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Williamsburg #1
Dawn's Early Light
Volume 1 of The Williamsburg Series
317 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1943
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About the author
Elswyth Thane
41 books139 followersThane is most famous for her "Williamsburg" series of historical fiction. The books cover several generations of a single family from the American Revolutionary War up to World War II. The action moves from Williamsburg in later books to England, New York City and Richmond, Virginia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 203 reviews
January 2, 2016
This is the first in a series of seven historical novels called the Williamsburg Novels, which follow the families of the Days and the Spragues of Williamsburg, Virginia, through over 160 years, many generations, and several wars (from the American Revolution in Dawn's Early Light through the beginning years of World War II in This Was Tomorrow and Homing). I have read them so many times (starting when I was about seven years old) that I practically have them memorized, as have most of the other women in my family. Each book focuses on one or two main romances, with other strands of story weaving through them.
Thane has two remarkable gifts which keep the books compelling through every read. The first is the ability to portray the events, characters, and atmosphere of the historical periods she's writing about convincingly and memorably. Thane spent many years doing research in the United States and in England, and she's able to translate her research into a richly detailed historical background.
Against this background is set Thane's other gift: her characters. You might think that in a series of seven books about the same family, the characters would tend to blend into each other, but that's not the case; every one of them is an individual personality. The nicest effect of this is that as the books get closer together in time (Ever After through Homing only covers slightly over forty years), many characters feature throughout the books, and you get to see how their personalities and relationships develop over time and how the romances central to previous books worked out.
Rereading the Williamsburg books is like revisiting old, loved friends; I can remember meeting them for the first time, but it's even nicer to revisit them.
Thane has two remarkable gifts which keep the books compelling through every read. The first is the ability to portray the events, characters, and atmosphere of the historical periods she's writing about convincingly and memorably. Thane spent many years doing research in the United States and in England, and she's able to translate her research into a richly detailed historical background.
Against this background is set Thane's other gift: her characters. You might think that in a series of seven books about the same family, the characters would tend to blend into each other, but that's not the case; every one of them is an individual personality. The nicest effect of this is that as the books get closer together in time (Ever After through Homing only covers slightly over forty years), many characters feature throughout the books, and you get to see how their personalities and relationships develop over time and how the romances central to previous books worked out.
Rereading the Williamsburg books is like revisiting old, loved friends; I can remember meeting them for the first time, but it's even nicer to revisit them.
January 4, 2016
After two of my Goodreads friends read this and enjoyed it, I knew I had to read it soon, so I picked it up anticipating something wonderful. And it lived up to, and passed my expectations so much that I had to make sure I had at least the next two books at my disposal.
This is the story of two friends, especially Julian Day.
Julian Day who has recently arrived in America from England, finds all the plans he and his father had laid for their stay in America to be useless and now he hasn't a clue what to do all on his own. Thankfully, Julian makes the acquaintance of St. John Sprage, and they become fast friends even against the political unrest going on around them and the barrier that comes from them being of separate opinions on the verge of war.
St. John is a liberal through and through. Yet, he isn't the kind to turn a cold shoulder to those of a differing opinion, like Julian Day who feels both sides to be at fault and Regina Greensleeves, a spoilt, selfish, Williamsburg beauty who's Tory to the bone.
The least said the better, when it comes to the proud Regina, who delights in playing with people's feelings, particularly St. John through the blind Julian. St. John's sees exactly what she is, and loves her anyway. His sister, Dorothy is as sweet as she is nearsighted, and has an endearing way of tilting her head to see better. I love the side story the author gave her, for me is was completely satisfying.
Now for my favorite character, Tibby, who's only about ten when this story begins. I can't say much about her since she is wrapped up in so much of the plot, but that's she's worth reading about and that she's got her eyes wide open to things around her I can say. I can't remember the last time I read about a character I loved so much. I don't know what it is about her, but she really got to me. Some might find her story slightly unsatisfactory or just not their type, but if you like romance where it goes from friendship to love you should like it.
The war talk in the middle wasn't particularly interesting to me, but the rest of the book was so go this book had to get five stars.
PG some swearing, a bit of violence and that's it if my memory serves me right.
This is the story of two friends, especially Julian Day.
Julian Day who has recently arrived in America from England, finds all the plans he and his father had laid for their stay in America to be useless and now he hasn't a clue what to do all on his own. Thankfully, Julian makes the acquaintance of St. John Sprage, and they become fast friends even against the political unrest going on around them and the barrier that comes from them being of separate opinions on the verge of war.
St. John is a liberal through and through. Yet, he isn't the kind to turn a cold shoulder to those of a differing opinion, like Julian Day who feels both sides to be at fault and Regina Greensleeves, a spoilt, selfish, Williamsburg beauty who's Tory to the bone.
The least said the better, when it comes to the proud Regina, who delights in playing with people's feelings, particularly St. John through the blind Julian. St. John's sees exactly what she is, and loves her anyway. His sister, Dorothy is as sweet as she is nearsighted, and has an endearing way of tilting her head to see better. I love the side story the author gave her, for me is was completely satisfying.
Now for my favorite character, Tibby, who's only about ten when this story begins. I can't say much about her since she is wrapped up in so much of the plot, but that's she's worth reading about and that she's got her eyes wide open to things around her I can say. I can't remember the last time I read about a character I loved so much. I don't know what it is about her, but she really got to me. Some might find her story slightly unsatisfactory or just not their type, but if you like romance where it goes from friendship to love you should like it.
The war talk in the middle wasn't particularly interesting to me, but the rest of the book was so go this book had to get five stars.
PG some swearing, a bit of violence and that's it if my memory serves me right.
July 6, 2010
Julian Day arrives in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1774. His father died on the voyage, but Julian soon makes friends including the Sprague family who take him under their wing. JuliaN finds himself torn between his loyalty to King George and his new friends who want freedom from the crown at all costs. Julian takes the vacant position of schoolmaster and the story focuses on his relationships with the Spragues as well as the two urchins he takes under his wing - Kit (Christopher) and Tibby (Tabitha).
As for the romantic attachments? Well, Tibby loves Julian. Julian thinks Tibby loves St. John. St. John loves Regina. Dorothea loves Julian. Julian loves Regina (so he thinks) and Regina loves no one but herself. Whew! Julian switches his loyalty to the Colonists and joins the rank and file, eventually working up in the ranks and serving under General Lafayette.
