Synopses & Reviews
Varina Anne and#8220;Winnieand#8221; Davis was born into a war-torn South in June of 1864, the youngest daughter of Confederate president Jefferson Davis and his second wife, Varina Howell Davis. Born only a month after the death of beloved Confederate hero general J.E.B. Stuart during a string of Confederate victories, Winnieand#8217;s birth was hailed as a blessing by war-weary Southerners. They felt her arrival was a good omen signifying future victory. But after the Confederacyand#8217;s ultimate defeat in the Civil War, Winnie would spend her early life as a genteel refugee and an expatriate abroad.and#160;and#160;and#160;After returning to the South from German boarding school, Winnie was christened the and#8220;Daughter of the Confederacyand#8221; in 1886. This role was bestowed upon her by a Southern culture trying to sublimate its war losses. Particularly idolized by Confederate veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Winnie became an icon of the Lost Cause, eclipsing even her father Jefferson in popularity.and#160;
and#160;Winnie Davis:and#160; Daughter of the Lost Cause is the first published biography of this little-known woman who unwittingly became the symbolic female figure of the defeated South. Her controversial engagement in 1890 to a Northerner lawyer whose grandfather was a famous abolitionist, and her later move to work as a writer in New York City, shocked her friends, family, and the Southern groups who worshipped her. Faced with the pressures of a community who violently rejected the match, Winnie desperately attempted to reconcile her prominent Old South history with her personal desire for tolerance and acceptance of her personal choices.and#160;
Review
"The Blue Tattoo is well-researched history that reads like unbelievable fiction, telling the story of Olive Oatman, the first tattooed American white woman. . . . Mifflin weaves together Olive's story with the history of American westward expansion, the Mohave, tattooing in America, and captivity literature in the 1800s."and#8212;Elizabeth Quinn, Bust
Review
"The Blue Tattoo is well-researched history that reads like unbelievable fiction, telling the story of Olive Oatman, the first tattooed American white woman. . . . Mifflin weaves together Olives story with the history of American westward expansion, the Mohave, tattooing in America, and captivity literature in the 1800s."Elizabeth Quinn, Bust
Review
"Mifflin does a careful job of reconstructing the fascinating story behind how this woman came to wear that tattoo, ascertaining the most accurate possible accounting of the 1851 murder of Oatmans family near Yuma, Arizona, her captivity by a band of Yavapai Indians, her sale to the Mohaves, and Oatmans eventual return to white society."Jenny Shank, NewWest.com
Review
"Extremely well written, The Blue Tattoo is unquestionably a significant contribution to Oatman studies."Deborah and Jon Lawrence, Overland Journal
Review
"In The Blue Tattoo, Margot Mifflin slices away the decades of mythology and puts the story in its proper historical context. What emerges is a riveting, well-researched portrait of a young womanand#8212;a survivor, but someone marked for life by the experience."and#8212;Jon Shumaker, Tucson Weekly
Review
"In 1851 Olive Oatman was a thirteen-year old pioneer traveling west toward Zion, with her Mormon family. Within a decade, she was a white Indian with a chin tattoo, caught between cultures. The Blue Tattoo tells the harrowing story of this forgotten heroine of frontier America. . . . This is a revealing read as it delves into the social morays and prejudice of the time."Sandy Amazeen, MonstersAndCritics.com
Review
“Margot Mifflin has written a winner. A young Mormon girl is forced to live with ‘savages. And loves it. Returns to civilization to become a serious young woman who falls into pious, manipulative hands. The Blue Tattoo offers quite intense drama along with thorough scholarship.”Elmore Leonard, best-selling author of Killshot, Three-Ten to Yuma and Other Stories, and The Tonto Woman and Other Western Stories
Review
and#8220;Although Oatmanand#8217;s story on its own is full of intrigue, Mifflin adeptly uses her tale as a springboard for larger issues of the time.and#8221;and#8212;Feminist Review
Review
"The Blue Tattoo is well written and well researched; it re-opens the story of white women and men going West and Native people trying to survive these travels."and#8212;June Namias, Pacific Historical Review
Review
“Mifflins treatment of Olives sojourns [provides] an excellent teaching opportunity about Americas ongoing captivation with ethnic/gender crossings.”—Western American Literature June Namias - Pacific Historical Review
Review
