Title: Among the Mohegans: A Puritan’s Tale of Passage
Author: Howard Root
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Date: May 17, 2013
Description (from Goodreads):
As the youngest son of a tenant farmer in England’s Puritan heartland, twenty-year-old Jonathan Smythe foresees himself trapped forever in a life of servitude to his older brother. Anxious to temporarily escape his worries, Jonathan heads on a secret poaching trip with a friend that quickly turns disastrous when the men are captured by Lord Kingley’s thugs. After his friend is mercilessly killed, Jonathan vows revenge and later bludgeons the thugs’ leader to death. With a murder decree hanging over his head, Jonathan has no choice but to flee England.
Following his father’s plan, Jonathan travels to Barbados and begins a life of indentured servitude on his uncle’s tobacco plantation. Jonathan arrives committed to five years of hard work that begins at sunrise and is motivated by the overseer’s whip. Driven by dreams of owning fertile land without slaves, Jonathan fulfills his duty and embarks on a dangerous journey to the English colonies. But little does he know that his pilgrimage to a new life will be more demanding than he ever imagined, involving desperate battles and massacres with Native Americans after he finally reaches the Bay Colony. When Jonathan befriends Running Wolf, a Mohegan ally, he may finally find passage to his true passions and self.
In this compelling tale, a young Puritan man must face raw challenges that test his faith and life in a new world as he searches for his destiny.
Review:
I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.
I have always liked historical fiction, especially when it’s about the U.S. when it was the “New World” and Among the Mohegans didn’t disappoint me.
The story is well told and full of 17th century history. About 2/3 of the way through the book, I was thinking that although it was a good story, the characters were just characters and I wasn’t truly invested in them. That changed in the last third of the book and it went from a good book to a great book.
If you like early American historical fiction, I definitely recommend Among the Mohegans.
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