Outlawed by Anna North
As is fitting for the alternative history genre, the setting of Outlawed (Bloomsbury Publishing) by Anna North plays an essential role in the novel. Though this setting — the Western United States in 1894 — is a real place and time, its premise is entirely fictional.
In the world North builds, women are prized for their baby-making abilities. Barren women are at best discarded and at worst hung for witchcraft, as the townspeople believe that embittered barren women curse pregnant women and infants, causing miscarriages and diseases. While fictional, the story explores the historical (and, in some cultures, current) dependence of women on their childbearing success and the unfortunate human tendency to turn victims into criminals.
FEMINIST CRITIQUE WRAPPED UP IN A THRILLING WESTERN
Though Outlawed carries serious themes, the tone of the book is more befitting a Western. As such, the story is thick with adventure, chases on horseback, disguises, shooting, romance and saloons. The story follows the trials of Ada, a young, barren woman, who is abandoned by her husband, accused of witchcraft, and forced to flee to a convent. Ada, though, has dreams of serving as a midwife and holed up in a convent full of barren women makes that dream an impossibility. The Mother Superior suggests Ada might find living with the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang — the infamous band of Wild West outlaws — more to her liking.
Upon arrival, Ada discovers the gang is made up of women who are either barren or lesbian or both. The gang is run by a former pastor known only as The Kid. The Kid’s leadership and passion have kept the outlaws alive and loyal up until now, but her latest scheme has the gang fearing that The Kid has become unhinged. From there, the story follows the gang’s struggle to survive and, ultimately, to create a loving and accepting community for outcast women.
AN INTRIGUING VENTURE INTO 19TH CENTURY MEDICINE
Ada’s childhood apprenticing as a midwife didn’t prepare her for life as an outlaw. She struggles for acceptance when her early mistakes have grave consequences. However, The Kid believes Ada’s knowledge of healing is an asset the gang can’t afford to lose. Ada’s interest in midwifery and medicine adds a fascinating thread to the novel. Her portrayal of the historical dangers of childbirth is evocative and alarming. Even more interesting, though, is the careful research North must have done to weave in historically accurate details on obstetrics and medicine.
Though not common practice and not perfected, surprisingly Ada is able to find existing research heralding the beginnings of modern medicine even in the late 19th Century. But small-mindedness and lack of education got in the way of such knowledge becoming widespread. The details around Ada’s use of healing herbs provide another rich element of historical medicinal practices.
The melding of the alternative history, feminist and Western genres make Outlawed an original work of fiction. North demonstrates a deft touch in exploring serious themes while managing to do so in a fun, light setting without minimizing the seriousness of the topics at hand.
