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How long does it take to read Calico Captive?

Elizabeth George Speare, W. T. Mars

Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare, W. T. Mars takes about 5 hours 9 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.

About 5 hours 9 minutes

A weekend read

First published 1957. 281 pages, about 77,275 words. Written for children.

11 days at 30 minutes a day

Estimate based on 275 words per page.

At other speeds

Slow, 150 words a minute 8 hours 35 minutes
Average, 250 words a minute 5 hours 9 minutes
Fast, 400 words a minute 3 hours 13 minutes

The page count is the median across 22 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.

About the book

In the year 1754, the stillness of Charlestown, New Hampshire, is shattered by the terrifying cries of an Indian raid. Young Miriam Willard, on a day that had promised new happiness, finds herself instead a captive on a forest trail, caught up in the ebb and flow of the French and Indian War. It is a harrowing march north. Miriam can only force herself to the next stopping place, the next small portion of food, the next icy stream to be crossed. At the end of the trail waits a life of hard work and, perhaps, even a life of slavery. Mingled with her thoughts of Phineas Whitney, her sweetheart on his way to Harvard, is the crying of her sister’s baby, Captive, born on the trail. Miriam and her companions finally reach Montreal, a city of shifting loyalties filled with the intrigue of war, and here, by a sudden twist of fortune, Miriam meets the prominent Du Quesne family, who introduce her to a life she has never imagined. Based on an actual narrative diary published in 1807, Calico Captive skillfully reenacts an absorbing facet of history.

Subjects: History, Indians of North America, Juvenile fiction, United States, Historical fiction, Fiction

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