Colonial New England

Three journeys. Three loves. One enduring legacy. Experience the complete saga of faith, courage, and romance that forged America's first permanent New England settlement in Tim Sawyer's captivating Plymouth Collection. From the perilous Mayflower crossing to the tender unions that strengthened the colony to the powerful story of redemption that completed the foundation of a new world, this trilogy brings Plymouth's extraordinary beginnings to vivid life. In Mayflower Hearts, Plymouth Weddings, and Carpenter's Redemption, Sawyer masterfully weaves historical accuracy with emotional depth, ...

The Sabbath in Puritan New England by Alice Morse Earle published by Charles Scribner’s Sons 1891.

From a Pulitzer Prize–winning historian: a searing study of the British Empire that probes the country's pervasive use of violence throughout the twentieth century and traces how these practices were exported, modified, and institutionalized in colonies around the globe.

The first successful American colony in North America was settled in 1607 at Jamestown, Virginia. Though the Virginian colonists had difficulty in the beginning, by the late 1620s the Chesapeake area was thriving, having become a haven for those seeking economic opportunity in the new world.

Over the last generation, historians have broadened our understanding of colonial America by adopting both a trans-Atlantic and a trans-continental perspective, examining the interplay of Europe, Africa, and the Americas through the flow of goods, people, plants, animals, capital, and ideas. In this Very Short Introduction, Alan Taylor presents an engaging overview of the best of this new scholarship.

Williamsburg got its start as a fortified site, which was vitally necessary for English settlers to heavily outnumbered by nearby Native Americans, many of which were at times hostile. Known originally as Middle Plantation, the site served as the capital of the colony for much of the 18th century, and it bore witness to seminal events in the history of Revolutionary era America, including the Gunpowder Incident, which nearly coincided with the Battles of Lexington and Concord to the north.

In Brethren by Nature, Margaret Ellen Newell reveals a little-known aspect of American history: English colonists in New England enslaved thousands of Indians. Massachusetts became the first English colony to legalize slavery in 1641, and the colonists' desire for slaves shaped the major New England Indian wars, including the Pequot War of 1637, King Philip's War of 1675-76, and the northeastern Wabanaki conflicts of 1676-1749.

In July 1776 a pair of Franciscan friars, Francisco Atanasio Dominguez and Silvestre Velez de Escalante, were charged by the governor of New Mexico with discovering a route across the unknown Southwest to the new Spanish colony in California. They had other goals as well, some of them secret: converting the indigenous natives along the way to the true faith, discovering a semi-mythical paradise known as Teguayo, hunting for sources of gold and silver, and paving the way for Spanish settlements from Santa Fe to Monterey. In strict terms, the expedition failed.

One mistake cost him everything. Building a new life might give him a second chance at love. Thomas Bray came to Gloucester to escape his disgrace in Plymouth Colony, not to find his future. The skilled carpenter seeks redemption through hard work until he meets Mary Wilson—a founding family's daughter who sees beyond his painful past. As Thomas builds a canal vital to the settlement's future, Mary challenges the barriers around his heart. But when a wealthy merchant pursues her and whispers from Plymouth resurface, Thomas must decide: retreat again or finally fight for the love he ...

New England has always had a special place in the national memory. Its rich folklore and colorful history is woven into the national identity, and destinations such as Plymouth Rock, the lighthouses of Maine, and Vermont's autumn leaves are quintessential symbols of the United States. But New England has always had a dark side, a strange side. Monsters and ghosts lurk in its woods and old houses, and strange monuments that may be from a forgotten civilization puzzle local investigators.

New Hampshire Colony, 1725 After meeting Captain Sheldon, he arranges a meeting with the Governor who promises to try to find her two kidnapped daughters. A letter arrives from Rachel in New France. Someone breaks down their door and a drunk is hurled inside. At the Meeting House on Sunday, the minister accuses them of having a drunken party. The truth comes out and the minister apologizes. Tamsen goes into labor. The midwife discovers there is a dangerous problem with the birth. Meanwhile, Rachel, who was kidnapped by the Abenaki, is embroiled in tribal unrest. Chief Orono fears for her ...

