Scarlet Plume (Buckskin Man Tales) [Paperback]

Frederick Manfred (Author), Arthur R. Huseboe (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Buckskin Man Tales | Publication Date: September 1, 1983

In 1862, the largest Indian uprising in American history occurred in southern Minnesota. Enraged Sioux attempted to throw off the broken treaties that still bound them and to avenge the insults and depredations they had been forced to bear. Hundreds of whites were killed. Women were taken captive.

Told from the point of view of Judith Raveling, a young woman widowed by the uprising, Scarlet Plume draws on the brutal history of the conflict from beginning to end. Taken captive by the Sioux she is given to Scarlet Plume, one of the many warriors who know their cause is lost. Caught between the men who would wage war ruthlessly and his own judgment, which tells him how dearly the Sioux will pay for every white killed, Scarlet Plume tries to save all he can. Through the dangers of a pitiless war he returns Judith to the safety of her people. Soon she must try to save him.

Scarlet Plume is the third of Frederick Manfred's five-volume series, the Buckskin Man Tales.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Scarlet Plume will remain in one''s mind for a long time because his character is so indelibly fixed. This is a compelling story, powerfully written by an experienced craftsman familiar with Indian customs."—Library Journal

(Library Journal )

"[Manfred''s] novel stands with Hal Borland''s When the Legends Die, Mari Sandoz''s Cheyenne Autumn, and Oliver La Farge''s Laughing Boy."—Marshall Sprague, New York Times Book Review

(Marshall Sprague New York Times Book Review )

Product Details

• Paperback: 365 pages
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (September 1, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080328120X
• ISBN-13: 978-0803281202
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #557,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most believable Indian massacre I ever read, May 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Scarlet Plume (Buckskin Man) (Paperback)

Although the time prohibited a romance between an American Indian and a white woman, the author made the concept believable and sympathetic. Well written with graphic descriptions. A real page-turner.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Violence and Sex, April 3, 2008

By 

madbee (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scarlet Plume (Buckskin Man Tales) (Paperback)

This historical novel centers on the relationship between white settlers in the West and Indians during the period of the Civil War. The book opens with a horrific massacre. Manfred is extremely descriptive of the violence and, if once was not enough, he returns to it again and again throughout the book.

The opening massacre, and the behavior of various individuals, shapes the story. Scarlet Plume emerges as a one-dimensional heroic character; the one good Indian trying to help Judith, the beautiful white woman, who has been kidnapped by his tribe.

The plot weakens the novel. Judith, who escapes from her slavery with the Indians, longing for her home in Minnesota, ends up romanticizing about the tribe's good qualities and disdainful of her white race. During her journey away from them, she even dresses in settler's clothing she finds in an abandoned cabin, missing her home and all its "civilized" furnishings.

Judith's change occurs because of her relationship Scarlet Plume. Just as Manfred was obsessed with the violence, he seems equally obsessed with describing Scarlet Plume's "phallus" which turns up throughout the book. By the end we are to believe that Judith has forgotten all the horrors and losses she witnessed (and escaped from) and wants to return and live as a squaw.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Page Turner, July 12, 2000

By 

"barb312" (Jordan, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scarlet Plume (Buckskin Man) (Paperback)

This was without a doubt the best book I've ever read. I could not put this book down and read it in one day. The book is very descriptive and well written. I highly recommend this book.