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Questions: Shakespeare

Stacy asked: Was Lizzie's mother really related to Shakespeare?

Yes, Sarah Webb-Price’s father, Sir Alexander Webb, came to New England to avoid the political unrest in the kingdom about 1630. He was quite wealthy and sold his holdings before departing with four sons and one grandson who would become Sarah’s father. Sir Alexander’s mother was Margaret Arden whose sister, Mary, was mother of William Shakespeare. William and Alexander likely both attended the King Edward VI School in Stratford upon Avon. Even though books of plays were not common in this era, it is certainly possible Sir Alexander had one—or more. Sir Alexander settled in Connecticut and died soon after, leaving his riches to his sons. Sarah’s grandfather, Richard, lived in Connecticut and died when Sarah was a girl, so it is likely that she had some memory of him and his wealth.
Her father, John Webb, inherited little and worked at various trades, ending as an innkeeper in Massachusetts. The possible possession of a book was too good to leave out of the story, and given Lizzie’s attraction to an unusual suitor (Andrew) and the tragic death, made Romeo and Juliet a natural. The book also allowed developing her relationship with Dame Beaman and Andrew. I reread the play more than once while writing the story, and with the opening scene of the chorus, “the fearful passage of their death-mark’d love…” a title was born. Read More 
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Questions?

Thank you to readers who have been sending questions regarding events in FEARFUL PASSAGE NORTH. Beginning next week I will be posting answers to them.  Read More 
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ANDREW STEVENS

WHO WAS ANDREW STEVENS???
Making her way with the friendship of two local girls and the encouragement of an aging school teacher who has learned how to be a literate woman in this land of repression, Lizzie’s big breakthrough comes when she encounter a strange and exciting man. Two of his many qualities not shared or appreciated by the townspeople. Read More 
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Fearful Passage North

Fearless Passage North: Spring of 1696, Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Price is entering adolescence as her ne’er-do-well father is moving the family to Deerfield, Massachusetts—the end of the world in 17th century New England. Preferring outdoors to in and animal care to knitting, Lizzie is a square peg in the round hole of New England Puritanism. In contrast to her straight-laced older sister, Mary, Lizzie is constantly on the hunt for excitement. Unfortunately she is forced to search in the dullest place on earth. Read More 
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Fearful Passage North

1704, Deerfield Massachusetts—the limits of the American frontier. Seeking a normal adolescence, it is the chance meeting of a strange young man that puts excitement into Elizabeth (Lizzie) Price’s life leading to romance and a marriage not entirely embraced by her Puritan community.
During one of New England’s harshest winters, when she has just begun her wonderful new life, Lizzie and her community are violently wrenched into chaos when an army of Indians and their French military supporters burn the village and kill or capture half of its occupants. Led by leather lashes around their necks, the captives are marched for a month on a fearful passage north through the winter wilderness of Vermont to the relative metropolis of Montréal. In this totally foreign setting of French-Canadian Catholicism Lizzie is forced to find a new life.
Not only a journey through the frozen wild, but a journey through the cultures of Puritan New England, American Indian and French-Canadian Catholic—all so different, yet so hauntingly similar.
If you enjoyed the Allard Series and Kreis’ ability to bring history to life, you will love Fearful Passage North.  Read More 
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Fearful Passage North

Cold—all she knew was cold… The opening line of FEARFUL PASSAGE NORTH sounds a good deal like today in Port Huron. If you are unfortunate enough to be in the northeast today, go out your door and think of taking a 300 mile forced-walk through the wilderness. The book is being printed even as I blog and should be ready to order in about a week. Happily, most of you can then curl up by the fire to read. Read More 
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Fearful Passage

For the past three years readers have asked, “When do we get another historical fiction novel? We loved the Allards!” Well, Allard fans, it’s coming. After 13 years of research, FEARFUL PASSAGE NORTH will soon be available. Seen through the eyes of a young woman who lived it, the story is centered around one of North America’s most devastating events in the setting of the era’s three cultures: New England Puritan, French-Canadian Catholic, and Native American—cultures so very different yet so similar. Stay tuned—more to come! Read More 
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