Women's Narratives of the Early Americas and the Formation of Empire' examines the connections between women's experience and the forces of empire to reveal the ways women's assertions and protests participated in the processes associated with empire formation. The sixteen essays in this collection describe acts of bravery, protest, and survival expressed in a variety of genres, including the saga, letter, diary, captivity narrative, travel narrative, verse, sentimental novel, and autobiography. The concluding essay examines theories of anthology selection, the ways women's writings have been variously included and excluded, and the implications for the study of literature of the early Americas. Throughout, the focus is on the female body and the ways it figures as a site of contestation in emerging empires. The volume thus speaks to a range of female experience, across the Americas and across time, from the Viking exploration to the early nineteenth century United States.