Caleb’s Crossing

In this novel the author takes her readers to a fledgling community of English Puritan settlers on America's North East coast in the 1660s. What features is that these early settlers seek peaceful cohabitation with the local tribes. Main character Bethia Mayfield's future is determined by the orthodox views of her father, brother and grandfather. But she possesses a free roaming mind and finds a kindred spirit in Caleb, son of the chieftain of the local Wampanoag. They are brave openhearted characters in search of knowledge at a time of superstition and ignorance. What follows is Bethia's struggle to maintain a position between the strict rules of Puritan society and the ways of the native Americans. Her endeavours culminate in two Wampanoag students being allowed to enter Harvard University. Brooks both enthralls and moves her readers in a tale of love and loyalty, inspired by a true story.