Saints and Strangers
by George F. Willison
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A great deal has been written about the Pilgrims, perhaps more than any other small group in American history. Yet they continue to be extravagantly praised for accomplishing what they never attempted or intended, and they are even more foolishly abused for possessing attitudes and attributes foreign to them. In the popular mind they are still generally confused, to their great disadvantage, with the Puritans who settled to the north of them around Boston Bay. The purpose of the Willison show more narrative is to allow the Pilgrims to tell their own story, insofar as possible, in their own words and deeds.Saints and Strangers brings back to life men and women who were among the most stalwart of American ancestors. George F. Willison destroys the myth that too long has been createdin the American mind: that Pilgrims, while pious and much to be admired, were a drab, stern people dedicated to prudery. Nothing could be further from the facts. These were lusty English people who were well aware of good food, drink, and pleasurable living. They were also an adventurous, hardheaded community united in their campaign for freedom of worship.The book takes the reader from the Puritan exile in Holland, their long and troubled voyage from old Europe to new America, and the hazardous period of settling on a strange, bleak coast. ThePuritans were comprised of weavers, smiths, carpenters, printers, tailors, and working people - with scarcely a blue blood among them. It was a long trek to Plymouth Rock from English village life. Willison has produced a realistic picture of these people who often have been inaccurately portrayed with little appreciation of their substantial place in the history of a New World. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Very good condition. Slight wear along sides of spine and corners. Hinges strong. Pages clean. Writing inside front cover.
Noting small biographies of three of my ancestors, i.e. Brewster, Fuller and Hopkins.
Being the lives of the Pilgrim Fathers and their families, with their friends and foes ; and an account of the posthumous ... and the strange pilgrimages of Plymouth Rock
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A great deal has been written about the Pilgrims ... In the popular mind they are still generally confused, to their great disadvantage, with the Puritans who settled to the north of them around Boston Bay. The purpose of the Willison narrative is to allow the Pilgrims to tell their own story ... in their own words and deeds. ... Willison has produced a realistic picture of these people who show more often have been inaccurately portrayed with little appreciation of their substantial place in the history of a New World. show less
added by Roycrofter
Author Information
12+ Works 749 Members
George F. Willison (1896-1972) was a writer and editor known most for his work in the field of American History. He was also Rhodes Scholar in Economics at Oxford University and professor of Greek and Latin at St. John's University. His books include I Am an American - Patrick Henry and His World, Why Wars are Declared, and Here They Dug the Gold.
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Saints and Strangers
- Original publication date
- 1945
- People/Characters
- Master William Bradford
- Epigraph
- So they lefte that goodly & pleasante citie,
which had been their resting place near
12 years; but they knew they were pilgrimes,
& looked not much on those things, but lift[ed]
up their eyes to ye heavens, their ... (show all)dearest
cuntrie, and quieted their spirits.
— OF PLIMOTH PLANTATION - Dedication
- to Toni and Malcolm
- First words
- On the American horizon today Plymouth Rock looms like a Gibraltar.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And the Pilgrims' courage, that of Saints and Strangers alike, was always "answerable" — let that be their epitaph.
Classifications
- Genres
- History, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 974.4 — History & geography History of North America Northeastern United States (New England and Middle Atlantic states) Massachusetts
- LCC
- F68 .W75 — Local History of the United States, Canada and Latin America United States local history Massachusetts
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 606
- Popularity
- 47,840
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.56)
- Languages
- English, French
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 32