and#8220;Mifflin engagingly describes Oatmanand#8217;s ordeal and theorizes about its impact on Oatman herself as well as on popular imaginationand#8230;. Her book adds nuance to Oatmanand#8217;s story and also humanizes the Mohave who adopted her.and#160;Recommended for general readers as well as students and scholars.and#8221;and#8212;Library Journal
Review
"Sukys draws liberally from thousands of pages of correspondence and numerous diaries to create a portrait of a deeply thoughtful woman trying to make sense of history and her own life by putting it all to paper. Also of Lithuanian descent, Sukys's own meditations on the power of letters and writing make this a powerful testament to the confluence of history and individual lives and passions."and#8212;Publishers Weekly
Review
"Epistolophilia is not a typical biography, and and#352;imaitand#279; was not a typical World War II hero. For readers looking for an unconventional account of the World War II and post-war eras, as well as those interested in women's life writing, Epistolophilia is a nuanced and compelling work."and#8212;ForeWord Reviews
Review
"Sukys is to be commended for providing us with this testament and story of a little known hero. . . . The writing is done with care and precision bringing to life a woman who we might have otherwise overlooked."and#8212;Jerusalem Post
Review
and#8220;Mifflinand#8217;s treatment of Oliveand#8217;s sojourns [provides] an excellent teaching opportunity about Americaand#8217;s ongoing captivation with ethnic/gender crossings.and#8221;and#8212;Western American Literatureand#160;and#160;
Review
"Lee makes the most of Davis' brief life and accomplishments by grounding her subject firmly in historical context."and#8212;Margaret Flanagan, Booklist
Review
"A fascinating story of a woman who sought to reconcile her own family history with her own beliefs in the virtues of tolerance, Winnie Davis: Daughter of the Lost Cause is highly recommended especially for personal and public library biography collections."and#8212;Midwest Book Review
Review
"Heath Lee has produced an engrossing, fast-paced account of one young woman's brush with a celebrity that she was unable to renounce."and#8212;Jane Turner Censer, Virginia Magazine
Review
and#8220;Can there be any major Civil War story that we havenand#8217;t heard? The answer is, yes! Here comes Heath Lee with the fascinatingand#8212;and surprisingand#8212;life of Varina Anne and#8216;Winnieand#8217; Davis. . . . Clear, strong writing brings the history, mores, and manners of the day brilliantly to life.and#8221;and#8212;Lee Smith, author of
Guests on Earth and
Fair and Tender Ladiesand#160;
Review
and#8220;Heath Lee has written a beautiful and thoughtful biography of Winnie Davis. . . . This is, in a sense, a biography of America in the aftermath of a civil war as much as it is a captivating story of a young woman who struggled to preserve her individuality when others elevated her to an icon.and#8221;and#8212;Carol Berkin, author of
Civil War Wives and
Wondrous Beautyand#160;
Review
and#8220;Heath Hardage Lee does a masterful job of introducing the world to Winnie Davis, one of the most enigmatic figures in American history. . . . A terrific story, beautifully told.and#8221;and#8212;Ellen F. Brown, author of
Margaret Mitchelland#8217;s Gone with the Wind
: A Bestsellerand#8217;s Odyssey from Atlanta to HollywoodReview
"Mifflin, whose admirable and enjoyable book offers analysis of both the reality and the mythology of Oatman's life, shows that there is much beyond The Blue Tattoo. Surely this volume will lead to many more studies on Oatman and related issues surrounding the allure of the exotic and the dangers and wonders of various cultural frontiers." Spencer Drew, Rain Taxi (read the entire )
Synopsis
In 1851 Olive Oatman was a thirteen-year old pioneer traveling west toward Zion, with her Mormon family. Within a decade, she was a white Indian with a chin tattoo, caught between cultures.
The Blue Tattoo tells the harrowing story of this forgotten heroine of frontier America. Orphaned when her family was brutally killed by Yavapai Indians, Oatman lived as a slave to her captors for a year before being traded to the Mohave, who tattooed her face and raised her as their own. She was fully assimilated and perfectly happy when, at nineteen, she was ransomed back to white society. She became an instant celebrity, but the price of fame was high and the pain of her ruptured childhood lasted a lifetime.
Based on historical records, including letters and diaries of Oatmanand#8217;s friends and relatives, The Blue Tattoo is the first book to examine her life from her childhood in Illinoisand#8212;including the massacre, her captivity, and her return to white societyand#8212;to her later years as a wealthy bankerand#8217;s wife in Texas.
