Historical Biographical Novels
A WOMAN OF MARKED CHARACTER
Now available at online sites!
Book One —Trade paperback, hardcover, and e-book.
Book Two—Trade paperback and e-book. Hardcover coming May 1.
SEE WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE BOOKS BELOW!
Retail
Distributors for bookstores & libraries
What readers are saying about book two
“Wow! When I started reading this book I could not put it down until I finished it. It is history told in the words and emotions of a Real Woman who lived through those times. I urge everyone to read it. It improves our thinking about those times and about the modern world.”
What readers are saying about book one
The past becomes real, not just a document
This book dragged me out of the present and delivered me solidly into the past. The text is so researched and so detailed, I felt I was actually hanging out with Sarah in the 1800s. The author brings history to life and you forget you’re reading a true story!
-Angie in Texas
A poignant, inspirational tribute to resilience; clever and enthralling
In A Woman of Marked Character, Nancy Stanfield Webb masterfully brings to life the story of Sarah Ridge Paschal Pix, the surviving daughter of a prominent Cherokee tribal leader, whose personal journey unfolds against the backdrop of one of the most tragic and tumultuous periods in American history—the forced removal of the Cherokee people from Georgia to Indian Territory during the 1830s. Through Sarah’s eyes, Webb crafts an unforgettable narrative that not only chronicles the heartbreak of the Trail of Tears but also explores themes of resilience, identity, and survival in the face of unimaginable loss.
What stands out immediately in Webb’s novel is her meticulous research and attention to historical detail. The historical accuracy of A Woman of Marked Character is remarkable; Webb has clearly invested a tremendous amount of effort in understanding the intricacies of the Cherokee Nation’s history and the cultural and political forces at play during this time. The book paints a vivid and respectful portrait of Sarah’s life, as well as the broader context of the Cherokee people's struggle for survival and autonomy, even inter-tribally. Webb captures the nuances of the Cherokee way of life, from their spiritual practices to the complexities of their leadership, creating an immersive world that feels authentic and deeply connected to the history it portrays.
The writing itself is elegant and evocative, with Webb capturing both the beauty of the Cherokee homeland and the brutal, soul-crushing reality of the forced march westward. The descriptions of the land, the people, and the journey to Indian Territory are rich in detail, bringing the historical setting to life. Webb does not shy away from the harsh realities of the Trail of Tears—the suffering, disease, and death that marked this journey—but she also highlights moments of courage, solidarity, and hope that helped the Cherokee people endure. This balance of sorrow and strength gives the novel a depth that is both emotional and intellectual.
One of the most impressive aspects of Webb’s writing is how she brings Sarah’s inner life to the forefront. The reader feels Sarah’s grief, anger, and determination, as well as her complicated feelings about survival and cultural preservation. The novel's pacing allows for moments of introspection and quiet reflection, providing a welcome counterbalance to the action and trauma that defines much of the story. The reader even gets to hear from Sarah herself in these retrospective passages. Sarah’s personal growth, from a young girl to a woman shaped by loss and adversity, is both poignant and inspiring.
In conclusion, Nancy Stanfield Webb’s A Woman of Marked Character is a powerful and evocative historical fiction novel that brings the tragic history of the Cherokee Nation’s forced removal to life through the lens of Sarah Ridge Paschal Pix. Webb’s exceptional research, rich storytelling, and deep empathy for her characters make this novel a poignant tribute to the resilience of the Cherokee people and a reminder of the importance of remembering this painful chapter in American history. This book is an essential read for anyone interested in Native American history, the history of the Cherokee Nation, or simply powerful, character-driven storytelling.
— Jess F in Massachusetts
Captivating and stunning!
I finished reading a great book today. I am not a person who reads many books, but this one caught my attention. It has everything you want: reality, history, strong characters both female and male!!! And I place female first because Sarah is a fierce and wonderful character in this absolute desolate time for her people. The writer combines reality and fiction so well, that I did not know when fact stopped and fiction began! A stunning story that will keep you reading and then leave you to ponder when Book Two comes out!!! Such a cliffhanger. Stay tuned for Book Two, as will I!!!!
-Steven in Rhode Island
A Woman of Marked Character by Nancy Stanfield Webb
History Through the Words of a Formidable Woman
Finding an historical marker and later the grave of Sarah Ridge Paschal Pix, an educated 19th century Cherokee woman nestled under Southern live oak trees on a former cattle ranch near Galveston Bay Texas, led the author on a decades-long journey to discover and write Sarah’s life story. Sarah Ridge was born in western Georgia in 1812, and was the daughter of Sehoyah (Susanna) Wickett and Major Ridge, the Cherokee leader and former warrior who had previously fought with Andrew Jackson. Unlike the typical log cabin homes of most Cherokee families, Sarah grew up in a prosperous family and lived in a two-storied framed house on a nearly 300-acre family plantation. Cotton, tobacco, and corn were grown there with the help of 30 enslaved African Americans.
Little is known of Sarah’s early life other than that she was educated at Salem Academy in North Carolina. Although her parents were illiterate, her father as the tribal council leader and frequent visitor to the White House and Congress fully believed in the power of education to assist his peoples in their communication with the European Americans and their leaders. Conflict with these newly established United States colonists arose as the Georgian settlers moved westward, expanded onto the lands of the Cherokee nation, caused the nullification of countless treaties, and resulted in the eventual removal of the entire Cherokee nation from their cherished lands. Internal conflicts within the Cherokee clans also arose in their decisions as whether or not to sign yet another treaty with the US government and leave for Indian Territory.
