A review by socraticgadfly
The Mayflower: The Families, the Voyage, and the Founding of America by Rebecca Fraser
3.0
A different perspective, but marred
My own take was that this was probably a 3.5 star ... I bumped it down the half-star based on what the two reviewers with relatives of the period said on Amazon.
My own take, in brief?
1. Being written as a British take offers something different from an American version. That alone is good.
2. Showing the back-and-forth between New England and England, especially during the Commonwealth is good.
That said, the book never really grabbed me.
On the negative side, Fraser seems to try to "normalize" English relations toward the American Indians. Yes, not all Englishmen were racist. But, racism was on the rise among all Europeans at this time. Among the English, and directly relevant to the colonies? John Locke.
There's also one other fairly big error (I'll take the one star reviewer on Amazon at their word on genealogy-related ones.)
Fraser says the Spanish were settling LA and San Francisco at the time of Plimouth.
Erm, not at all. That's only wrong by 150 years. (That's why, in turn, I'll accept claims of other errors at face value.)
My own take was that this was probably a 3.5 star ... I bumped it down the half-star based on what the two reviewers with relatives of the period said on Amazon.
My own take, in brief?
1. Being written as a British take offers something different from an American version. That alone is good.
2. Showing the back-and-forth between New England and England, especially during the Commonwealth is good.
That said, the book never really grabbed me.
On the negative side, Fraser seems to try to "normalize" English relations toward the American Indians. Yes, not all Englishmen were racist. But, racism was on the rise among all Europeans at this time. Among the English, and directly relevant to the colonies? John Locke.
There's also one other fairly big error (I'll take the one star reviewer on Amazon at their word on genealogy-related ones.)
Fraser says the Spanish were settling LA and San Francisco at the time of Plimouth.
Erm, not at all. That's only wrong by 150 years. (That's why, in turn, I'll accept claims of other errors at face value.)