Beheld

First this: William Bradford is my great, great (many more) grandfather, a person my mother so much admired and one I have read enough about not to admire. What I had never heard before–and I just loved hearing this–was that he may have pushed is first wife, Dorothy, overboard the Mayflower, not out at sea but docked there in Plimoth! The novel is about that, but only through suggestive narratives. The primary narrator (the only one to speak in first person) is Alice Bradford who, as a girl living in Holland, was Dorothy\’s friend. And after Dorothy\’s death and Alice\’s first husband\’s death, Alice married William. But the novel is also about indentured servants, about the native Americans, and about hardships they all endured with the overcast throughout of Dorothy\’s drowning. This novel is so wonderful that during the pandemic (our plague!) I have read this novel three times, each time liking it even a tad bit more.

Set in the early years of the Plymouth colony, this novel explores the lives of some less prominent settlers, including women and indentured servants. The narrative voice varies from chapter to chapter, but the most frequent speakers are Alice, second wife of the governor, William Bradford, and Eleanor Billington, wife of an indentured servant who was the first person in the colony executed for murder. Nesbit was curious as to why Bradford\’s account of the colony never mentioned his first wife or the circumstances surrounding her death; other accounts say that Dorothy accompanied him on the voyage but \”slipped overboard\” and died. Nesbitt speculates that she and Alice were childhood friends and that perhaps Dorothy, depressed over leaving her son behind, committed suicide. Although most of us know that the pilgrims (or puritans) arrived on the Mayflower, they were not the only passengers. Another ship, the Speedwell, carried tradesmen and their families who were sent by the Merchant Adventurers to support the new community, many of them as indentured servants. When the Speedwell was determined to be unsailworthy, many of these families joined the colonists on the Mayflower. One of these was John Billington. Each male resident of a household was to be granted a plot of land. Billington counted on three plots, one for himself and one for each of his sons, but because one son lived in a different family\’s home while learning a trade, he was given only two plots. A heavy drinker and frequent troublemaker, Billington\’s seething resentment eventually erupted into the colony\’s first murder. These are the basic historical facts, but the novel is more about the lives of the women and their relationships with their husbands and with one another. Alice, who had arrived a few years after the landing for the specific purpose of marrying her friend\’s widower, is still adjusting to the prominent role of governor\’s wife. While friendly with two other women, Elizabeth and Susannah, memories of Dorothy continue to play through her mind. She also clashes with Billington\’s wife, particularly when her husband sends her to persuade Eleanor that she and John should not attend a dinner for a group of newly-arrived colonists. Behind the scenes, we see the brutality of Miles Standish (especially against the local tribes), the men\’s jockeying for power, and the investment strategies that were as much a part of the settlement as religious freedom. Overall, this was an interesting and enjoyable read. The characters well engaging and well developed, and I gained some different views of the Plymouth colonists.

I watched the PBS show \”Pilgrims\” on Netflix (or maybe Prime) and this was the perfect follow up. While a work of fiction, it is well researched enough to make it the perfect counterpart. \”Of Plymouth Plantation \” by William Bradford, is almost absent any mention of females, let alone the female points of few. I found this book to be an amazing, if painful look at the world these brave, strong women inhabited.

A fascinating book about the first murder in Plymouth, and everything you never knew about the founding of America. Turns out people are always people–bigoted, powerful, in love, in hate. This book is beautiful and powerful and also very funny at times. Meticulously researched. I started reading it, figuring I\’d do a chapter…stayed up until 2am to finish it. Excellent read.

It was okay. I thought the mens chapters were kind of unnecessary. I didnt like all the betwixes thrown in. Seems there were more of those than any other old English words. I did finish it though, so it somewhat held my interest. Not as much insight as to what it might have been like living in Plymouth way back then as I would have liked.

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