Traces

Hudson’s nuanced debut turns the spotlight on Rebecca Boone, the wife of frontiersman and folk hero Daniel Boone, and, to a lesser extent, on her two oldest daughters, Susannah and Jemima. In 1760, Rebecca and her two young sons and two adopted nephews prepare to abandon their home in North Carolina under the imminent threat of attack by members of the Native American tribe whose land they’ve settled on. Hudson then follows the family’s story through Rebecca’s raising of eight more children and multiple relocations up until 1799, when the family moves to Missouri. Hudson ably tackles the historical controversies surrounding Rebecca, including the theory that Jemima was fathered by Daniel’s brother, and convincingly portrays the many hardships for women living on the frontier in this period, such as childbirth and the drudgery of maintaining a household while one’s husband is off on adventures. Hudson crafts a story of a strained but ultimately strong marriage, weaving in accounts of Jemima’s experience while held captive by Native Americans and of Susannah’s marriage to an abusive man, as well as of Rebecca’s gradual understanding of the ranging points of view held by the Black and Indigenous people she encounters along the way. Hudson succeeds at bringing to life a largely forgotten figure. (Nov.)