So begins an epic tale of early Virginia. It was the Company’s second shipment of the kind, begun two years before. But for William Micklewood and Margaret Withering -- Will and Maggie -- the Lord Mayor's order meant their journey had only just begun.
Maps and other background material may be posted as the story unfolds, for those who are interested. Check the "Maps, etc." tab for details.
The novel is fiction, of course. Characters have been invented, (although some share the names and some details of historically known figures). Ship names have been altered; the timeline condensed or expanded as needed. While a novel, not a documentary, much historical detail underlies it, for the tale has emerged from a simmering stew of historical fact, grainy manuscripts, published letters, court documents, testimony, sermons, archived broadsheets and other material.
Less has been invented than merely re-imagined and then repeated for the modern ear and eye. Through it all, the author has sought to see this distant and foreign world as it might have been seen by those who lived it -- and to give voice to those who have never been heard.
It is to their memory and in their honor that Jonathan's Seed is respectfully dedicated.
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Privy Council, 31 January 1620, on shipping obstinate children to Virginia (modern facsimile)