Olive Oatman examines the life of the emigrant whose family was attacked in 1851 while travelling west and who later lived among the Mohave. It reconstructs the uncertain circumstances of her captivity, transfer and eventual return to American society.
The biography considers Oatman’s facial tattoo, public lecture career and the bestselling narrative that made her a national celebrity. It compares her own changing accounts with later sensational versions, using the story to explore migration, cultural contact and the conventions of nineteenth-century captivity literature.
