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The Mayflower Marriage
The Mayflower Marriage breathes life into the story of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth in 1620. This compelling and very human story follows John Alden and Priscilla Mullins as they fall in love during the historic 1620 crossing of The Mayflower from Plymouth to Massachusetts. This love is constantly challenged, but survives batterings and betrayals and through this the couple achieve a stronger and deeper devotion.
John and Priscilla meet in England as preparations for the Mayflower's departure are in progress, Priscilla as a passenger and John as a crew member. They gradually discover their mutual attraction as they cope with a voyage fraught with sickness, strife and the ferocious storms. Life in early Plymouth is grim as the settlers suffer famine, disease, and death. John can only watch as Priscilla cares unceasingly for the members of her family, as one after another she loses her father, mother and younger brother. He longs to assist and comfort her but is prevented by Pilgrim morality and rigid social norms.
Over time, conditions in the new colony gradually improve, with help from friendly Native Americans and occasional supply ships. Despite resistance from the Pilgrim leadership, John and Priscilla finally marry and raise a family. The sweeping, heroic narrative follows them throughout the remainder of their long and eventful lives, raising a family while navigating the political infighting and squabbling of the early Pilgrim society.
John and Priscilla meet in England as preparations for the Mayflower's departure are in progress, Priscilla as a passenger and John as a crew member. They gradually discover their mutual attraction as they cope with a voyage fraught with sickness, strife and the ferocious storms. Life in early Plymouth is grim as the settlers suffer famine, disease, and death. John can only watch as Priscilla cares unceasingly for the members of her family, as one after another she loses her father, mother and younger brother. He longs to assist and comfort her but is prevented by Pilgrim morality and rigid social norms.
Over time, conditions in the new colony gradually improve, with help from friendly Native Americans and occasional supply ships. Despite resistance from the Pilgrim leadership, John and Priscilla finally marry and raise a family. The sweeping, heroic narrative follows them throughout the remainder of their long and eventful lives, raising a family while navigating the political infighting and squabbling of the early Pilgrim society.
688 pages, Paperback
Published March 28, 2020
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157 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 8, 2020
Summary
The Mayflower Marriage is a historical novel by Arminal Dare. This story is based on the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower which brought the English settlers to America. The author revived the story of John and Priscilla Alden, noted members of Massachusetts’s Plymouth Colony of Pilgrims.
Review
This novel is remarkable! I had no idea that Priscilla and John were real people if it weren’t for the Afterword page. I didn’t know this book was based on a real historical event! I’m so glad I read it because I’ve learned a lot about the hardships that the Mullins family and the English settlers went through. They just wanted to build a new life in a land full of riches because of the corruption and disease in London during the 1600s. Who would’ve known of the grueling trials they had to face? Moreover, John (the ship’s cooper who maintains the ship’s barrels) and Priscilla’s love story was extraordinary.
I’m giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. The author is very admirable for her eloquence and dedication in writing such a great novel. It’s a remarkable retelling of the story of the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower and I highly recommend it to ALL readers who want a heartwarming historical drama, adventure, thriller, and romantic book based on factual events.
The Mayflower Marriage is a historical novel by Arminal Dare. This story is based on the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower which brought the English settlers to America. The author revived the story of John and Priscilla Alden, noted members of Massachusetts’s Plymouth Colony of Pilgrims.
Review
This novel is remarkable! I had no idea that Priscilla and John were real people if it weren’t for the Afterword page. I didn’t know this book was based on a real historical event! I’m so glad I read it because I’ve learned a lot about the hardships that the Mullins family and the English settlers went through. They just wanted to build a new life in a land full of riches because of the corruption and disease in London during the 1600s. Who would’ve known of the grueling trials they had to face? Moreover, John (the ship’s cooper who maintains the ship’s barrels) and Priscilla’s love story was extraordinary.
I’m giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. The author is very admirable for her eloquence and dedication in writing such a great novel. It’s a remarkable retelling of the story of the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower and I highly recommend it to ALL readers who want a heartwarming historical drama, adventure, thriller, and romantic book based on factual events.
December 24, 2020
Historical Adventure
This historical novel featured strong, interesting characters and a different spin on early America. Sometimes disturbing, often uplifting, it was a story worth reading, but a bit too long for me.
This historical novel featured strong, interesting characters and a different spin on early America. Sometimes disturbing, often uplifting, it was a story worth reading, but a bit too long for me.
June 24, 2021
I loved every single one of the 815 pages!
October 15, 2022
An overly ambitious saga of the lives of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins, two Pilgrims who meet on the Mayflower and become key founders of Plymouth and Duxbury, Massachusetts. A cute imagining of their courtship, Priscilla is overly smitten and constantly swooning over nearly every encounter with John Alden, in an era where most marriages were more a matter of convenience, necessity and business than between love-stricken couples. Over the 800-plus pages, the story becomes tedious and repetitious as they raise children, face hardships, heal wounds, and display tolerance and acceptance of the native Americans while nearly all the other English settlers (except Susanna White and Roger Williams) are portrayed as intolerant, land-grabbing hypocrites. While imaginings of the Pilgrims' lives is hardly new, they can still be captivating tales, but in this case the tale may have been better ended with John and Priscilla's marriage; there are at least 500 pages too many in this novel.
October 19, 2024
Rubbish
I own this and I WILL NOT BE recommending to OUR other Alden descendants.
I own this and I WILL NOT BE recommending to OUR other Alden descendants.
August 22, 2024
Jean38no
I really enjoyed this book of the first pilgrims on the Mayflower. The author sweeps you into the 1600s on of the voyage of the Mayflower. A people going to start their own place where they could have religious freedom. The voyage was a nightmare they were cold , cramped together .not enough food . People dying of scurvy. Finally land . But a cold land where they had to start from scratch to build shelter for themselves. The natives helped them survive and prosper. They in turn stole the natives land for beads and trinkets . Years later there were wars between them and the natives. The settlers won many of the wars .
They continued to steal the natives land and finally pushed them further west. They also shipped many of them to the West Indies to be slaves.
The colonies set up their administration based on English law. As the years passed some colonists realized their laws had become just as oppressive as the English laws that made them leave their country!
I really enjoyed this book of the first pilgrims on the Mayflower. The author sweeps you into the 1600s on of the voyage of the Mayflower. A people going to start their own place where they could have religious freedom. The voyage was a nightmare they were cold , cramped together .not enough food . People dying of scurvy. Finally land . But a cold land where they had to start from scratch to build shelter for themselves. The natives helped them survive and prosper. They in turn stole the natives land for beads and trinkets . Years later there were wars between them and the natives. The settlers won many of the wars .
They continued to steal the natives land and finally pushed them further west. They also shipped many of them to the West Indies to be slaves.
The colonies set up their administration based on English law. As the years passed some colonists realized their laws had become just as oppressive as the English laws that made them leave their country!
October 10, 2023
Will we ever learn!...
Absolutely loved this book. Such an interesting read. I had an idea of what the English had done to the Indians but had no idea just how badly things were done. The book touched my heart. Very well written and researched! All of the characters were so likeable and brought so much to the tale!
Absolutely loved this book. Such an interesting read. I had an idea of what the English had done to the Indians but had no idea just how badly things were done. The book touched my heart. Very well written and researched! All of the characters were so likeable and brought so much to the tale!
February 24, 2023
Such an immersive and atmospheric read! Really enjoyed this brilliant book. Makes you really think about human cruelty and very strict unbending religiosity/rules when they concentrate on self rather than on a loving and forgiving God.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2022
Great book and very historically accurate based on John and Pricilla Alden's lives. Definitely worth reading and not your typical love story but more of a true to life love story.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews