Review of the Romance of Pilgrims

New! For the Longfellow Bicentennial of 2007!

The Romance of Pilgrims: A Great American Love-Story, by Henry Longfellow, adapated by David Bradford (Boston Hill Press, 275 pages).

The Pilgrims Live Again
in Love & War



The entire family will appreciate this unabashedly sentimental saga. This is one American legend that rings very, very true.

Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower (Viking, 480 pages) recently gave us a riveting account of a tragic Indian war fought by the Pilgrims long ago. Now, The Romance of Pilgrims: A Great American Love-Story (Boston Hill Press, 275 pages) reveals how that war may have affected personal lives. This superbly illustrated book is based on a long-forgotten epic by Henry Longfellow, the celebrated poet and a great-grandson of the lovers in the tale.

Mr. Longfellow related a mesmerizing, Shakespearean ballad about three friends, who were Mayflower Pilgrims. The trio became involved in a tragic love-triangle in the Spring of 1621, six months after arriving in America. Before their personal conflict could be resolved, a fierce Indian war engulfed their village.

First published in 1858, the love-story was a runaway bestseller for decades, continuing well into the early twentieth-century. Although a lively controversy endures as to how much of the tale is fact or folklore, the story's sensitive portrayal of young lovers became an American icon. However, archaic language gradually obscured the original text, making it a “lost” tale.

Now, David Bradford, a Harvard and Yale-educated scholar, has painstakingly restored this epic saga of the Pilgrims. His easy-to-read, updated poetic verse ranges from breathless drama to mirthful humor to radiant beauty, including some of the most celebrated dialog in American literature.

Moreover, through high-tech magic, Mr. Bradford has restored dozens of historic portraits, engravings, and colonial-era designs. Many appear for the first time in several generations, creating a virtual photo-album of the Pilgrim era.

Dutch Masters
In the faces of real-life people, we see happiness, sorrow – and love – captured by such renown artists as Rembrandt and the Dutch Masters. (The teen-age Rembrandt was a neighbor of the Pilgrims when they lived in Holland in the early 1600's. After the Pilgrims left for America, Rembrandt painted portraits of hundreds of their neighbors.)

Indeed, many will want to own The Romance of Pilgrims solely for its historic illustrations. A wonderful portrait of a young woman in love, circa 1650, graces the book's cover. This is one fairy-tale destined to become a coffee-table favorite, an inspiring look at the way we once were – and could still be.

The result is an exceptionally life-like portrayal of the Mayflower Pilgrims, one of the best ever. Indeed, readers will be startled by the striking modernity of the Pilgrims.

The characters of The Romance of Pilgrims are easily recognizable as modern types. For example, the hardened soldier, Captain Miles Standish, is an alpha-male incarnate -- bellicose, gruff, and proudly macho.By contrast, his shy, boyish rival, the carpenter, John Alden, is the epitome of the bookish, sensitive male, and excessively so. The aggressive Captain Standish convinces the malleable Mr. Alden to be his agent in love, i.e. the youth promises to win the heart of the beautiful maiden for the Captain.

Nevertheless, both men come to grief in jaw-dropping manner in their own separate ways. This includes a regrettable war-time incident that casts a haunting shadow on all the Pilgrims. (The incident is a true one, as confirmed by Mr. Philbrick's book, Mayflower.)

Heroine

This male folly dismays the heroine of the romance, Priscilla Mullins, the most beautiful Pilgrim of all. Her beauty, though, is more than just skin deep.

Ms. Mullins is very much the independent woman. Despite being confined by primitive, frontier life to tedious “woman's chores,” the Pilgrim maiden aspires to a new, better world for womankind. She literally gives the old saw, “spinster,” a new birth of freedom.

At a delicate moment in the story, Ms. Mullins slyly springs this cultural surprise upon her unsuspecting suitors with eye-popping effect. She utters one of the most breathtaking one-liners ever spoken in fact or fiction. (The original author, Henry Longfellow, claimed it was fact; a coy Priscilla was his great-grandmother.)

Regardless, the contest is on. A fierce love-triangle tests the emotional bonds of three friends, mixing love with hate, duty with desire. All of this takes places against the backdrop of a terrifying Indian war, threatening the survival of Mayflower colony.

Along the way, though, we get a tantalizing glimpse of what the Pilgrims truly hoped to achieve in America – a wonderful paradise of loving homes for all. This is one romantic tale where young children constantly appear in most appealing ways.

This Pilgrim vision of a wonderful life ultimately became the American Dream, a ray of hope for all mankind. As such, The Romance of Pilgrims, fills us with a desire to read and hear more. We wish to stay a while longer in the new, better world of the Pilgrims.

And that's the true beauty of this romantic tale – our wish comes true. We do live in the world the Pilgrims made -- America.

Reader's Guide: The original author, Henry Longfellow claimed his love-story was true – the poet was a great-grandson of the lovers. The names of his characters – Captain Miles Standish, John Alden, and Priscilla Mullins – are those of real people who sailed on the Mayflower.

Nevertheless, the story is technically a folk-tale, since it cannot be proved or disproved. The saga is told in an updated, easy-to-read, Shakespearean-style verse, accompanied by historic portraits, engravings, and colonial designs. (An antique, enlarged typeface is also gentle on the eyes.)

Older children and adults will better appreciate the twists and turns of a love-triangle in the midst of war. Students, teachers, and homeschoolers will especially welcome the seamless weaving of history, literature, poetry, and fine art in a single volume.

The tale, though, has one scene of regrettable war-time violence, accompanied by guilt and redemption. Nevertheless, the story celebrates love, friendship, family, and a sacred American Dream.This vibrant book is an instant classic, to be treasured by romantics of all ages. We are all better Pilgrims for it.

The Romance of Pilgrims, A Great American Love-Story, by Henry Longfellow & David W. Bradford (Boston Hill Press, Softcover, ISBN 0-9787992-0-8, 275 pages, $22.95) Currently available only in softcover..While not officially a large-print book, the tale is printed in a larger-than-usual font to create the “look and feel” of a classical work. Available at BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon.com. and bookstores around the nation.

To Buy at Amazon.com, click below--http://www.amazon.com/Romance-Pilgrims-Great-American-Love-Story/dp/0978799208/sr=1-1/qid=1163380264/ref=sr_1_1/104-1970510-4386329?ie=UTF8&s=books

To Buy at Barnes & Noble, click below--http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780978799205&itm=2&z=y