CALEB'S CROSSING

Brooks’s fourth work of historical fiction vividly animates the life of Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk, the first Native American graduate of Harvard. The period detail and the compelling viewpoint of Bethia Mayfield are strengthened by Jennifer Ehle’s narration. Ehle’s emphasis on the seventeenth-century word choices and grammatical structure creates a lyrical presentation. Equally strong is the portrait she draws of Bethia, a young woman who, like Caleb, has a strong intelligence and is as challenged by gender bias as he is by racial prejudice. Ehle captures the heroine’s passion for learning as well as her indignation and resignation in the face of unfair treatment—her own and that of her admired childhood friend, Caleb. The combination of Brooks’s writing and Ehle’s narration creates a powerful rendition of what Bethia calls her “tragical lament.” S.W. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2011]