And that's about all I'm going to tell you, read it for yourself. Very interesting watching Julian's loyalties change, as well as his growing relationship with _________, and the interactions with many of the *players* of this period. Some of the battle scenes in the middle section were a bit tedious for me (although I was a bit tired at the time) and only for that am I dropping this to a four star rating. This is the first in a series and as I understand it this is the rest in order,
Yankee Stranger
Ever After
The Light Heart
Kissing Kin
This Was Tomorrow
Homing
As for the romantic attachments? Well, Tibby loves Julian. Julian thinks Tibby loves St. John. St. John loves Regina. Dorothea loves Julian. Julian loves Regina (so he thinks) and Regina loves no one but herself. Whew! Julian switches his loyalty to the Colonists and joins the rank and file, eventually working up in the ranks and serving under General Lafayette.
And that's about all I'm going to tell you, read it for yourself. Very interesting watching Julian's loyalties change, as well as his growing relationship with _________, and the interactions with many of the *players* of this period. Some of the battle scenes in the middle section were a bit tedious for me (although I was a bit tired at the time) and only for that am I dropping this to a four star rating. This is the first in a series and as I understand it this is the rest in order,
Yankee Stranger
Ever After
The Light Heart
Kissing Kin
This Was Tomorrow
Homing
April 28, 2018
I read this book for the first time in the early 1960s or perhaps late 1950s and had my very own paperback copy (purchased for about 30 cents) that I read and reread as a kid. This is the first of Elswyth Thane's 7-book Williamsburg series, which follows the Day and Sprague families from the time of the American Revolution up to WWII.
This one, about the American Revolution, was first published in 1943 but is not dated for modern readers except perhaps for the acceptance of and lack of indignation about slavery on the part of the colonist characters in the book. (That would be an unfortunate sign of the times when it was written and probably of when it took place.) Other than that, the historical elements about the colonists, the Constitutional Congress, Washington, Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Lafayette, battles with the British, etc. are unobjectionable and interesting and memory-tweaking of stuff we all learned in American history at school.
So the book serves as a refresher course on the American Revolution and at the same time offers us a story about life and love during that time, with a great cast of characters and sweet romances. Please don't be expecting anything sexy or prurient. It's a quality series of books that Thane wrote that can be read by young teens. My personal favorite as a young girl was Yankee Stranger, the second in the series, which takes place during the Civil War. I do hope the whole series will be available on Kindle. So far it's just these first two.
This one, about the American Revolution, was first published in 1943 but is not dated for modern readers except perhaps for the acceptance of and lack of indignation about slavery on the part of the colonist characters in the book. (That would be an unfortunate sign of the times when it was written and probably of when it took place.) Other than that, the historical elements about the colonists, the Constitutional Congress, Washington, Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Lafayette, battles with the British, etc. are unobjectionable and interesting and memory-tweaking of stuff we all learned in American history at school.
So the book serves as a refresher course on the American Revolution and at the same time offers us a story about life and love during that time, with a great cast of characters and sweet romances. Please don't be expecting anything sexy or prurient. It's a quality series of books that Thane wrote that can be read by young teens. My personal favorite as a young girl was Yankee Stranger, the second in the series, which takes place during the Civil War. I do hope the whole series will be available on Kindle. So far it's just these first two.
September 17, 2014
Five stars for the history, two stars for the various 'romances'--for a weighted average of three and a half stars.
This would have been a much stronger book had Elswyth Thane chosen to simply tell the story of Julian Day, a young man who travels from London with his father who is taking up a post in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1774. When his father dies during the voyage, Day is bewildered--left without money or friends or purpose in this strange new land. Julian's story, his character arc, the tale of his growing friendship with another transplanted Englishman, Saint-John Sprague, and Julian's changing feelings about the colonists' revolt are more than enough to engage the reader.
I love the way Julian feels the wilderness, the vast size of the land, almost as a weight pressing in upon him. The unvarnished images of life in this exotic world, as seen by Julian, are very well done. The Virginians take slavery for granted and Julian is shocked, surprised and sometimes led to rethink his ideas as some slaves seem happy and well treated, though, "...Sprague had said is was far otherwise with the wild Negroes."
In the early days the Revolution seemed an intellectual struggle and when it first breaks out the physical fighting is far away in Boston. But then war comes to the south and Julian is drawn in. This is by far the most powerful part of the book. Thane spares no details about the horrors of swamp warfare: "Sand filled his broken boots, sifted through his mended, worn-out stockings, and made agonizing grit between his tows. In his nostrils was the now familiar stench of hot, unwashed sickly men, and the sweating horses of the officers...Talk was forbidden, but still there were sounds--the sound of a retching man unable to suppress a groan and a curse; the sound of a man who tripped...and could not rise again and did not care." It gets worse and Thane lays bare not just the mens' suffering, but also the abysmal failures of leadership in the early years of the war.
Well, I suppose I'll have to mention the romances....There are three women/girls in the story and all are mildly interesting, but not terribly well-developed as characters. Perhaps because I have just finished a deeply detailed reading of Elizabeth Gaskell's psychologically brilliant romantic history North and South, I found the women and the romances in Thane's book superficial, unconvincing and a distraction from the strong central character and his powerful experiences.
The final chapters in which Tibby, who is described on the dust jacket as "the most appealing, irresistible creature Miss Thane has ever written about..." just never seemed fully real to me.
I will definitely be reading more of Elswyth Thane, but I'll let the memories of Gaskell's North and South fade a little first :)
This would have been a much stronger book had Elswyth Thane chosen to simply tell the story of Julian Day, a young man who travels from London with his father who is taking up a post in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1774. When his father dies during the voyage, Day is bewildered--left without money or friends or purpose in this strange new land. Julian's story, his character arc, the tale of his growing friendship with another transplanted Englishman, Saint-John Sprague, and Julian's changing feelings about the colonists' revolt are more than enough to engage the reader.
I love the way Julian feels the wilderness, the vast size of the land, almost as a weight pressing in upon him. The unvarnished images of life in this exotic world, as seen by Julian, are very well done. The Virginians take slavery for granted and Julian is shocked, surprised and sometimes led to rethink his ideas as some slaves seem happy and well treated, though, "...Sprague had said is was far otherwise with the wild Negroes."
In the early days the Revolution seemed an intellectual struggle and when it first breaks out the physical fighting is far away in Boston. But then war comes to the south and Julian is drawn in. This is by far the most powerful part of the book. Thane spares no details about the horrors of swamp warfare: "Sand filled his broken boots, sifted through his mended, worn-out stockings, and made agonizing grit between his tows. In his nostrils was the now familiar stench of hot, unwashed sickly men, and the sweating horses of the officers...Talk was forbidden, but still there were sounds--the sound of a retching man unable to suppress a groan and a curse; the sound of a man who tripped...and could not rise again and did not care." It gets worse and Thane lays bare not just the mens' suffering, but also the abysmal failures of leadership in the early years of the war.