Oatmanand#8217;s story has since become legend, inspiring artworks, fiction, film, radio plays, and even an episode of Death Valley Days starring Ronald Reagan. Its themes, from the perils of religious utopianism to the permeable border between civilization and savagery, are deeply rooted in the American psyche. Oatmanand#8217;s blue tattoo was a cultural symbol that evoked both the imprint of her Mohave past and the lingering scars of westward expansion. It also served as a reminder of her deepest secret, fully explored here for the first time: she never wanted to go home.
and#160;
Synopsis
2019 Tucson Weekly "40 Essential Arizona Books" pick
2014 One Book Yuma selection
2010 Best of the Best from the University Presses (ALA) selection
2010 Caroline Bancroft History Prize Finalist
2009 Southwest Book of the Year
In 1851 Olive Oatman was a thirteen-year old pioneer traveling west toward Zion, with her Mormon family. Within a decade, she was a white Indian with a chin tattoo, caught between cultures. The Blue Tattoo tells the harrowing story of this forgotten heroine of frontier America. Orphaned when her family was brutally killed by Yavapai Indians, Oatman lived as a slave to her captors for a year before being traded to the Mohave, who tattooed her face and raised her as their own. She was fully assimilated and perfectly happy when, at nineteen, she was ransomed back to white society. She became an instant celebrity, but the price of fame was high and the pain of her ruptured childhood lasted a lifetime. Based on historical records, including letters and diaries of Oatman's friends and relatives, The Blue Tattoo is the first book to examine her life from her childhood in Illinois--including the massacre, her captivity, and her return to white society--to her later years as a wealthy banker's wife in Texas. Oatman's story has since become legend, inspiring artworks, fiction, film, radio plays, and even an episode of Death Valley Days starring Ronald Reagan. Its themes, from the perils of religious utopianism to the permeable border between civilization and savagery, are deeply rooted in the American psyche. Oatman's blue tattoo was a cultural symbol that evoked both the imprint of her Mohave past and the lingering scars of westward expansion. It also served as a reminder of her deepest secret, fully explored here for the first time: she never wanted to go home.
Purchase the audio edition.
Synopsis
The librarian walks the streets of her beloved Paris. An old lady with a limp and an accent, she is invisible to most. Certainly no one recognizes her as the warrior and revolutionary she was, when again and again she slipped into the Jewish ghetto of German-occupied Vilnius to carry food, clothes, medicine, money, and counterfeit documents to its prisoners. Often she left with letters to deliver, manuscripts to hide, and even sedated children swathed in sacks. In 1944 she was captured by the Gestapo, tortured for twelve days, and deported to Dachau.
Through Epistolophilia, Julija and#352;ukys follows the letters and journalsand#8212;the and#8220;life-writingand#8221;and#8212;of this woman, Ona and#352;imaitand#279; (1894and#8211;1970). A treasurer of words, and#352;imaitand#279; carefully collected, preserved, and archived the written record of her life, including thousands of letters, scores of diaries, articles, and press clippings. Journeying through these words, and#352;ukys negotiates with the ghost of and#352;imaitand#279;, beckoning back to life this quiet and worldly heroineand#8212;a giant of Holocaust history (one of Yad Vashemand#8217;s honored and#8220;Righteous Among the Nationsand#8221;) and yet so little known. The result is at once a mediated self-portrait and a measured perspective on a remarkable life. It reveals the meaning of life-writing, how women write their lives publicly and privately, and how their words attach themand#8212;and usand#8212;to life.
About the Author
HEATH HARDAGE LEEand#160;has a background in museum education and historic preservation. She holds a BA in history with honors from Davidson College and an MA in French language and literature from the University of Virginia. Lee started her museum career at the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte, North Carolina, and later worked for southern house museums Stratford Hall and Menokin Plantation. She has written on southern history for magazines, newspapers, and blogs, such as Americaand#8217;s Civil War, Richmond Times-Dispatch, [Fredericksburg] Free Lance-Star, and Work Stew.and#160;Lee recently served as the coordinator of the history series for Salisbury House and Gardens in Des Moines, Iowa, and currently works as the editorial assistant for Virginia Magazine of History and Biography.and#160;Visit her website heathleeauthor.com.