The Woman Who Fell from the Sky

As this ambitious new novel by Riefe ( A Woman of Dreams ) opens, Margaret Addison Lacroix, an 17th-century English aristocrat, is sailing up the Hudson River toward Quebec to join her new husband, a French army officer whom she has married by proxy. (The union has been made possible thanks to the lull in hostilities between Britain and France engineered by Quebec's famed Governor-General Frontenac, who plays an important, if off-page, role here.) Margaret's plans for a church wedding and a peaceful life are shattered, however, when the ship is attacked by Indians. All aboard are killed except Margaret, who is saved by a hunting party of Oneidas. To them, the white woman is Ataentsic, the Iroquois spirit called the Woman Who Fell from the Sky, who created the world. Though Margaret is repelled by her primitive rescuers, she has no choice but to go along peaceably. The narrative is as much about the clash of cultures as about one woman's journey. Riefe, who's part Mohican, weaves an extraordinary amount of period detail into her story and evinces a strong feel for Indian culture. Vigorous writing, including crisp dialogue and well-rounded characters enliven this vivid if unusually violent tale, which brings its gutsy heroine to a fateful decision--and will leave readers looking forward to its promised sequel. (July)