Well, I suppose I'll have to mention the romances....There are three women/girls in the story and all are mildly interesting, but not terribly well-developed as characters. Perhaps because I have just finished a deeply detailed reading of Elizabeth Gaskell's psychologically brilliant romantic history North and South, I found the women and the romances in Thane's book superficial, unconvincing and a distraction from the strong central character and his powerful experiences.
The final chapters in which Tibby, who is described on the dust jacket as "the most appealing, irresistible creature Miss Thane has ever written about..." just never seemed fully real to me.
I will definitely be reading more of Elswyth Thane, but I'll let the memories of Gaskell's North and South fade a little first :)
May 23, 2018
I found this book accidentally, when I searched "Williamsburg" in my hometown library's database, before making my first (of many) trips there. I didn't get a chance to read it before I went, but read it a couple of weeks after I had gotten back. There was definitely something to it, not reading the book before I went. I think I would have been disappointed had I not found Colonial Williamsburg the same charming, laid-back yet self-confident town that Elswyth Thane had so eloquently portrayed (that's not to say that it isn't, just that the focus on tourism takes some of the charm away).
Everything about the book is right - from the pace, to the tone, the descriptions of the scenery and the development of the characters. It's all about transformation: the colonies are in the midst of a rebellion that suddenly becomes violent; Julian Day has just lost his father and is a 'Loyalist' in Virginia; Tibby is experiencing love and loss during her teenage years. There is something uniquely disarming and thoroughly captivating about being an observor in the personal romantic turmoils that occur alongside of and juxtapose the shifts in political affiliations, both individual and societal. The balance of romance, history and war is unmatchable in any other historical fiction I have read, as is the amount and depth of the meticulous detail that has been carefully weaved into the story to provide as authentic a feel as possible.
Everything about the book is right - from the pace, to the tone, the descriptions of the scenery and the development of the characters. It's all about transformation: the colonies are in the midst of a rebellion that suddenly becomes violent; Julian Day has just lost his father and is a 'Loyalist' in Virginia; Tibby is experiencing love and loss during her teenage years. There is something uniquely disarming and thoroughly captivating about being an observor in the personal romantic turmoils that occur alongside of and juxtapose the shifts in political affiliations, both individual and societal. The balance of romance, history and war is unmatchable in any other historical fiction I have read, as is the amount and depth of the meticulous detail that has been carefully weaved into the story to provide as authentic a feel as possible.
February 22, 2017
This is a very well-written, heavily researched story of the American Revolutionary period in Williamsburg, VA. Thane's writing style transports you straight to the period and scenery, so much so that you feel and hear and see and smell all the things in the scenes. Julian, Tibbie, St. John, Dorothea, Regina...etc, etc,...all seem to spring off the page.
Now, fair warning: there is a lot of profanity. I would have read this story much faster if they hadn't been so free with their curses. As it was, I did lay the book aside a number of times to get some space from the language. It won't bother everyone, but I don't believe it's okay for Christians to be using God's name lightly or in jest, so it bothered me plenty. Otherwise the content was clean.
Now, fair warning: there is a lot of profanity. I would have read this story much faster if they hadn't been so free with their curses. As it was, I did lay the book aside a number of times to get some space from the language. It won't bother everyone, but I don't believe it's okay for Christians to be using God's name lightly or in jest, so it bothered me plenty. Otherwise the content was clean.
October 17, 2021
From the beginning, I was totally excited. I was there, I saw Williamsburg through Julian's eyes. I also befriended the characters.
But then came the military sections which (most of them) I didn't fully understand. Perhaps I needed a map.
There were a bit too big coincidences too. They created a nice plot and action, so I can forgive them. Nonetheless, I noticed them.
As a whole, I value this book, because it gave me another piece to understand the history of the USA. I liked definitely more novels by Gwen Bristow, Anya Seton, and Nancy E. Turner but I am going to read more of Elswyth Thane too.
But then came the military sections which (most of them) I didn't fully understand. Perhaps I needed a map.
There were a bit too big coincidences too. They created a nice plot and action, so I can forgive them. Nonetheless, I noticed them.
As a whole, I value this book, because it gave me another piece to understand the history of the USA. I liked definitely more novels by Gwen Bristow, Anya Seton, and Nancy E. Turner but I am going to read more of Elswyth Thane too.
January 28, 2021
I was excited to find this book in my search for Revolutionary War novels that include more history than fiction. The author's passion for the era is evident, and her knowledge of everything from dress to troop movements is admirable. However, the main theme of this book, a romance between a man in his twenties and a girl a decade younger, just didn't work for me.
Yes, I tried to keep in mind that women were married younger in those days, but they met when he was 20 and she was 8or9. I tried to appreciate the fact that through most of the book she has eyes only for him but he sees her as a child. But when he first kisses her, he believes she is 14 to his 27. Bleh... She is really 16, which he somehow forgot, but still. It's best described as icky.
Readers may also struggle with the clear pre-civil rights vibe of this book. Writing in 1943, the author presents us with slaves who were 'well fed and merry,' and the main character coming from England states that 'the anomaly of happy slaves continues to interest me.' This treatment is not limited to slaves. A beautiful but outspoken woman 'wants beating every now and then, and I am the man for that!' To which all who love them both fervently agree.
Several interactions and bits of dialog demand that the reader set aside their implausibility for the sake of the story, but I don't mind a little bit of that in historical fiction. After all, who doesn't want a scene or two with Generals Lafayette and Greene? Overall, an alright read, but I will not be continuing with the series. (At 99c, the price was right though!)
Rating 2.5
Yes, I tried to keep in mind that women were married younger in those days, but they met when he was 20 and she was 8or9. I tried to appreciate the fact that through most of the book she has eyes only for him but he sees her as a child. But when he first kisses her, he believes she is 14 to his 27. Bleh... She is really 16, which he somehow forgot, but still. It's best described as icky.
Readers may also struggle with the clear pre-civil rights vibe of this book. Writing in 1943, the author presents us with slaves who were 'well fed and merry,' and the main character coming from England states that 'the anomaly of happy slaves continues to interest me.' This treatment is not limited to slaves. A beautiful but outspoken woman 'wants beating every now and then, and I am the man for that!' To which all who love them both fervently agree.
Several interactions and bits of dialog demand that the reader set aside their implausibility for the sake of the story, but I don't mind a little bit of that in historical fiction. After all, who doesn't want a scene or two with Generals Lafayette and Greene? Overall, an alright read, but I will not be continuing with the series. (At 99c, the price was right though!)
Rating 2.5
February 15, 2017
Rating: 3.5 stars
Update: I had a few more difficulties with the story this time around. Namely, why did it not strike me the last time the underlying racism in this book? I am ashamed if I didn't notice it before. Thane portrays slaves as cheerful and happy, always acquiescent, looking only for their master's good. She has several of her characters state this view as their own early on. Perhaps my attitudes have changed in the five years since I first read it. However, I still delighted in Thane's descriptiveness and way with words. It struck me, especially in the first half of the book, how relevant the events then are to what's going on now. Political ideas were diverse and strong, yet people on opposite sides could still debate and be friends. There wasn't an animosity toward the "other side" like we see today; rather, a genuine willingness to understand and show respect. Julian is still an enjoyable character and I like seeing how his desire to simply blend in and avoid conflict slowly morphs into a desire to do something, anything to protect his adopted homeland.
Rating: 4 stars
The Revolutionary War is one of the most fascinating time periods in history for me. This novel brings Williamsburg to life during that turbulent time and peoples it with characters both real and imagined. We get to see this land through the eyes of Julian Day, an Englishman just off the ship who has come to teach school. He is immediately overwhelmed by the beauty and vitality of Virginia, a place he had supposed to still be backwoods wilderness. He is also astonished by the talk he hears against the king and the wishes expressed of a longing for self-government. But the longer Julian stays and the more friends he makes, he soon realizes that his heart and mind are changing. America has a hold on him and he must make a choice. The love story that drives the book is a tad unusual, but becomes endearing if for no other reason than Tibby’s persistence. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I intend to read the rest of Thane’s Williamsburg novels.
Favorite quotes: "Of course it's big, man, it's America! It's so big we aren't quite sure where it ends!" - St. John Sprague
"It was a young world he had come to, and Williamsburg seemed a toy town where politics and war and even learning were solemn games played by charming children. And yet, he would remind himself, these self-confident, free-and-easy folk were the sons and daughters of men and women who had toiled and suffered amid deadly dangers to carve this perilous paradise out of the wilderness which lay even now at their threshold."
"Here was history in the making - and he realized with some astonishment that he himself had had a hand in its making... For months he had been caught up in the day-to-day intricacies of army life - perspective opened suddenly before him there on the field of surrender. This was a war, and they were winning it. This was a great day indeed."
Update: I had a few more difficulties with the story this time around. Namely, why did it not strike me the last time the underlying racism in this book? I am ashamed if I didn't notice it before. Thane portrays slaves as cheerful and happy, always acquiescent, looking only for their master's good. She has several of her characters state this view as their own early on. Perhaps my attitudes have changed in the five years since I first read it. However, I still delighted in Thane's descriptiveness and way with words. It struck me, especially in the first half of the book, how relevant the events then are to what's going on now. Political ideas were diverse and strong, yet people on opposite sides could still debate and be friends. There wasn't an animosity toward the "other side" like we see today; rather, a genuine willingness to understand and show respect. Julian is still an enjoyable character and I like seeing how his desire to simply blend in and avoid conflict slowly morphs into a desire to do something, anything to protect his adopted homeland.
Rating: 4 stars
The Revolutionary War is one of the most fascinating time periods in history for me. This novel brings Williamsburg to life during that turbulent time and peoples it with characters both real and imagined. We get to see this land through the eyes of Julian Day, an Englishman just off the ship who has come to teach school. He is immediately overwhelmed by the beauty and vitality of Virginia, a place he had supposed to still be backwoods wilderness. He is also astonished by the talk he hears against the king and the wishes expressed of a longing for self-government. But the longer Julian stays and the more friends he makes, he soon realizes that his heart and mind are changing. America has a hold on him and he must make a choice. The love story that drives the book is a tad unusual, but becomes endearing if for no other reason than Tibby’s persistence. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I intend to read the rest of Thane’s Williamsburg novels.
Favorite quotes: "Of course it's big, man, it's America! It's so big we aren't quite sure where it ends!" - St. John Sprague
"It was a young world he had come to, and Williamsburg seemed a toy town where politics and war and even learning were solemn games played by charming children. And yet, he would remind himself, these self-confident, free-and-easy folk were the sons and daughters of men and women who had toiled and suffered amid deadly dangers to carve this perilous paradise out of the wilderness which lay even now at their threshold."
"Here was history in the making - and he realized with some astonishment that he himself had had a hand in its making... For months he had been caught up in the day-to-day intricacies of army life - perspective opened suddenly before him there on the field of surrender. This was a war, and they were winning it. This was a great day indeed."
May 1, 2022
Alright, fine, I know I groaned a lot, but you shall get four stars. 😛
A few of my favorite things:
~ HISTORY!! I don't usually enjoy Historical Fiction this much, especially when it uses more educational info dumps rather than good storytelling. But Elswyth Thane wrote history into this story in a very personal, heartfelt way. And it was epic.
~ St. John using "Meow!" as an exclamation.
~ The way passage of time was written. This story happens over the course of... seven years, I believe? So when I saw the dates I was like, oh no, is this going to be one of those books where they introduce the character, and then right when you start to get to know them, BAM—"five years later," and the character is completely changed, and you have to get to know them all over again. But no. This book was not like that, and I appreciate it SO MUCH. The passage of time was not jarring at all, and I really enjoyed seeing the characters grow, and change, and all that good stuff.
~ Neddy
~ Julian's commentary on loading and firing his gun on pg. 189. I don't know why, but that just made me smile.
~ Lafayette totally knew! HA! Finally someone has some brains.
~ Dorothea and Du Breon. Still a better love story than Twilight, heh heh.
A few of my least favorite things
~ Like I said earlier, some of the drama made me groan quite a few times.
~ Why is Julian so clueless?? 😭
~ That's pretty much all the things I could think of for things I didn't like, so I guess this was a pretty good book. 😉
A few of my favorite things:
~ HISTORY!! I don't usually enjoy Historical Fiction this much, especially when it uses more educational info dumps rather than good storytelling. But Elswyth Thane wrote history into this story in a very personal, heartfelt way. And it was epic.
~ St. John using "Meow!" as an exclamation.
~ The way passage of time was written. This story happens over the course of... seven years, I believe? So when I saw the dates I was like, oh no, is this going to be one of those books where they introduce the character, and then right when you start to get to know them, BAM—"five years later," and the character is completely changed, and you have to get to know them all over again. But no. This book was not like that, and I appreciate it SO MUCH. The passage of time was not jarring at all, and I really enjoyed seeing the characters grow, and change, and all that good stuff.
~ Neddy
~ Julian's commentary on loading and firing his gun on pg. 189. I don't know why, but that just made me smile.
~ Lafayette totally knew! HA! Finally someone has some brains.
~ Dorothea and Du Breon. Still a better love story than Twilight, heh heh.
A few of my least favorite things
~ Like I said earlier, some of the drama made me groan quite a few times.
~ Why is Julian so clueless?? 😭
~ That's pretty much all the things I could think of for things I didn't like, so I guess this was a pretty good book. 😉
November 28, 2017
It's good- but for me held several flaws. A couple of the romance aspects were difficult to obscure in order to approach a process to embed, enjoy and understand the dynamics of Julian's changing loyalties. And the founders included, those historic figures, they came alive to a 4 star quality of appearance, attitude and role for each. And those in a changing mode, at times, as well. But despite that the copy length readings for the children and especially Tibby? So far fetched to have an 11 year old have those captured feelings in the way that was repeatedly demonstrated. I guess it is possible, but with all the other issues of the real life positions, jobs, duties for meeting and ascription etc. going on here? It doesn't seem to "fit".
This was much better for me in the war and battles sense, than it was for all the unrequited love aspects. They normally never float my boat at all. At least here they were association understandable.
But Regina?
I really liked the slowness and depth at points which really put you into the intimate face and pace of Virginia as it existed just then. Fury and then lots of waiting. And not just for soldiers, although people in any army probably understand that kind of momentum.
It's a good illustration of the questions and lengths to purpose most citizens of these colonies would have at this particular time. How much dominance and taxing for next to nothing in return would they abide. Or what levels would be tolerable.
But it was extremely well constructed to convey that the American Revolution, unlike the French one, did not come out of intense anger and need for revenge/retributions or any frothing of mob violence, but from an independent course of thoughts and much more disciplined offense. Many of the prime concerns of these men and their dithers for government quite different and not all coordinating with each other. But most of the onus centered (for almost all of them)on the position of the individual citizen, merchant, or whatever in his place that was far from the onerous dictates of a faraway and to them corrupt and complicated system. One that still was most connected by liege loyalties and class separations of widest divide. And quite apart from the system of "everyman" that was starting to settle in so many New World towns and cities.
It would have been a better book if it was completely Julian's conscience and thoughts dominated throughout. Not for some, but for me. I like historical fiction mostly straight up. Less romance and more power motive. More like Hilary Mantel.
This was much better for me in the war and battles sense, than it was for all the unrequited love aspects. They normally never float my boat at all. At least here they were association understandable.
But Regina?
I really liked the slowness and depth at points which really put you into the intimate face and pace of Virginia as it existed just then. Fury and then lots of waiting. And not just for soldiers, although people in any army probably understand that kind of momentum.
It's a good illustration of the questions and lengths to purpose most citizens of these colonies would have at this particular time. How much dominance and taxing for next to nothing in return would they abide. Or what levels would be tolerable.
But it was extremely well constructed to convey that the American Revolution, unlike the French one, did not come out of intense anger and need for revenge/retributions or any frothing of mob violence, but from an independent course of thoughts and much more disciplined offense. Many of the prime concerns of these men and their dithers for government quite different and not all coordinating with each other. But most of the onus centered (for almost all of them)on the position of the individual citizen, merchant, or whatever in his place that was far from the onerous dictates of a faraway and to them corrupt and complicated system. One that still was most connected by liege loyalties and class separations of widest divide. And quite apart from the system of "everyman" that was starting to settle in so many New World towns and cities.
It would have been a better book if it was completely Julian's conscience and thoughts dominated throughout. Not for some, but for me. I like historical fiction mostly straight up. Less romance and more power motive. More like Hilary Mantel.
July 18, 2015
I loved this book. I picked it up at a library sale not knowing the author. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was a fascinating look into the Revolutionary War era.
The story centers around a newly arrived young man, Julian Day, from England, suddenly left on his own by the death of his father on the journey overseas. He is immediately taken in with all kindness by St. John Sprague and his aunt who become a second family to him. The whole community is welcoming and supportive of him even though he was left alone and nearly penniless. We journey with them through the years spanning the war.
I felt like I had been there with them, walking through all the trials and struggles of wartime in the colonies. The war scenes were clearly displayed in their harshness without being morbid or going into too much stark, terrible detail. I thoroughly enjoy books that make you feel like you were there, that cause you to view the characters as personal friends, and that make history come alive so you leave with a new appreciation of times long ago. This one does all three. I'm looking forward to finding more books by this author!
The story centers around a newly arrived young man, Julian Day, from England, suddenly left on his own by the death of his father on the journey overseas. He is immediately taken in with all kindness by St. John Sprague and his aunt who become a second family to him. The whole community is welcoming and supportive of him even though he was left alone and nearly penniless. We journey with them through the years spanning the war.
I felt like I had been there with them, walking through all the trials and struggles of wartime in the colonies. The war scenes were clearly displayed in their harshness without being morbid or going into too much stark, terrible detail. I thoroughly enjoy books that make you feel like you were there, that cause you to view the characters as personal friends, and that make history come alive so you leave with a new appreciation of times long ago. This one does all three. I'm looking forward to finding more books by this author!
January 10, 2023
First read this as a teen. Loved it. Read the whole seriez. Reread in January 2023 nearly 60 years later! Still romantic but I'm no longer the dewy eyed innocent of 16.
March 1, 2020
Young Julian Day arrives in Williamsburg from England in 1774 amid the hubbub of pre-Revolutionary War Virginia. Will the friends he makes there overcome his Tory inclinations? Can a shy schoolteacher make his place among the bold Patriots of the New World? What happens when he falls in love with the woman promised to his best friend?
November 19, 2019
Apparently Goodreads arbitrarily decided to delete all record of my having read this, including my review of it? *scratches head* Welp.
May 21, 2021
4.5
Loved this story and the way the author bright the Revolutionary War to life. Her characters were extremely real and I loved all of them! Her way of writing evoked emotion and allowed you to feel the characters joy and pain. Definitely going to read the next book in the series.
*Some swearing sprinkled throughout
Loved this story and the way the author bright the Revolutionary War to life. Her characters were extremely real and I loved all of them! Her way of writing evoked emotion and allowed you to feel the characters joy and pain. Definitely going to read the next book in the series.
*Some swearing sprinkled throughout
March 20, 2018
I grew up reading and rereading Thayne's Williamsburg series. I'm thrilled that the first two books are now available digitally. I hope the other books in the series will soon be added, and I would be happy to see Tryst and Remember Today available as well.
July 18, 2019
I loved the premise of the book, but the story did not grip me, and I did not understand big sections of the military section.
August 10, 2020
Summary: Romantic novel set in 1770s Virginia, closely following Revolutionary War political and military events; fatally marred by insistent pro-slavery bias.
I loved this book in the 7th and 8th grade and I've returned to it many times. I continue to respond to its romances, especially the principal one. However, I can no longer stomach most of the rest of the book.
Spoilers galore follow.
The book consists of three basic strands. One is romance, and I'm awarding the two stars to it. This strand itself is a three-part braid. It's mainly the story of the love of the child Tibby Mawes for young Julian Day, an Englishman who arrives in America and becomes a schoolmaster, and of his growing love for her. Twined with their story are two others: the love between young St. John Sprague, Julian's best friend, and the spoiled Tory coquette Regina; and St. John's sister Dorothea's doomed love for Julian and her eventual engagement to a French soldier in Lafayette's army. (These romances, particularly the two ancillary ones, share some tropes with the roughly contemporary romances of Georgette Heyer. The book as a whole has strong affinities with the 8-volume 1899 bestseller _Richard Carvel_ by the American novelist Winston Churchill.)
The second strand is the historical and political depiction of the American Revolution. The novel's protagonists live in colonial Williamsburg, interacting in various ways with the principal historical figures of the mid 1770s. The author portrays Jefferson with deep respect, Washington with profound veneration, Lafayette with romantic fervor, and Patrick Henry with fascinated distaste. The shifts in political feeling, the onset of war, and the various campaigns, are all carefully narrated; not being a Revolutionary War buff, I don't follow them closely and can't speak to their accuracy. I do note that Thane, writing in the early 1940s, has her most sympathetic characters assert that the colonies are not rebelling against England as such, but against German despotism or European tyranny, in the person of King George III. The insistence on the German-ness of the Hanoverians, while not ahistorical, does feel intensified by the two 20th-century World Wars.
The third strand, warping the entire book past redemption, is its determined and persistent defense of slavery. The first sight greeting Julian Day on his arrival in Virginia is "ambling colored longshoremen" working while "good-natured white men bawled orders at them." This sets the tone for race relations: black people are unhurried even as they sweat; whites are kindly even in command. Later that day, as an enslaved girl helps Julian move into his new lodgings, Julian comments to his new friend Sprague on the girl's happiness; Sprague cheerfully corrects Julian's preconceived notions about slavery, informing him that slaves are on the whole better off than bondservants.
As an Englishman, Julian is naturally imbued with both monarchist and abolitionist sympathies. The novel portrays both positions -- the one against political liberty, and the one favoring human freedom -- as equally naive. It takes Julian two or three years to gradually come around to the American side politically; his conversion to an acceptance, even an appreciation, of slavery appears to be complete by the end of that first day. Thane continues throughout the novel to provide a steady drip of fictional evidence for the cheeriness of enslaved people, the complete identification of "good" slaves with their owners' interests, and the benevolence of those owners. The only two people whipped in the book are a white girl, by her brutal stepfather, and that stepfather, by the authorities. No enslaved people are of mixed ancestry. Slave revolts are not evidence of poor treatment, but are the work of "renegades" and "wild Africans" -- the latter phrase is used at least twice, implying that black people are essentially jungle beasts, humanized only through servitude. At the same time as the author denies their innate humanity and right to self-determination, she portrays their kindness, social skills, generosity, and skilled labor as crucial to the "civilized" quality of colonial Williamsburg that so surprises the English newcomer: not only the leisured wealth of the white upper classes, but the town's very architecture and the food its inhabitants eat, are the work of enslaved people.
A further analysis would have to expand upon these observations: race is not the only arena where Thane shows her approval of the forms of oppression on which European civilization has relied. American Indian "savages" and women both have their vital roles to play in her narrative elevating the conquest of this continent by white European men. But those are background elements. Thane's insistence on rehabilitating slavery feels like a more intentionally argumentative feature, as if the book had been commissioned by the Daughters of the Confederacy.
I loved this book in the 7th and 8th grade and I've returned to it many times. I continue to respond to its romances, especially the principal one. However, I can no longer stomach most of the rest of the book.
Spoilers galore follow.
The book consists of three basic strands. One is romance, and I'm awarding the two stars to it. This strand itself is a three-part braid. It's mainly the story of the love of the child Tibby Mawes for young Julian Day, an Englishman who arrives in America and becomes a schoolmaster, and of his growing love for her. Twined with their story are two others: the love between young St. John Sprague, Julian's best friend, and the spoiled Tory coquette Regina; and St. John's sister Dorothea's doomed love for Julian and her eventual engagement to a French soldier in Lafayette's army. (These romances, particularly the two ancillary ones, share some tropes with the roughly contemporary romances of Georgette Heyer. The book as a whole has strong affinities with the 8-volume 1899 bestseller _Richard Carvel_ by the American novelist Winston Churchill.)
The second strand is the historical and political depiction of the American Revolution. The novel's protagonists live in colonial Williamsburg, interacting in various ways with the principal historical figures of the mid 1770s. The author portrays Jefferson with deep respect, Washington with profound veneration, Lafayette with romantic fervor, and Patrick Henry with fascinated distaste. The shifts in political feeling, the onset of war, and the various campaigns, are all carefully narrated; not being a Revolutionary War buff, I don't follow them closely and can't speak to their accuracy. I do note that Thane, writing in the early 1940s, has her most sympathetic characters assert that the colonies are not rebelling against England as such, but against German despotism or European tyranny, in the person of King George III. The insistence on the German-ness of the Hanoverians, while not ahistorical, does feel intensified by the two 20th-century World Wars.
The third strand, warping the entire book past redemption, is its determined and persistent defense of slavery. The first sight greeting Julian Day on his arrival in Virginia is "ambling colored longshoremen" working while "good-natured white men bawled orders at them." This sets the tone for race relations: black people are unhurried even as they sweat; whites are kindly even in command. Later that day, as an enslaved girl helps Julian move into his new lodgings, Julian comments to his new friend Sprague on the girl's happiness; Sprague cheerfully corrects Julian's preconceived notions about slavery, informing him that slaves are on the whole better off than bondservants.
As an Englishman, Julian is naturally imbued with both monarchist and abolitionist sympathies. The novel portrays both positions -- the one against political liberty, and the one favoring human freedom -- as equally naive. It takes Julian two or three years to gradually come around to the American side politically; his conversion to an acceptance, even an appreciation, of slavery appears to be complete by the end of that first day. Thane continues throughout the novel to provide a steady drip of fictional evidence for the cheeriness of enslaved people, the complete identification of "good" slaves with their owners' interests, and the benevolence of those owners. The only two people whipped in the book are a white girl, by her brutal stepfather, and that stepfather, by the authorities. No enslaved people are of mixed ancestry. Slave revolts are not evidence of poor treatment, but are the work of "renegades" and "wild Africans" -- the latter phrase is used at least twice, implying that black people are essentially jungle beasts, humanized only through servitude. At the same time as the author denies their innate humanity and right to self-determination, she portrays their kindness, social skills, generosity, and skilled labor as crucial to the "civilized" quality of colonial Williamsburg that so surprises the English newcomer: not only the leisured wealth of the white upper classes, but the town's very architecture and the food its inhabitants eat, are the work of enslaved people.
A further analysis would have to expand upon these observations: race is not the only arena where Thane shows her approval of the forms of oppression on which European civilization has relied. American Indian "savages" and women both have their vital roles to play in her narrative elevating the conquest of this continent by white European men. But those are background elements. Thane's insistence on rehabilitating slavery feels like a more intentionally argumentative feature, as if the book had been commissioned by the Daughters of the Confederacy.
March 18, 2023
The introduction raves about the author’s “painstakingly rendered” and “realistic” research but I’m so sidetracked and distracted by her highly inaccurate and offensive depiction of slavery that I can’t keep going past the 54 pages I’ve already read. I even googled where the author was from, thinking she must be from somewhere in the Deep South, but no, she’s from Iowa.
It’s crazy. Every slave is happy, “genuinely” solicitous, deferential, “very well off”, smiling, and “in control” of their area of responsibility. The scent of the docks is described as “the hot, overpowering scent of tar, tobacco and bilge and Negro.” That’s demeaning, to say the least. Early on, a character complains about how indentured servants can’t find work after their indenture is over because of the increase in slavery and states: “That is the real evil of slavery, Mr Day, and not man’s inhumanity to man.” Um, what? At the point at which I just quit, the main character Justin writes in his diary:
“The anomaly of happy slaves continues to interest me. House slaves are as a rule treated with kindness and even affection, and seem utterly devoted to their owners, especially to the children in their care, who in turn regard their black mothers almost as second mothers. A fair, laughing child in the arms of a loving Negress is a common sight. The field slaves are not so well clothed and are meanly houses, but they look healthy and cheerful and in the evenings can be heard like their more fortunate brethren in the home quarters, singing to their guitars and banjos…”
I get that there were a lot of people in 1943 (and in the 18th century) who had this mentality but if she truly did “painstaking” and “meticulous” research, she surely would have come across slave narratives which would not have romanticized slavery. What it reveals to me, along with her own clear biases and racism, is that she could not possibly have used reliably and historically accurate sources for her research. I really don’t understand why this book is held up as “as work of extraordinary historical fiction.” It would only be extraordinary if it was accurate in its depiction of all human beings of that time not just the colonial white people.
It’s crazy. Every slave is happy, “genuinely” solicitous, deferential, “very well off”, smiling, and “in control” of their area of responsibility. The scent of the docks is described as “the hot, overpowering scent of tar, tobacco and bilge and Negro.” That’s demeaning, to say the least. Early on, a character complains about how indentured servants can’t find work after their indenture is over because of the increase in slavery and states: “That is the real evil of slavery, Mr Day, and not man’s inhumanity to man.” Um, what? At the point at which I just quit, the main character Justin writes in his diary:
“The anomaly of happy slaves continues to interest me. House slaves are as a rule treated with kindness and even affection, and seem utterly devoted to their owners, especially to the children in their care, who in turn regard their black mothers almost as second mothers. A fair, laughing child in the arms of a loving Negress is a common sight. The field slaves are not so well clothed and are meanly houses, but they look healthy and cheerful and in the evenings can be heard like their more fortunate brethren in the home quarters, singing to their guitars and banjos…”
I get that there were a lot of people in 1943 (and in the 18th century) who had this mentality but if she truly did “painstaking” and “meticulous” research, she surely would have come across slave narratives which would not have romanticized slavery. What it reveals to me, along with her own clear biases and racism, is that she could not possibly have used reliably and historically accurate sources for her research. I really don’t understand why this book is held up as “as work of extraordinary historical fiction.” It would only be extraordinary if it was accurate in its depiction of all human beings of that time not just the colonial white people.
June 8, 2017
First sentence: He stood remote and alone amid the cheerful bustle of the dock at Yorktown. Around his feet in their silver-buckled shoes was stacked enough luggage for two men. Behind him rose the proud, sharp prow and slender spars of the Mary Jones, which had brought him across the Atlantic from Southampton.
Premise/plot: Julian Day, one of our heroes, is a newly arrived Englishman. He's come to America, to Virginia, to be a school master. He becomes great friends with St. John Sprague. In fact he becomes almost one of the family--this in spite of the fact that he's on the 'wrong side' of the conflict or tensions. St. John is madly in love with Regina Greensleeves. Regina vows never to marry a man who'd fight against the King. This coming from the woman who'd flirt with any man within sight. (Think Scarlett O'Hara.) But St. John sees past the surface problems and is convinced he's the only man he'd be able to put her and keep her in place. (He may be right on that.) Julian, meanwhile, is blinded by two things: Regina's beauty AND Tibby's undying love for him. Who is Tibby? Well, she's a young girl, an abused and troubled girl, an impoverished girl who wants to be allowed to attend school with her twin brother. It's just not fair--she insists--that her brother gets an opportunity to go to school and she doesn't. After all, she's just as bright--if not more so--than her brother. After getting to know her better, Julian agrees. He becomes her greatest champion and supporter. It's no surprise that she loves, loves, loves, loves, LOVES him. But will he ever see her as a potential wife? It doesn't seem likely--at least not at first. But as the years go by, as the tensions turn into WAR, much changes.
