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The Mayflower Bride: Daughters of the Mayflower
by Kimberley Woodhouse - Mary Elizabeth Chapman is quite fearful when she discovers that she and her father and younger brother will be journeying to the New World to establish a settlement. She doesn't consider herself adventurous and it takes the enthusiasm of her best friend Dorothy and reliance on her faith to help her cope with the upheaval. When their ship, the
Speedwell, proves unreliable, most of the Separatists transfer to the other ship, the
Mayflower. There Mary Elizabeth meets William Lytton, one of the carpenters and a Stranger. William is unsure of what he believes about God, but he is attracted to Mary Elizabeth immediately, and soon begins meeting with one of the elders to study the Scripture. The crew and passengers of the
Mayflower face many hardships on their journey, and Mary Elizabeth continually turns to God for strength to face the circumstances that terrify and worry her. And throughout the journey, she and William are developing their relationship, so that by the time they reach Plimouth, they've decided they want to marry.
Although this was a good book, I didn't consider it great. Apparently the conflicts the characters face in the form of storms, illness and disease, and close quarters on the ship are not enough; because there is another character named Peter that appears every now and again. His purpose is to discredit William somehow, and so take his job. William had been offered a sum of money from the investors to keep careful records of the business of the settlers, and this is what Peter is after. I felt this part of the story was contrived and largely unnecessary to move the plot. I was also a little disappointed to see a few anachronisms throughout the narrative, because overall I felt that the story and its historical context and setting was very well researched and presented with a fair amount of realism. Basically, I felt the whole story just fell a bit flat and short of my expectations.
From the publisher:
Can a religious separatist and an opportunistic spy make it in the New World?
A brand new series for fans of all things related to history, romance, adventure, faith, and family trees.
Mary Elizabeth Chapman boards the
Speedwell in 1620 as a Separatist seeking a better life in the New World. William Lytton embarks on the
Mayflower as a carpenter looking for opportunities to succeed--and he may have found one when a man from the Virginia Company offers William a hefty sum to keep a stealth eye on company interests in the new colony. The season is far too late for good sailing and storms rage, but reaching land is no better as food is scarce and the people are weak. Will Mary Elizabeth survive to face the spring planing and unknown natives? Will William be branded a traitor and expelled?
Part of the
Daughters of the Mayflower series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.
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