Captivity narrative

The term refers to a captivity narrative a genre of American literature, that describes the experiences of white settlers in North America, mostly women in Indian captivity. Captivity narratives had in the 17th century a significant impact on both the autobiographical literature as well as later on the American novel.

Known in this regard are, inter alia, the fates of Mary Rowlandson (1637-1711), Elizabeth Hanson (1684-1737) or Cynthia Ann Parker ( 1826-1870 ).