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Trailblazer Books (Chronological) #4
The Mayflower Secret: Introducing Governor William Bradford
THE MAYFLOWER SECRET, Introducing Governor William Bradford -- Thirteen-year-old Elizabeth Tilley and her family have been waiting for this day for months-the day the Mayflower sets sail from England. The late start means uncertain weather and a long, hard journey for everyone. But the trip seems especially rough for Dorothy Bradford, the frail young wife of William Bradford. One night, Elizabeth discovers Dorothy alone on deck. Thinking the woman wants to be alone, Elizabeth returns to bed. But the next morning, she awakes to the news that Dorothy has disappeared! Afraid that William Brafford will blame her for his wife's death, Elizabeth tells no one what she saw that night. When they finally arrive in the New World, many passengers become very ill. Several of them die before the new colony is established, including Elizabeth's parents. Left an orphan, Elizabeth must deal with her terrible secret alone. How can she ever face Governor Bradford again? If she dares to tell the truth, will it ruin her chance for happiness in the new colony? Alone in the New World, Elizabeth guards a shocking secret. . . .
158 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1998
6 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Dave Jackson
233 books70 followersDave and Neta Jackson are a full-time husband/wife writing team who have authored and co-authored many books on marriage and family, the church, relationships, and other subjects. Their books for children include the TRAILBLAZER series and Hero Tales, volumes I,II, III, and IV. The Jacksons make their home in Evanston, Illinois.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 15, 2017
An entertaining kiddie historical novel. It really took me back to days gone by.
October 23, 2015
An interesting thing to read about this time of the year, is books about the Pilgrims... with Thanksgiving coming, it's nice to re-read about the Pilgrims journey. Here's a book I've enjoyed reading recently...
Elizabeth Tilley was a Pilgrim who crossed the ocean, from England to America in 1620. She was a real person, but this book is a fictional account of her life, written by Dave & Neta Jackson in their "Trailblazer" series. Elizabeth was 13 when the voyage began with her parents. Her family was not of the group of Puritans who were fleeing from England though. So the experience of living in close quarters on the same ship with these godly people adds a new perspective to Elizabeth's outlook on life.
Amid all the regular chaos aboard the ship, something horrible goes awry. It's Elizabeth's secret that she won't tell anyone. She's afraid that she'll get into a bigger mess of trouble than she'll be able to get out of. Everyone questions what had happened on that certain tragic night, but Elizabeth can't make herself tell.
The weary voyagers explore the new land of America and the Puritan leaders, including William Bradford, begin building their initial encampment. Through all this, Elizabeth must endure even greater pains and hardships, in addition to still keeping the burden of a secret. She now has a completely different life than she did before. And after all... living with Indians is not at all something that anyone would do back in England!
"Juvenile Fiction" - recommended for ages 9-12. Very nicely written book. I always enjoy the Trailblazer books. This is probably by second time (at least) to read "The Mayflower Secret"--still keeps me interested!
Elizabeth Tilley was a Pilgrim who crossed the ocean, from England to America in 1620. She was a real person, but this book is a fictional account of her life, written by Dave & Neta Jackson in their "Trailblazer" series. Elizabeth was 13 when the voyage began with her parents. Her family was not of the group of Puritans who were fleeing from England though. So the experience of living in close quarters on the same ship with these godly people adds a new perspective to Elizabeth's outlook on life.
Amid all the regular chaos aboard the ship, something horrible goes awry. It's Elizabeth's secret that she won't tell anyone. She's afraid that she'll get into a bigger mess of trouble than she'll be able to get out of. Everyone questions what had happened on that certain tragic night, but Elizabeth can't make herself tell.
The weary voyagers explore the new land of America and the Puritan leaders, including William Bradford, begin building their initial encampment. Through all this, Elizabeth must endure even greater pains and hardships, in addition to still keeping the burden of a secret. She now has a completely different life than she did before. And after all... living with Indians is not at all something that anyone would do back in England!
