The Mayflower

August 15, 2017
Fraser (The Story of Britain: From the Romans to the Present, 2005, etc.) personalizes the legend of the Pilgrims by focusing on Edward Winslow and family and their voyage from England to Holland to Plymouth.In the early 1600s, it was no longer peaceful in Holland. Rather than return to England, Charles I sent the Pilgrims to America to get them out of his hair and to create a bulwark against Catholic Spain. Edward was an enthusiastic, impulsive man, a leader who was influenced throughout his life by a series of significant colleagues, William Bradford especially. Arriving on the Mayflower, 41 adult men signed a compact creating the Plymouth Colony, "the first experiment in consensual government in Western history between individuals with one another, and not with a monarch." Encountering the Massasoit peoples, the pilgrims were initially afraid but then grateful, as the natives saved them in their first desperate winter. The colonists bought furs and gave strength and backing to the smallpox-depleted Wampanoag tribe. Fraser's smooth storytelling provides a revealing look into the development of the colony, the rise of the Massachusetts Bay Company, and the different outlooks on the community and the lure of land. The Massasoit relied on Edward to act as middleman as other tribes feared trading with whites. As the population grew, the inevitable troublemakers appeared, including Anne Hutchinson and Uncas, the leader of the Mohegan. Edward fought in the Pequot War, a small conflict that eventually cost the Indians' trust and led to King Philip's devastating war. Edward also traveled to England as the colony's representative and eventually served on a number of Cromwell's commissions. He was truly a founding father, dealing with every aspect of life in the colony, always showing his spirit and how he "liked fighting for a cause." The story of the Winslows is an effective way to experience the emotions and fears of the small band who dauntlessly sailed off to the New World.

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October 15, 2017

Edward Winslow (1595-1655), an important yet overlooked name in early American history, fostered a relationship with the Wampanoag that saved lives during the pilgrims' first winter in New England. Fraser's (The Brontes: Charlotte Bronte & Her Family) account of the Mayflower voyage and its people walks readers through their harrowing journey in the New World, as well as the rise and fall of peaceful relations between the pilgrim community and the Wampanoag. Surviving in an unfamiliar land meant that Winslow had to juggle responsibility to his people with a loyalty and close friendship with tribal leader Massassoit. Epic in scope and pacing, this account of survival feels intimate, connecting readers to both groups in a refreshing way. Fraser's focus on the Winslow family, rather than on more common pilgrim names such as John Winthrop, rejuvenates an otherwise stale history. The author's inclusion of indigenous history along with the struggles of women pilgrims and their importance to the community's success is both appreciated and necessary. VERDICT Focusing more on storytelling and less on analysis makes this an engaging popular history. For readers of David McCullough and Ron Chernow.--Jessica Holland, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2017
Renowned historian Fraser brings us yet another superbly written and enthralling read as she interweaves the stories of those who traveled from England and Holland on the Mayflower and founded Plymouth Colony, established from 1620 to the 1690s. Focusing primarily on Edward Winslow, his descendants, and their relationships with the area's Native American tribes and England, she excels at showing how landscape, religion, and politics can irreversibly transform a family and a community. Fraser's research was not limited to the history surrounding the Mayflower and Plymouth Colony; she also incorporates and fuses into one unified narrative the stories of many different people who came into contact with Winslow, along with an incisive account of seventeenth-century England. The Mayflower reads as though it were historical fiction, with a varied cast of characters and perspectives, fine details, background histories, and a holistic approach. With finesse and thorough research, including genealogical searches, she provides a fresh account of Plymouth Colony that reveals how, through trial and error, the colonists survived, no matter the cost. Highly recommended for history enthusiasts.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)