In this sweeping debut historical novel set in Colonial America, two young indentured servants yearn to be free—to live and to love… the only way he can: he commits himself as an indentured servant for a term of four years, having no idea what he’s in for. His rough ocean crossing is only the beginning of a new life of hardships in Philadelphia.
In London, ten-year-old orphan pickpocket Mallie Ambrose is arrested for stealing a handkerchief. After experiencing the horror of Newgate prison, she is sentenced to “Transportation,” bound into indentured servitude and exiled to the American colonies. Once in Maryland, she is sold to a tyrannical tobacco planter for seven years.
As Blair and Mallie each endure hellish conditions, their paths eventually cross when they are acquired by the same owner. After Blair steps in to defend Mallie from their cruel master, the two escape and head west, finding unlikely allies among the Delaware Indians. But as fugitives without rights, they live in constant fear of capture.
Indra Zuno vividly portrays the terror and injustice of indentured servitude in pre-Revolutionary War America while championing the indomitable spirits of two strong survivors who struggle against monumental odds to find the freedom to love each other and control their own destiny.
more
A beautiful debut historical novel that is well written, richly textured, has intriguing characters, and does a great job of integrating historical information into the story line. I really liked this book and am looking forward to seeing more from this author.
Oh my goodness! Another great historical fiction to put on my list of good reads. Freedom Dues was narrated by Sarah-Jane Drummey and she was amazing. She brought something really special to an already wonderful tale. And honestly I don’t know how people didn’t die from heartbreak.
So many unfair things took place in this and I really don’t think I’d have survived back then. And if you’re wondering, it is a HEA. The beginning dragged a tiny bit but I was rewarded with a moving tale of love, loss and new beginnings.
I highly recommend this if you like historical fiction.
Thanks IBPA via NetGalley.
Indentured
In 1729 Ireland times are hard and even harder for the protestant Scotch-Irish in a predominate Catholic society. Blair Eakins and his brother Ronald pay for passage to America by becoming indentured servants for a term of four years. Not knowing when they left Ireland what they were getting into in America as indentured servants.
In London a young ten year old pickpocket Mallie Ambrose is arrested for stealing a handkerchief and sentenced to transportation to Maryland as an indentured servant for 7 years. In the story between masters and in passing Blair and Mallie get to know each other.
The story is of the hellish life of the indentured servant in the 1700’s in colonial America. They are treated the same or sometimes worse than slaves. The masters take liberties with the female servants and they have no way to prevent the abuse. If they become pregnant their child is indentured to the master until they are 21 and the servant is beaten with the whip. The indentured servant are beaten with the whip for any small error. When they cause the master to become angry with them or if they try to escape they are not only beaten, but time is added to their indentured time, thus through small little life occurrences they can become unpaid slaves for way longer than their original period and sometimes for life. Some didn’t last that long as they died in servitude.
It is a hard life, but the few that survive and make a life for themselves find it worth it . This is a story of two of those servants and the events that happened in their servitude.
It is rather sad and not a lot is written about in our history books, but it should have been. These people truly were in slavery to their masters.
I learned much from this book, I had heard of indentured servants before, but not much about their actual lives as servants. It was not a pretty picture. It is a part of history and needs to be remembered. I would recommend this book.
Thanks to Indra Zuno for writing an informative story about a time in history, to Sarah-Jane Drummey for her wonderful narration of the audio book , to Spinning a Yarn Press for publishing it and to NetGalley for making it available to me.
Freedom Dues is an engrossing story of indentured servitude in the New World during the early 1700’s. Life in Colonial America is difficult for all but it is exponentially harder if you are.an indentured servant. Any work that one would expect a slave to preform was also done by indentures. In fact there was little difference between the two. There were some laws that were intended to protect them but they were weak and then as now justice was out of reach of the poor. Doing research after finishing the book,I was not surprised to learn that the percentage that died during their contracted years was high. It is in this uncertain world that our protagonists find themselves.
Blair Eakins a young scots Irish man from Ulster decides to leave Ireland after his father dies. He and his brother Ronald make this choice when faced with few prospects for the future except poverty and famine. Blair looks forward to improving his life, in America, for himself and his sweetheart. Not 24 hours into the voyage Blair and his brother realize that in their new circumstances they are vulnerable and what is promised to them is not always going to be delivered.
Mallie Ambrose is a 10 year old pick-pocket from London. When she is caught and found guilty her sentence is transportation followed by a 7 year indenture. During the voyage she is befriended by a fellow transportee who had money to buy a better condition for himself while onboard. He is able to protect Mallie from some of the worst situations during the trip.
Once landed though her contract is bought by a planter from Maryland. Though still a child Mallie is expected to work anywhere she may be needed, the house, kitchens or fields. She must follow the same rules as the adults and can expect the same punishment for infractions, including beatings with a whip or leather strap.
The hardships, peril and betrayals both face and their reactions to them, form the basis of their storylines. Will they grow and prosper or fail and not survive are questions they face.
The life they live is often brutal and therefore the book is hard to read sometimes. But it also shows their ability to survive and their capacity to continue to believe in and hope for a brighter future. We see strength, courage, integrity and yes even the ability to love in them. The author has done a wonderful job creating such complex characters.
The research that was done by the author was extensive and it shows. Each facet of historical detail was seamlessly interwoven to give the reader a true sense of time and place. The story moves forward at a nice even pace with many highs,lows,twists and turns for the reader to experience. All in all this was a well written exciting book!
I “read” the novel via an audiobook and throughly enjoyed the movie that played in my head. My only wish was that the publisher had used 2 narrators. This is not meant to diminish the narrators work she did a wonderful job but the vast number of characters with differing accents would have challenged the very best actor. Despite this issue she did an admirable job using her voice to build tension and reflect thee emotions of each scene.
Recommended for serious historical fiction fans who also enjoy historical romance that’s well done.
4 Stars!
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Spinning a Yarn Press and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.