Readers’ Favorite 5-Star Award A captivating historical novel with spell-binding mysteries, inspired by actual people, places and events. B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree A compelling novel with several sub-stories in different settings and time periods that bring life to each one. Helen Ainsley is a best-selling mystery writer struggling with cancer. She returns to her childhood home in rural Brattleboro Vermont for the serenity she hopes will rekindle her imagination. Ainsley Hill Farm was originally an Inn dating back to the American Revolution. With a new-found friend, an old golden ...

Proctor is a youth with ambitions beyond his station. Quick witted and with an uncanny knack for mimicry, he can impersonate anyone. Spotting an opportunity for financial gain, and an improvement in his social standing, he accepts the position as an understudy to a puritan minister. But, living in the home of his benefactor, he meets and falls in love with a girl he shouldn't. That's where matters take a turn. After a duel with the girl's uncle, he moves away from London, and then on to the American colonies, where he founds the township of Salvation. But boredom ensues, and Proctor embarks...

For Andrew and Jack, life in the colonies is always uncertain, but over two days in December, 1774, their world will change forever! Young Andrew Beckett hopes to be a doctor. His friend Jack Cochran plans to take over his father’s position as militia captain of the fort. Then Paul Revere rides into town with urgent news. Andrew doesn't want a revolution, but he doesn't approve of how the King treats the colonists. On one night, when tempers push the townspeople to action, Andrew must make a choice. What would you do? The Portsmouth Alarm: December 1774 is based on an actual event. Just ...

In Detestable and Wicked Arts, Paul B. Moyer places early New England's battle against black magic in a transatlantic perspective. Moyer provides an accessible and comprehensive examination of witch prosecutions in the Puritan colonies that discusses how their English inhabitants understood the crime of witchcraft, why some people ran a greater risk of being accused of occult misdeeds, and how gender intersected with witch-hunting.

In her analysis of the cultural construction of gender in early America, Elizabeth Reis explores the intersection of Puritan theology, Puritan evaluations of womanhood, and the Salem witchcraft episodes. She finds in those intersections the basis for understanding why women were accused of witchcraft more often than men, why they confessed more often, and why they frequently accused other women of being witches.

We all know the great American origin story: It begins with an exodus. Fleeing religious persecution, the hardworking, pious Pilgrims thrived in the wilds of New England, where they built their fabled "shining city on a hill". Legend goes that the colony in Jamestown was a false start, offering a cautionary tale of lazy louts who hunted gold till they starved and shiftless settlers who had to be rescued by English food and the hard discipline of martial law.

In this rich, absorbing tale, Gail Avery Halverson continues the remarkable saga of Lady Catherine Abbott and Simon McKensie that began with the multiple award-winning novels, The Boundary Stone and The Skeptical Physick. Sweeping us from a quaint village in England to Colonial Boston and to the beautiful evils of 17th century Barbados, Gail Avery Halverson has once again written a truly compelling and unforgettable novel. After a wrenching, heartbreaking tragedy, Catherine yearns for the safety and familiarity England, but when a free, black woman attempts to accomplish the unthinkable, ...

During the bleak winter of 1692 in the rigid Puritan community of Salem Village, Massachusetts, a group of young girls began experiencing violent fits, allegedly tormented by Satan and the witches who worshipped him. From the girls' initial denouncing of an Indian slave, the accusations soon multiplied. In less than two years, 19 men and women were hanged, one was pressed to death, and over a hundred others were imprisoned and impoverished. This evenhanded and now-classic history illuminates the horrifying episode with visceral clarity.

Old houses share their secrets only if they survive. Trading the corporate ladder for a stepladder, Lee McColgan commits to preserving the ramshackle Loring House, built in 1702, using period materials and methods and on a holiday deadline. But his enchantment withers as he discovers the massive repairs it needs. A small kitchen fix reveals that the structure’s rotten frame could collapse at any moment. In a bathroom, mold appears and spreads. He fights deteriorating bricks, frozen pipes, shattered windows, a punctured foundation, and even an airborne chimney cap.