Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
One Thousand White Women  By  cover art

One Thousand White Women

By: Jim Fergus, J. Will Dodd - introduction
Narrated by: Laura Hicks, Erik Steele
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $23.36

Buy for $23.36

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Based on an actual historical event, this is the story of May Dodd—a remarkable woman who, in 1875, travels through the American West to marry the chief of the Cheyenne Nation.

One Thousand White Women begins with May Dodd’s journey into an unknown world. Having been committed to an insane asylum by her blue-blood family for the crime of loving a man beneath her station, May finds that her only hope for freedom and redemption is to participate in a secret government program whereby women from “civilized” society become the brides of Cheyenne warriors. What follows is a series of breathtaking adventures—May’s brief, passionate romance with the gallant young army captain John Bourke; her marriage to the great chief Little Wolf; and her conflict of being caught between loving two men and living two completely different lives.

“Fergus portrays the perceptions and emotions of women…with tremendous insight and sensitivity.”—Booklist

“A superb tale of sorrow, suspense, exultation, and triumph.” —Winston Groom, author of
Forrest Gump

©1998 Jim Fergus (P)2006 BBC Audiobooks America

Critic reviews

"Fergus lets his imagination go wild and creates a journal of one of his ancestors who became one of those brides in 1875. Laura Hicks renders this imaginative work splendidly. She is vivacious and expressive as May Dodd." ( Audiofile)

What listeners say about One Thousand White Women

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,036
  • 4 Stars
    742
  • 3 Stars
    346
  • 2 Stars
    135
  • 1 Stars
    129
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,923
  • 4 Stars
    544
  • 3 Stars
    219
  • 2 Stars
    71
  • 1 Stars
    60
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,746
  • 4 Stars
    572
  • 3 Stars
    270
  • 2 Stars
    117
  • 1 Stars
    104

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story, well read, you know how it ends

A fascinating story well told, if you're one of those who can actually suspend disbelief. I always think I'm not, but I do get caught up in the tale.

The fact that the scenario is entirely implausible lurks behind every scene, but a memorable cast of characters does emerge. The heroine is good-hearted, iconoclastic, rebellious, loyal, strong and funny, and the "history" rings true.

The language waffles between attempting to sound authentically mid-19th century, as one would expect in a personal journal, and quite modern, as in "God, Martha, that would be very low on my list of priorities." Still, an entertaining and predictably tragic story.

I like this reader very much. Pleasant voice, good characterizations, and no creepy transgender voices when reading the male characters' lines.

If you're looking for an entertaining story, by all means, have a listen. But if you read to fight insomnia, this is not your choice. I couldn't sleep the rest of the night after I finished the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

46 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

One of the worst books ever. Simply dreadful.

This cannot be called historical fiction. There's nothing historical about it. Fiction? Yes. But more like a romance novel. The writing is awful.

If this had not been our book club selection this month, I would have stopped after an hour. That's about the point when you start wondering if it will get better. Nope. The writing never improves and the characters stay one-dimensional.

Save yourself a credit and listen to something else that's worth your time. This book is not.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

32 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible FICTION

I did not realize that this was a work of fiction until after I completed listening, but regardless, this is an incredible story. The main character of May and her friends are all completely 3 dimensional. Loved the narration. This is a beautiful, well crafted work of historical fiction.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

30 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a great experience

This book took me back to the late 1800's and how it was for the native americans in those days. This book treats them with the respect they deserve. I loved the voice of this book both the narrator and the story!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

not worthwhile

Don't waste your time. I gave it one star because they won't let you give zero stars. I read this book because it was this month's book for our book club. When we met it was clear that no one enjoyed it and even the person who had suggested it to the club was perplexed as to why it was highly rated. It is more like a romance novel, and not a good one at that, than an historical fiction. The writing was weak. He had limited descriptive range, for example, every time he talks about an indian they are "nut brown" and one character is always "a sight to behold" There was no subtlety.
I wouldn't even take this one as a beach read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful!!

Excellent book. The reader does a terrific job at adding to the story through her expressions. This book is intriguing and funny and horrific all at the same time. Excellent!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Problems with the recording

I would have given this book 5 stars but there are some problem with the recording. The story and the narrator are very good. Audible needs to audit the recording and fix the garbles, missing spots, etc.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

The premise was good,

the book was not. This could have been an interesting historical novel. It was written like a bad romance with unlikely characters. There is an unusual amount of repitition of scenes and lines. I couldn't decide if it was poor writing or poor editing. Definitly not for anyone interested in the history of Native Americans.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing!

I loved this book. It sucks you in from the very beginning. If you enjoy historical fiction, then don't miss reading this book. It's a good one!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

This is a very bad book - Harlequin Romance

There is no way to say how bad this book is - just awful! No history and completely anachronistic characters. I was tricked by the good reviews - one has to cross reference the good reviewers to see what other books those people liked. The narration is really bad too - hyper dramatic. Yuck.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful