Determined to set the historical record straight, and clear her conscience, Temperance Flowerdew—the wife of Virginia’s first two governors—puts quill to paper, recounting the hardships that nearly brought the Jamestown colony to its knees, and the extraordinary sacrifice of her servant girl, Lily.When she steps aboard the Falcon in 1609, Temperance Flowerdew is not only setting sail from England … England to the distant shores of America, she’s embarking upon a future of opportunity. She doesn’t yet know how she will make her mark, but in this new place she can do or be whatever she wants.Willing as she is to brave this new world, Temperance is utterly ill-equipped to survive the wilderness; all she knows is how to live inside the pages of adventure and philosophy books. Loyally at her side, Lily helps Temperance weather pioneer life. A young woman running from lifelong accusations of witchcraft, Lily finds friendship with Temperance and an acceptance of her psychic gifts. Together, they forge paths within the community: Temperance attempts to advise the makeshift government, while Lily experiences the blossoming of first love.But as the harsh winter approaches, Lily intuitively senses a darkness creep over the colony and the veneer of civilized life threatens to fall away—negotiations with the Indians grow increasingly hostile and provisions become scarce. Lily struggles to keep food on the table by foraging in the woods and being resourceful. Famine could mean the end of days. It’s up to Lily to save them both, but what sacrifice will be enough to survive?A transporting and evocative story, The Brief and True Report of Temperance Flowerdew is a fiercely hopeful novel—a portrait of two intrepid women who choose to live out their dreams of a future more free than the past.
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This novel really gives you a lot of historical information in the short novel it is. It was a very good read about the struggles and hardship of the people who ventured to the new world to conquer and start a new in Jamestown. A new settlement that was to bring hope, and promise and a new life for anyone daring enough to cross the vast ocean and commit to making a new life somewhere no one has been before.
Told through the diary of Temperance Flowerdew, she relays the real troubles, fights, hunger and unfathomable events and situations that these settlers faced. Every day was a struggle to stay alive, and no one could be trusted. True colors of people came through, and if it not for the Indian’s and the women, there is a good chance America would not be what it is today.
Life was unlike anything they had every lived before. Women were sent over to the new settlement to become wives and help then procreate for the future generation. These women had no idea what they were sailing into. The men were greedy, and albeit they thought they were going to make it, they needed the women’s help.
I really enjoyed reading about the start and establishment of Jamestown and it was barley hanging on. I am amazed that those people did survive and eventually help and food came to help, but it was a very strenuous life and every single day was another struggle and hardship. It was also interesting to read a bit about John Smith and Pocahontas. I really enjoyed this novel and would like to read more historical fiction about Jamestown and those settlers.
Thank you to the author and Black Stone Publishing, for the free book. Also thank you to Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for the invite! I really enjoyed being in Temperance’s footsteps and understanding the settlement in the new world.
Thank you HFVBT and Blackstone for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
The Brief and True Report of
Temperance Flowerdew
By: Denise Heinze
REVIEW
Temperance Flowerdew was wife to two Virginia governors, gave birth to three children and died at age 38. This story is her accounting of her time in Jamestown during a horrible winter. It is the story of a woman’s will to survive. With a mix of fact and fiction, Denise Heinze weaves a fascinating story, ensuring that this remarkable woman will not be lost to history, as women often are, but preserved in a well researched story of her possible life.
Temperance Flowerdew arrives in the colony of Jamestown in 1609-1610 to find a floundering settlement. Indeed, she, with her maid, Lily, can plainly see things are not going well, and starvation is imminent. With each woman using what skills she possesses, Temperance and Lily do anything they can to survive the winter of 1610, known as the Starving Time.
The conditions are so brutal as to be almost incomprehensible. I certainly would have perished! Her story includes cameos of John Smith and Pocahontas. The details of life are remarkable. Given the circumstances, I’m surprised anyone survived. Those who did retain the memories of this nightmare forever. I learned many things about the era because I know little of the Jamestown settlement. I highly recommend this historical fiction novel for history buffs and readers of the genre. It is a harrowing grievous account you will not soon forget.
Switching between the narrative story and the account being written for posterity, the early years Temperance Flowerdew and her maid Lily spend in the colony of Jamestown begin to unfold. Having committed to traveling to the New World in a fit of pique, Temperance survives the various threats and privations of the infamously difficult winter of 1609-1610 only through Lily’s resourcefulness. While this is Temperance’s report, it is very much the story of both Temperance and Lily.
At times poetic, barbarous, proper, amusing, heartbreaking, and devastating, this is a story that had me at the title, again at the dedication to “all the women gone missing from history,” and held me through to the melancholy of the last sentence. I’ve been familiar with the story of Jamestown, the strained relations with the Powhatans, and the Starving Time, but never experienced it in this way or had it feel this real.
Highly recommended.
This review refers to a finished copy I voluntarily received and read, courtesy of the publisher. It contains only my own honest opinions. A positive review was not required.
This is a compelling fictionalized history of the beginning of Jamestown, Virginia as told by an educated woman colonist, Temperance Flowerdew. Flowerdew was a well-born lady who decided on a whim to join other intrepid people as settlers in the two-year-old village of Jamestown. As the flotilla sails across the Atlantic, a hurricane wreaks havoc and Temperance and her shipmates are the only ones to arrive at the fort surrounding the village. The new settlers are literally starving, but then so are the existing settlers. The missing ships had the supplies needed to replenish the fort’s supplies. Temperance can immediately see that the fort and its people are in imminent danger of dying either from starvation (no crops have been planted), dehydration, or Indian attacks. While her maid Lily works diligently to grow and forage enough food in their very small garden plot, Temperance is working to get the men in charge of the fort to listen to her ideas for saving lives, but finds their you’re only a woman what can you possibly know about these matters attitude frustrating and dangerous.
This a well-written, well-researched telling of the history of the Jamestown colony over the winter of 1609-1610. The author has created two characters that readers can cheer on in their quest to change their lives for the better against staggering odds. Heinze wove fiction and history together to make for a compelling read.
This is a historical novel not to be missed. If you love historical novels that have real-life characters like Temperance, John Smith, and Pocahontas as part of the storyline, then this book should be at the top of your to-be-read list.
My thanks to Blackstone and Edelweiss for an eARC.
This story – written primarily from the perspective of Temperance Flowerdew, best known as the wife of the first two governors of the Jamestown settlement in Virginia – is haunting. It starkly illustrates the violent reality of the colonial experience, taking readers across the unforgiving ocean and through the brutal starving time in the winter of 1609-1610. Those who survived endless tragedies were left to battle dreadful memories for the rest of their days. I was enthralled by the recent PBS presentation of Jamestown, and this book served as both a prequel, through flashback sequences, as well as a sequel to that fictional program. For as tragic as this tale was, there was also such hope in the loving and loyal relationship that formed between mistress and servant as they fought together to survive the harshness of their new home. This story is informative about the time and place – revealing shocking historical details I was unaware of – and also tremendously sad. Ultimately, Temperance explains her purpose for writing her report: “I wonder what goes missing when the women are nowhere to be found as actors in history. It is but half of the story.”
The Brief and True Report of Temperance Flowerdew by Denise Heinze is an interesting historical fiction novel that depicts the harsh environment and realities that the settlers of Jamestown faced during the harsh circumstances they faced trying to forge a new life in uncharted lands.
This book is written in third person as well as first person/journals written by Temperance. There is no easy way to describe how difficult this situation was for everyone then. This was especially true for women. Here the reader gets a first hand glimpse into the struggles and difficulties faced by women in Jamestown colony.
The characters were overall interesting, however I had more interest and sympathy for Lily (Temperances’s maid) vs Temperature herself. I felt she had more redeeming characteristics. I would have enjoyed finding out more in-depth information about these women then what was depicted, however it was still an enjoyable and informational read.
4/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.