Mayflower Bastard
A Stranger Among the Pilgrims
ISBN10: 0312325932
ISBN13: 9780312325930
Trade Paperback
288 Pages
$22.99
CA$24.99
While researching old records to learn details of the life of his ancestor Richard More, David Lindsay soon found himself in the position of the Sorcerer's Apprentice—wherever he looked for one item, ten more appeared. What he found illuminated not only More's own life but painted a clear and satisfying picture of the way the First Comers, Saints and Strangers alike, set off for the new land, suffered the voyage on the Mayflower, and put down their roots to thrive on our continent's northeastern shore.
Richard More was dumped on the Mayflower at the age of five in the care of strangers. From the story, Richard emerges as a man of questionable morals, much enterprise, and a good deal of old-fashioned pluck, a combination that could get him into trouble—and often did. He lived to father several children, to see, near the end of his life, a friend executed as a witch in Salem, and to be driven out of the church for unseemly behavior. Mayflower Bastard lets readers see history in a new light by turning an important episode into a personal experience.
Reviews
Praise for Mayflower Bastard
"Lindsay combines the dash and intuition of a daring novelist with a scrupulous regard for his sources to produce an unusual and moving work of history—one that can touch us whether our own forebears came here on a square-rigger or a 747."—Richard F. Snow, editor-in-chief of American Heritage
"I found Mayflower Bastard thoroughly enjoyable, one of the best Mayflower passenger biographies to come out in a long time. It was nice to see the story one of the Pilgrims' 'black sheep' finally getting told in a respectful and scholarly way."—Caleb Johnson, Mayflower historian and author of the Mayflower Web Pages
"Histories based on genealogy often suffer from tunnel vision. Lindsay commits the opposite offense in this tale of one Richard More."—Publishers Weekly