"Juvenile Fiction" - recommended for ages 9-12. Very nicely written book. I always enjoy the Trailblazer books. This is probably by second time (at least) to read "The Mayflower Secret"--still keeps me interested!
March 1, 2010
When thirteen-year-old Elizabeth Tilley and her parents board the Mayflower in 1620, they have high hopes for a better life in the New World. Although they are not Puritan Separatists like many of the passengers, the Tilleys have few economic opportunities in England. But after a long and difficult sea voyage, the Mayflower arrives in Cape Cod in the dead of winter. On deck one night, Elizabeth sees Dorothy Bradford, one of the other passengers, standing by the railing, but tells no one. The next morning, Dorothy has disappeared, presumed drowned. Elizabeth feels terrible guilt and is determined to hide her secret, fearing blame. Soon after, both of Elizabeth's parents die from disease. Elizabeth feels all alone, without family and with few friends, and burdened by the terrible secret she hides.
This was a good historical novel about the voyage on the Mayflower and the settling of Plymouth colony. Elizabeth Tilley was a real passenger on the Mayflower, and the authors did a good job at imagining what her life might have been like in the first years of the colony. I would recommend this book to young readers who enjoy stories about Colonial America and the Pilgrims.
This was a good historical novel about the voyage on the Mayflower and the settling of Plymouth colony. Elizabeth Tilley was a real passenger on the Mayflower, and the authors did a good job at imagining what her life might have been like in the first years of the colony. I would recommend this book to young readers who enjoy stories about Colonial America and the Pilgrims.
September 21, 2024
Number of pages: 151
Genre: Historical fiction
Series: Trailblazers (all book are stand alone missionary stories)
Age recommendation: 8-14ish
Summary: Eliza Tilley is going with her family on the Mayflower to settle in the new world, and make a new life for themselves. She’s not quite sure what to make of the separatists they are travelling with however: they won’t work on the Sabbath, and insist on having church meetings on the boat without a minister to lead them! But when tragedy after tragedy strikes, stranger and separatist must learn to work together in order to survive.
My thoughts: As with all the other trailblazer books I’ve read, I really appreciate the insight into different people’s lives and time periods that these books bring. While they’ve certainly fictionalized the stories, I find there’s still a lot I can learn about the historical figure, plus the “story” style of writing makes it much easier to read, especially for younger readers. I also really appreciate the historical note the authors add because it really helps me to separate the actual events and people from the added/modified story elements.
I liked the plot of this story and especially Eliza’s character development. She goes from a snooty gossip, to a shy, hardworking girl. Okay, the shy part is more just a secondary effect of everyone needing to chip in to survive, but anyway. Also, not to say that she never did any work before, but she learned to be helpful and put others above herself.
I wasn’t aware before reading this book how awful the adventurers were to the pilgrims. (The adventurers were money lenders who promised to outfit many who would colonize North America). From what I read in this book, it appears that the adventurers never kept up their end of the deal by providing supplies, but just kept demanding payment and sending along more people for the pilgrims to care for when they didn't intend and couldn’t afford to themselves. Those people also messed up their relations with some of the natives too. It just seemed really unfair to me.
I thought the whole guilt thing about seeing Dorothy and not saying anything in some ways made sense, but in other ways didn’t seem that necessary to the story. The book is called the Mayflower secret, but I think it would have still been a good story without the “secret.” Anyway, that’s my two cents worth.
Overall, it was a book I enjoyed reading and I would definitely recommend it.
My personal rating: 4/5
Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
Genre: Historical fiction
Series: Trailblazers (all book are stand alone missionary stories)
Age recommendation: 8-14ish
Summary: Eliza Tilley is going with her family on the Mayflower to settle in the new world, and make a new life for themselves. She’s not quite sure what to make of the separatists they are travelling with however: they won’t work on the Sabbath, and insist on having church meetings on the boat without a minister to lead them! But when tragedy after tragedy strikes, stranger and separatist must learn to work together in order to survive.
