Richard of Jamestown: A Story of Virginia Colony

by James Otis

Richard of Jamestown: A Story of Jamestown Colony--a compelling and historically-accurate tale of ten-year-old Richard Mutton, who sailed with Captain John Smith on the Susan B Constant to help found Jamestown Colony in 1606.

Genres: History, Ebooks, Classics

165 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1910

About the author

James Otis Kaler was an American journalist and author of children’s literature, primarily in the boys' adventure genre. The vast majority of his works were published under the name James Otis, but he also wrote as Amy Prentice, Harry Prentice, and Lt. James K. Orton.

His works include the Boy Spies series, the Navy Boys series, the Minute Boys series, a number of historical novels published by the American Book Company, and more than thirty novels about life in New York State.

Reviews

[Jennifer]

Read with my kindergartener and first grader as part of our American History curriculum. I almost gave up in the beginning because the language was dense and written far above them. We took it very slowly and talked about what we had read each day. They loved it. A few weeks in, they were summarizing on their own, asking good questions and learning so much.

[Judy]

Once again, Otis has shown me a small slice of American history. This time, in Virginia. Here are a couple of interesting quotes:

p. 68 I have heard Captain Smith say more than once, that he had seen flocks of ducks a full mile wide and five or six miles long, wherein canvasbacks, mallard, widgeon, redheads, dottrel, sheldrake, and teal swam wing to wing, actually crowding each other. When such flocks rose in the air, the noise made by their wings was like unto the roaring of a tempest at sea.
... Is it possible to see such a sight anywhere in the world today?

p. 74: Strive as boys may, they cannot attend to household matters as do girls or women, who have been brought into the world knowing how to perform such tasks.
... That made me smile. If this were true, I suppose there would be a housekeeping gene somewhere in the human genome.

Based on all of the problems those men (no women) had, I'm not surprised that the colony struggled to survive. Now I want to read a current account to see what has been discovered about the short life of this settlement.

[Janelle]

This wasn't really a novel, it was more a history lesson in story format. But I enjoyed it, as well as the Librivox narrator's excellent reading.

[Joseph Leskey]

The book was interesting, in some areas rather humorous, and sufficiently captivating, its quality of writing being excellent. The plot, overall, was fact rather than fiction and thus was interesting, but the characters were not extremely developed (for reason of them not being entirely focused on). Also, instead of a complex network of plot points, which is what I frequently enjoy, the story is presented in a forthright manner, which I do not like quite as much. Therefore, my thoughts in regard to this novel probably do not do it justice, and quite likely there are others whom it would better suit.

Even though this type of book isn't my favorite, thanks to the author, I rather enjoyed this one. In fact, if Goodreads allowed decimals, I might have given it a 3.5 star rating.

[Shannon]

Interesting to listen to while we are vacationing in the Jamestown area. A lot of the information was pretty basic/same things you see in the museum. I thought that was nice to reinforce learning at the museum. I have to say, I do not enjoy the narrator. Content good for young kids. Narrator not good.

[Vanessa Martin]

Story was well told and even quoted in a film at the Jamestown Settlement museum. Unfortunately the archeological museum contains a skeleton that is likely Richard’s and shows his death weeks after arrival.

[Tiffany]

A lot of historical information but the word savage was used quite a bit.

[Cole B]

Another great historical classic by James Otis. Richard's story gives us a glimpse into the founding of Jamestown, and the profound difficulties these early settler's overcame in the face of seemingly insurmountable hardships. A great story for children and adults alike.

[Donna Peake]

History comes alive with a 9 year old voice of the child who took care of Captain John Smith's needs during the Virgina settlement in Jamestown.