil with bravery. I really appreciated the clear good versus evil depictions of herself and her master, Croman. Her characterization made the book even more enjoyable.