Author Description

Spanning one hundred and forty years, this historical novel recreates the harsh judgmentalism of Puritan Massachusetts, the political anarchy of Colonial New Jersey, and the bloody battlefields of Revolutionary Pennsylvania--as experienced by successive generations of an authentic American family. Through four generations, the Leonards' were often witnesses to--and even minor participants in--many of the formative events in early American history. Skilled yet profane laborers, they sailed over from old England to help build the first ironworks in American, where they withstood not only the life-and-death struggles that faced all settlers, but the enmity of zealous Puritan neighbors whose morals they did not share. Finally driven from Massachusetts by way of the notorious Salem courthouse, and hastened by the bloodiest conflict on American soil, they arrived in what seemed to be a paradise by comparison--only to discover they had traded persecution for political anarchy. The book is based on painstaking research and features documented appearances by both the famous and infamous. Readers will enjoy how the story brings to life many of the most fascinating, exciting, and pivotal events in Early American history.