The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History

by: Linda Colley

Published by: Pantheon Publishing

Reviewed by Sara Porter

This book is about a woman unknown to modern readers, who lived in fascinating times. It is also great as a travelogue and history book.

Colley stumbled across Elizabeth Marsh’s story while conducting research on her previous book, Captives. While researching through letters, journals, and a book that Marsh had written, Colley was hampered by: 1) Much about Marsh’s life was lost, and 2) None gave an accurate physical description nor is there a portrait of her. Despite this, Colley writes a wonderful portrayal of a woman who lived through a dramatically changing time with such intelligence, wit, and a touch of arrogance.

Marsh was born in 1735 to an Englishman and possibly a black Jamaican woman, and traveled as a child. She was kidnapped by pirates at age 20 and sold to a Moroccan sultan for his harem. Eventually she was freed through the assistance of James Crisp whom she later married. Despite marital problems with a risk-taking husband, they traveled to America and India where she had two children and got involved in various land deals.

Marsh is clearly the central character, and to make up for the lack of biographical information, Colley uses third-person narration and dialog to bring her lead character to life.

She is at turns strong-willed and sometimes arrogant. During her captivity, she cleverly uses her feminine wiles and deception to obtaining her freedom. She is also very observant, and opinionated. Her travels to India are framed with her descriptions of the people, their customs, and being away from her husband and children.

Marsh is also flawed. She pushes her daughter into an unhappy marriage to obtain status. She argues with many around her. She turns a blind eye to the cruelty of slavery in the Americas and India. Marsh comes across as more complex than many around her, particularly her husband.

Crisp is a somewhat romantic figure when Marsh first meets him, but later is described as weak-willed, foolish–no match for his fiery and clever wife. He gets involved in several bad land deals. When Marsh writes of her captivity in The Female Captive, she downplays Crisp’s involvement in her rescue–and later, the two lived separately.

Armchair Interviews says: The author is a professor of History at Princeton University and is an expert on Britain.

Author’s Web site: http://www.Princeton.edu/history/people/data/Professor/lcolley/profile