My thoughts: As with all the other trailblazer books I’ve read, I really appreciate the insight into different people’s lives and time periods that these books bring. While they’ve certainly fictionalized the stories, I find there’s still a lot I can learn about the historical figure, plus the “story” style of writing makes it much easier to read, especially for younger readers. I also really appreciate the historical note the authors add because it really helps me to separate the actual events and people from the added/modified story elements.
I liked the plot of this story and especially Eliza’s character development. She goes from a snooty gossip, to a shy, hardworking girl. Okay, the shy part is more just a secondary effect of everyone needing to chip in to survive, but anyway. Also, not to say that she never did any work before, but she learned to be helpful and put others above herself.
I wasn’t aware before reading this book how awful the adventurers were to the pilgrims. (The adventurers were money lenders who promised to outfit many who would colonize North America). From what I read in this book, it appears that the adventurers never kept up their end of the deal by providing supplies, but just kept demanding payment and sending along more people for the pilgrims to care for when they didn't intend and couldn’t afford to themselves. Those people also messed up their relations with some of the natives too. It just seemed really unfair to me.
I thought the whole guilt thing about seeing Dorothy and not saying anything in some ways made sense, but in other ways didn’t seem that necessary to the story. The book is called the Mayflower secret, but I think it would have still been a good story without the “secret.” Anyway, that’s my two cents worth.
Overall, it was a book I enjoyed reading and I would definitely recommend it.
My personal rating: 4/5
Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
November 20, 2022
As a descendant of Elizabeth Tilley and John Howland, I appreciate this historical novel about what it was like to be a teenager arriving in the New World aboard the Mayflower. What was it like being orphaned that first winter as Elizabeth made her way among those who were still living while dealing with scarcity and strange natives?
October 1, 2018
Good book to help history come alive for my 4-6th graders. An easy read giving an overview of the experiences of the Mayflower passengers leaving England through the first few springs in New England.
November 8, 2017
Not very captivating.
May 20, 2020
Assigned to read this whole series in middle school, and I learned a lot. Great educational read!
February 7, 2021
It's been a while, but I loved this book back in elementary school!
July 16, 2017
I read this book, along with the rest of the series, when I was a kid. Each of the Trailblazer books tells the story of a different Christian hero from the perspective of a (usually fictional) young person they encounter. I liked this series more than most Christian biographies because they were told in novel format, with added adventure and suspense, without sacrificing the historical details of the person depicted. I highly recommend the whole series, which spans Christian history from the 1520s to the twentieth century.
This story centers on William Bradford (leader of the Mayflower expedition), and is from the perspective of Elizabeth Tilley, a young passenger aboard the Mayflower. The story centers around the mysterious death of Bradford's wife Dorothy, and what part Elizabeth might have played in it, set against the backdrop of the early years of the Plymouth colony.
This story centers on William Bradford (leader of the Mayflower expedition), and is from the perspective of Elizabeth Tilley, a young passenger aboard the Mayflower. The story centers around the mysterious death of Bradford's wife Dorothy, and what part Elizabeth might have played in it, set against the backdrop of the early years of the Plymouth colony.
November 28, 2016
This was a well written book. I liked how it didn't make it seem as though the Pilgrims had things easy and stayed pretty true to the facts while still keeping it acceptable for children. Plus there were good story notes. At the beginning it explained how they tried to keep things factual and what was changed. Then, at the end, there was an addition biographical summary of William Bradford.
Read
February 9, 2012This is a great book for children to learn about the Mayflower! :)
Read
May 23, 2013Holding on this for a while. Moves a bit slow and discusses some issues Boy (younger reader) is not yet ready for.
September 17, 2013
This is about one of my husband's ancestors.
August 14, 2015
See the first book in the series (Spy for the Night Riders) for a full review.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews