Light a Distant Fire
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| Author | Lucia St. Clair Robson |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Historical novel |
| Publisher | Ballantine Books |
| Released | September 1998 |
| Media Type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 432 p. (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-345-32548-6 (paperback edition) |
Light a Distant Fire is a 1988 historical novel by Lucia St. Clair Robson that fictionalizes the story of the Second Seminole War, Andrew Jackson, and the charismatic leader Osceola, warchief of the Seminole tribe. [1].
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
Born into a nation at war, Osceola is saved from the sword by his grandmother. As he grows up, watching the white man desecrate the land which his people have considered their own for generations, he swears to save his tribe from the destruction
[edit] Plot summary
Osceola had no illusions that the struggle would be an easy one. But after years of humbly acquiescing to the white men's demands, he was ready to fight no matter what the cost. The young men would have the chance to earn war honors. Their women would have reason to be proud of them again.
When "Old Man" Jackson declared war on the Seminole, he never envisioned battling a people who would become symbols of courage, loyalty, and patriotism. Led by the mighty warrior Osceola and witnessed by his beloved daughter Little Warrior, they were men and women fighting an unjust war of greed and aggression -- and the bonds of love and rebellion that united them would thrust them into the heart of a conflict that would change the world and their lives forever.
[edit] Characters in "Light a Distant Fire"
- Osceola – main protagonist
- Little Warrior – daughter to Osceola
[edit] Literary significance & criticism
"Robson is especially good at detailing the daily life of the 19th Century Seminoles and her Osceola is a charismatic and proud hero." -- The Orlando Sentinel
[edit] Excerpt from Light a Distant Fire
- “I awoke facedown in the dirt.” Osceola pinched tobacco from a leather pouch worn soft as satin by his touch. He stuffed the pungent brown powder into the bowl of his pipe. Little Warrior held a sliver of pitch-pine in the flames until it ignited, then lit her father’s pipe with it.
- “Then what happened?” When Little Warrior leaned forward, twin reflections of the fire’s light danced in her huge dark eyes.
- “My grandson slept through the battle at the Fort, that’s what happened.” Fightin a Line shifted her bony haunches on the palm log radiating from the star-shaped fire. She squinted at the ruffle she was sewing onto a long calico skirt.
- “A cold wind blew.” Osceola ignored his grandmother’s teasing. “But the smoke of the guns still hovered over the field. I heard the screams of Old Mad Jackson’s wounded blue-jackets.” He gazed into the flames and smiled sadly. “White men do not die well.
- “I felt a sharp stone jabbing into my cheek.” Strange how one remembers the details, he thought. Even after memories of the great causes fade. “I tasted blood mixed with the dirt in my mouth. My head felt as though the stock of the blue-jacket’s musket had crushed it like a melon. My ankle was broken. It swelled until it throbbed against the lacing of my winter moccasins. My face, my hands, my chest, were crusted with blood.”
- “Was the blood yours, Papa?” A frisson of dread passed through Little Warrior. …
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ http://www.fsu.edu/~univrel/seminoles/] The Indian tribe who "never" surrendered
[edit] External link
- For Book Club Discussion Points, background information, and an excerpt, see author's website: Light a Distant Fire