My thoughts: I really loved this one. I love that it's a first in a series. I love that the series is a family saga that will span generations. I love that it's set in America. So often I'm drawn to books and series set in England, it is nice for me to be able to be swept away by American history. I love the historical aspects of it. I love that some of the characters interacted with real, historical people.
Premise/plot: Julian Day, one of our heroes, is a newly arrived Englishman. He's come to America, to Virginia, to be a school master. He becomes great friends with St. John Sprague. In fact he becomes almost one of the family--this in spite of the fact that he's on the 'wrong side' of the conflict or tensions. St. John is madly in love with Regina Greensleeves. Regina vows never to marry a man who'd fight against the King. This coming from the woman who'd flirt with any man within sight. (Think Scarlett O'Hara.) But St. John sees past the surface problems and is convinced he's the only man he'd be able to put her and keep her in place. (He may be right on that.) Julian, meanwhile, is blinded by two things: Regina's beauty AND Tibby's undying love for him. Who is Tibby? Well, she's a young girl, an abused and troubled girl, an impoverished girl who wants to be allowed to attend school with her twin brother. It's just not fair--she insists--that her brother gets an opportunity to go to school and she doesn't. After all, she's just as bright--if not more so--than her brother. After getting to know her better, Julian agrees. He becomes her greatest champion and supporter. It's no surprise that she loves, loves, loves, loves, LOVES him. But will he ever see her as a potential wife? It doesn't seem likely--at least not at first. But as the years go by, as the tensions turn into WAR, much changes.
My thoughts: I really loved this one. I love that it's a first in a series. I love that the series is a family saga that will span generations. I love that it's set in America. So often I'm drawn to books and series set in England, it is nice for me to be able to be swept away by American history. I love the historical aspects of it. I love that some of the characters interacted with real, historical people.
December 18, 2019
Julian Day is a young English man who lost his father on the voyage to Virginia. His father was to have taken a job as school master in Virginia, and the locals persuade the well-educated Julian to take his father's place. Julian falls in love, not just with a sweet little waif, but with his neighbors and with the spirit of a city about to become part of a whole new nation. His loyalties to England are challenged by his new loyalty to the neighbors who welcome him and become his dear friends.
A friend at church lent me this book because she knows that I enjoy historical fiction. The characters are admirable and appealing, and the historical setting is very well done. The author was wise in choosing Williamsburg as her setting, as it allows her to introduce the reader to well-loved historical figures who spent time there: Washington, Jefferson, Wythe, Lafeyette.
My only objection to this book is that it was written in 1943 and is VERY politically incorrect by 21st century standards, full of references to the "empty" continent (ummm....Indians?), the "savage" natives, and happy, well-treated enslaved people. Once I got past some chagrin over that, I enjoyed the book and would read others in the series.
Like my reviews? Check out my blog at http://www.kathrynbashaar.com/blog/
Author of The Saint's Mistress: https://www.bing.com/search?q=amazon....
A friend at church lent me this book because she knows that I enjoy historical fiction. The characters are admirable and appealing, and the historical setting is very well done. The author was wise in choosing Williamsburg as her setting, as it allows her to introduce the reader to well-loved historical figures who spent time there: Washington, Jefferson, Wythe, Lafeyette.
My only objection to this book is that it was written in 1943 and is VERY politically incorrect by 21st century standards, full of references to the "empty" continent (ummm....Indians?), the "savage" natives, and happy, well-treated enslaved people. Once I got past some chagrin over that, I enjoyed the book and would read others in the series.
Like my reviews? Check out my blog at http://www.kathrynbashaar.com/blog/
Author of The Saint's Mistress: https://www.bing.com/search?q=amazon....
March 28, 2018
Probably 4.5 stars. I cannot tell you how many times I've read this book (or the entire series for that matter), but it never gets old. We first meet Julian Day on his twenty-first birthday, when he arrives in Williamsburg in 1774. Since his father died on the journey, he is now alone, but he quickly finds friends, in particular, the Sprague family — St. John, his sister Dorothea, and their aunt Anabel; and young Tibby Mawes and her twin brother Kit. From the very beginning Tibby adores Julian. But this is more than just a romance, it is the story of the birth of a new country. Julian has a first-row seat in the process, and sees his views gradually change from Tory to Patriot. Very strong characterization, with those characters behaving with historical accuracy. Enjoyable views of some of the most famous men of the era. Highly recommended.
March 13, 2012
Oh dear. I did so want to like this more.
Ms. Thane - I can, without second thought, accept a girl falling in love with a ghost - that's wonderful and perfectly unobjectionable! But an eleven year old girl falling in honest-to-goodness-love with a 21 year old man, on the other hand... Please, no. Actually, I found every aspect of Tibby's personality and actions unbelievable.
I'm going to keep reading this series, though; I'm a sucker for a good family saga and maybe I'll like the next installment better.
Ms. Thane - I can, without second thought, accept a girl falling in love with a ghost - that's wonderful and perfectly unobjectionable! But an eleven year old girl falling in honest-to-goodness-love with a 21 year old man, on the other hand... Please, no. Actually, I found every aspect of Tibby's personality and actions unbelievable.
I'm going to keep reading this series, though; I'm a sucker for a good family saga and maybe I'll like the next installment better.
May 5, 2009
This is my second time through the Williamsburg Saga. I love historical fiction, romances, and books set in locales that I am familiar with. This book satisfies all three. I enjoy hearing the politics of Revolutionary War America "first hand" and getting to know some of the prominent personalities a little better. (Ms. Thane, I hope you did your homework and didn't invent these things out of wholecloth!) I love Julian Day and Tibby and their story. I love this book.
January 6, 2022
I remember devouring the Williamsburg novels when I was about 11 or 12. I thought they were so romantic and I loved the historical setting. Funny rereading one of them now. Very simple and straightforward, with clear roles for women and men. I think it was the family that drew me. I wanted to be part of that family and follow my beloeved off to war. Now I see the bias, especially against women and indigenous people and the casual assumption that the American (read Christian) way was best.
January 21, 2023
"A Book from your childhood" (read this when I was younger, originally)
This is a re-read for me. I read this series when I was younger. Loved it. Love the detail of the history (not sure on the complete accuracy, but I'll buy it), and the love story mixed in.
This is a re-read for me. I read this series when I was younger. Loved it. Love the detail of the history (not sure on the complete accuracy, but I'll buy it), and the love story mixed in.
October 28, 2007
This is historical fiction, based on the revolutionary war. Some romance, too! It was great!
October 21, 2023
AAAHHH!!! I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!
October 2023 Reread: Still the best!
October 2023 Reread: Still the best!
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