Warrior Woman: The Exceptional Life Story of Nonhelema, Shawnee Indian Woman Chief

A bestselling master of historical fiction, James Alexander Thom has brought unforgettable Native American figures to life for millions of readers, powerfully dramatizing their fortitude, fearsomeness, and profound fates. Now he and his wife, Dark Rain, have created a magnificent portrait of an astonishing woman-one who led her people in war when she could not persuade them to make peace.Her name was Nonhelema. Literate, lovely, imposing at over six feet tall, she was the Women's Peace Chief of the Shawnee Nation-and already a legend when the most decisive decade of her life began in 1774. That fall, with more than three thousand Virginians poised to march into the Shawnees' home, Nonhelema's plea for peace was denied. So she loyally became a fighter, riding into battle covered in war paint. When the Indians ran low on ammunition, Nonhelema's role changed back to peacemaker, this time tragically.Negotiating an armistice with military leaders of the American Revolution like Daniel Boone and George Rogers Clark, she found herself estranged from her own people-and betrayed by her white adversaries, who would murder her loved ones and eventually maim Nonhelema herself.Throughout her inspiring life, she had many deep and complex relationships, including with her daughter, Fani, who was an adopted white captive . . . a pious and judgmental missionary, Zeisberger . . . a series of passionate lovers . . . and, in a stunning creation of the Thoms, Justin Case-a cowardly soldier transformed by the courage he saw in the female Indian leader.Filled with the uncanny period detail and richly rendered drama that are Thom trademarks, Warrior Woman is a memorable novel of a remarkable person-one willing to fight to avoid war, by turns tough and tender, whose heart was too big for the world she wished to tame.

“Praise for James Alexander Thom andSign-Talker "Very readable, fresh, original, and vivid." LARRY MCMURTRY "James Alexander Thom is one of the finest historical novelists writing today. He knows how to tell a cracking good yearn, cares passionately about getting his history right, and has a gift for illuminating those forgotten but fascinating corners of the American past with sheer storytelling power." JOHN SUGDEN Author ofTecumseh: A Life "Excellent . . . It is at once an adventure story [and] a historical document . . . Even though many readers know the story of Lewis and Clark, Thom's novel will give them new insight." The Indianapolis Star(4-star review) "The majesty of the scenery, the wonder of the stately tribes who greet, and menace, the expedition and the expedition's mix of soldiers, ne'er-do-wells, and French traders all combine to produce a strong novel about the days when Missouri was at the edge of the map." The Kansas City Star "This great journey halfway across a wilderness continent and back has never been told so compellingly, with so much dignity and wisdom, as inSign-Talker." SCOTT RUSSELL SANDERS Author ofHunting for Hope From the Hardcover edition.”

Praise for James Alexander Thom
and Sign-Talker

“Very readable, fresh, original, and vivid.”
–LARRY MCMURTRY

“James Alexander Thom is one of the finest historical novelists writing today. He knows how to tell a cracking good yearn, cares passionately about getting his history right, and has a gift for illuminating those forgotten but fascinating corners of the American past with sheer storytelling power.”
–JOHN SUGDEN
Author of Tecumseh: A Life

“Excellent . . . It is at once an adventure story [and] a historical document . . . Even though many readers know the story of Lewis and Clark, Thom’s novel will give them new insight.”
–The Indianapolis Star (4-star review)

“The majesty of the scenery, the wonder of the stately tribes who greet, and menace, the expedition and the expedition’s mix of soldiers, ne’er-do-wells, and French traders all combine to produce a strong novel about the days when Missouri was at the edge of the map.”
–The Kansas City Star

“This great journey halfway across a wilderness continent and back has never been told so compellingly, with so much dignity and wisdom, as in Sign-Talker.”
–SCOTT RUSSELL SANDERS
Author of Hunting for Hope

James Alexander Thom was formerly a U.S. Marine, a newspaper and magazine editor, and a member of the faculty at the Indiana University Journalism School. He is the acclaimed author of Follow the River; Long Knife; From Sea to Shining Sea; Panther in the Sky, for which he won the prestigious Western Writers of America Spur Award for best historical novel; The Children of First Man; The Red Heart; and Sign-Talker. He lives in the Indiana hill country near Bloomington with his wife, Dark Rain, of the Shawnee Nation, United Remnant Band. Dark Rain is a member of the National Council, which is planning the Lewis and Clark bicentennial celebration.

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