Although federal documents and their associated notes place both Major Ridge and his daughter Sarah at some of the grievance meetings at the White House and Congress, there are no details of Sarah’s presence. This omission does not create a problem for the author in this brilliantly researched historical fiction novel; instead Nancy Stanfield Webb simply writes the relocation story of these indigenous peoples as observed not from the side of the victors, but from that of the victims, the Cherokee peoples, via what she perceives could have been Sarah’s experiences.
The author’s writing excels in the well-composed chapters entitled “Sarah Speaks” that are interspersed throughout the novel. Here, Nancy Stanfield Webb imagines her main character to possess the dynamic oratorical skills of her famous father. In these chapters the author skillfully slips aside from the main narrative to bare the voice and inner soul of Sarah. Webb characterizes Sarah not as a passive, female Native American, but as an assertive woman who speaks her mind freely in her condemnation of Congress and the Presidents who had abandoned countless treaties with the indigenous nations. Even in her marital relations with her often duplicitous husband, George Paschal, a white lawyer whose greed repeatedly outshines his virtues, Webb portrays Sarah as a confident woman who is totally unafraid to lash out at his many improprieties. In giving such a strong voice to the fiercely loyal Sarah, the reader feels not only the depth of Sarah’s courage, her anger, and her love for her family, but also empathizes with her resolute quest for revenge against those within the Cherokee Nation who had wronged her family.
This novel is the first of a two-volume work, in which Nancy Webb has shed new light on this time period, the injustices suffered by the Cherokee peoples, and captured the spirit of a remarkable Cherokee woman. I look forward to reading the second part of Sarah’s journey.
— Maryanne in North Carolina
“Read a beautiful, wonderful story.”
“The writing is beautiful! The amount of research and work the author has put into A Woman of Marked Character is stunning.”
“I loved the earthquake story around Sarah’s birth. So well written!”
“Swing low, sweet chariot” will always bring a different memory to me now.”
“The design, green and gold and that burnished silver gold in the medal, the typefaces, the sizing and spacing, and the texture of the paper…it’s all wonderful. I like the size, dimensions, weight, and price. Altogether these features make the person holding it feel this is both treasure and bargain.”
“A Woman of Marked Character is an artful tapestry of emotion and insight, weaving together complex historical themes with grace. Stanfield Webb takes us on a journey alongside her main character, Sarah Ridge Paschal Pix, and challenges us to think deeply about the plight of the Indian while remaining utterly engaged in the gripping—and surprising—plot lines. Exquisitely written, it lingers in the mind long after the final page is turned.”
“As I am reading, the adjectives are so descriptive it is like poetry.”
“Thank you so much for sending me an advance copy of A Woman of Marked Character. The book looks tremendous. Congratulations to you for having the tenacity and grit to research, write, and bring to fruition this marvelous and important book. The journey is just beginning!”
A Woman of Marked Character, Book One
A Woman of Marked Character
is one known for her remarkable ability and intellect,
strong in her friendships and intolerances,
and a most useful member of society
In this sweeping historical novel, the surviving daughter of a prominent Cherokee tribal leader tells her story amid the tragic resettlement of her people from Georgia to Indian Territory during the 1830s, and its ensuing, heartbreaking aftermath.
The first book of this intensely researched two-part biographical novel series is set in Georgia and Indian Territory. Sarah Ridge, the educated daughter of a Cherokee leader, witnesses events leading to the removal of her nation to west of the Mississippi River in 1837. Braving a treacherous river journey with her white husband, a lawyer, they arrive in Arkansas and join her family. Dealing with an often-contentious marriage, she bears five children and buries two. Following the "Trail of Tears" when tribal war erupts, Sarah is compelled to seek revenge against powerful forces in the Cherokee Nation.
A Woman of Marked Character, Book Two
A Woman of Marked Character
is one known for her remarkable ability and intellect,
strong in her friendships and intolerances,
and a most useful member of society
This second sweeping historical novel presents a different look and feel to the reader from Sarah Ridge Paschal's story in Book One. Having left her Cherokee life and strife behind, in Book Two she makes decisions that move her life forward.
Sarah walks through the author's thoroughly-researched landscape in the booming port city of Galveston in 1848 with its wealth, epidemics, and hurricanes. A new friend, the seamstress Trinidad St. Claire, enters her life and lives in the upstairs half of the home Sarah has constructed. Their friendship will continue through the Civil War, shown through Trinidad's Diary, "A Requiem for My City."
With her older children and a new husband, in 1856 Sarah Pix trades her city property for a remote landscape where she moves her family across Galveston Bay to 500 acres of isolated ranchland. She revels in the joy of her new life and the beauty—and danger—of the coastal prairie: flocks of pink spoonbills and whooping cranes welcome her, as do cottonmouth water moccasin snakes. Sarah rears a baby son on the ranch where her longhorn cattle range, and endures a bitter land fight, the Civil War, cattle rustling, and heartbreaking tragedies.