This one is the tale of the founding of the town New Rochelle, New York. Up until now, I always thought of New Rochelle as the home of Rob and Laura Petrie. Who would've thought it had a history? Okay, lame jokes aside, the book is really the story of Daniel Bonnet's family's escape from France and eventual relocation in the New World. His family are Huguenots--Protestants who are being persecuted by the Roman Catholic King Louis XIV. When the government turns up the heat, they attempt to flee the country and head to England. Things don't quite work out that way as the family first escapes to Guadeloupe via the African coast, then up to New York. Along the way, we get a peek into a variety of settings and lives of the 1680s. The book is an interesting read, though upon reflection, I think the abundance of historical information makes the story less real. I'm not entirely sure how I should rate it, but I really like the typesetting, so I suppose that I should err on the side of a "check it out".
--J. ( )