The Winthrop Woman

The author did a great amount of research over several years in writing this book.

The republishing of the prodigious historical novels of Anya Seton in the first decade of this century brings to light the treasure trove encompassed in her work.Winthrop Women, first published in 1958 and later released in 2006 is a particular gift for those whose interests lie in the history of the Puritans, the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the early settlement of the environs of Greenwich, Connecticut. Above all, it is a great love story and the saga of a strong and independent woman richly entwined in the region's history.Winthrop Women embraces a broad historical web, set in the 1600s (1617-1655) centered around the family of John Winthrop, a fanatical practitioner of the Puritan faith who became the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and his rebellious niece and daughter-in-law Elizabeth Fons. Their descendents remain in Connecticut and throughout New England. Seton tells the Winthrop family and Elizabeth Fons' story in three parts: The early years in England living a near aristocratic lifestyle; the great Puritan migration to the New World with the establishment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony; Elizabeth's banishment from Massachusetts and her emergence in Greenwich, Connecticut with husbands (correct) , lovers and children joining in the journey!Anya Seton's story of Elizabeth is written in " high-definition." From childhood, "Bess" is of independent thought and passionate in her views. She was born on a collision course with the beliefs of her Puritan elders, especially John Winthrop. Long before boarding the ship Lyon for the journey to the New World, this child of luxury and high social status had established herself as the Fons' and Winthrop family non-conformist.Proudly leading his flock beneath the banner of religious freedom to the colonies in New England, far away from the dictates of King Charles, Cromwell and the ruling British establishment, John Winthrop becomes a zealot and religious tyrant, ruling over his domain, with a wrathful "God" as his enforcer.Elizabeth's ever complicated life, saturated with her passion for men and her non-conformist beliefs, provides the framework for an abundant tableau of what life and love was like in 1630s New England. The drudgery of daily survival, the absence of luxuries, disease and Indians both friend and foe. Foremost, the woman's role of being, above all, a necessary "good breeder," upon which the future of the faith and the colony itself depended!Elizabeth, having fallen in love with John Winthrop's son, her cousin Henry, became pregnant and was hastily married before leaving England! Henry, a kindred free spirit was not traveling with Elizabeth on the ship Lyon but was under his father's supervision on the Arabella. Elizabeth learned upon her arrival in Massachusetts that Henry had drowned in a boating accident upon landing. There would be two more husbands and many children, living and still-born before her story concludes thirty years later.During a brief period when Winthrop had been ousted as Massachusetts Bay Colony Governor, the community rose up against Elizabeth's behavior with rumors and speculation that she and her Indian servant Telaka were possessed by the devil. The outcry became witchcraft! Banishment from the colony, the final solution in those days short of hanging, saw Elizabeth, her family and Telaka ( whom Elizabeth had rescued from a slave auction) on their way to Greenwich where under Dutch law there was greater respect for individual freedom and religious beliefs. This novel is so wonderfully written and researched that of course, Telaka, had ended up in Boston only after being kidnapped from her tribe, the Siwanoy Indians who populated the area in and around Greenwich! A homecoming for Telaka and a new most welcoming home for Elizabeth, her husband and brood? Not quite that simple!In the Greenwich chapters you will walk with Elizabeth on the white beaches of Monakewago ( Tods Point), follow the Mianus River, witness the massacre of over 1000 Siwanoy Indians ( Telaka's family) in what is today Cos Cob. There will be yet another husband and more "breeding, " and another banishment with the loss of thousands of acres of land that today encompass the entire Town of Greenwich.History is taught in many ways and Seton is deserving of high praise both as a novelist and historian for Winthrop Women. Seton wrote Winthrop Women while living in Old Greenwich, Connecticut where she died in 1990 at age 86. She is buried there in Putnam cemetery.Other highly acclaimed novels by Anya Seton include, Foxfire ( 1950), Katherine (1954), The Mistletoe and the Sword (1956). See gordonsgoodreads.com

The Winthrop Woman was the book that first introduced me to Anya Seton when I was just 14 (many years ago), and it left an indelible mark in my memory. Over the past few months I have been reading every work by Anya Seton -- re-reading those I enjoyed many years ago, and discovering her works I had never read before. I purposely saved this book for last; I wanted to see how it compared to all her other works, and whether it still held up for me after all these years.I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book again, although I found it less remarkable than when I read it as a young teen. Which isn't surprising; my expectations and standards have naturally changed over so many years. However, I still regard it as one of Anya Seton's best. As in all of her books, she amazed me with her ability to develop such a full and convincing narrative around so few actual known facts. She creates characters that are full and multi-dimensional, and their interrelationships are multi-faceted and full of subtleties. This is the way it is in "real life", of course, but that she created this cast of characters -- and filled almost 600 pages with their story -- almost entirely from her own imagination is truly impressive. Seton's interpretation of the personality and motives of Elizabeth Fones/Winthrop/Feake/Hallett reminded me in many ways of Scarlett O'Hara. I suspect that she was more than a little influenced by Margaret Mitchell's earlier work.This book strongly resembles her other more famous work "Katherine" in its scope and ambition. Both works tell nearly the entire life story of their heroine, women who were willing to face adversity and the disapproval of their respective societies for the sake of love. Like Katherine, The Winthrop Woman is a full and satisfying story that leaves nothing out, leaves no unanswered questions in the reader's mind. And like Katherine, the only real fault I could find with The Winthop Woman is that at times the pace lagged and I found myself thumbing ahead.In fact, I was prepared to give this book a 4-star rating as I did Katherine, until I got to the last chapter. Anya Seton gave The Winthrop Woman the best and most memorable ending of all her books. The last scene was truly moving. Based on that alone, I raised my rating to 5 stars.Is this book still my favorite by Anya Seton? No. Although I couldn't pick a single favorite from among her works, categorically I would have to say her earliest works are my favorites. She is best at creating slightly shorter novels where the pace never lags. However, The Winthop Woman is a very good book that I would definitely recommend, especially to someone who is interested in early American history. She manages to convey the difficulties the earliest settlers faced, and gives a pretty sympathetic treatment of the Indians as well (which is somewhat remarkable in itself, considering that this book was written nearly 60 years ago). And through the character of Elizabeth she gives a glimpse into the early Puritan colonies in America which were, in many ways, as oppressive as the English society they had left behind.Kudos to Chicago Review Press for reprinting Anya Seton's works, making them easily obtainable. And for giving them beautiful covers to boot.One very intriguing footnote -- I just read the Wikipedia article on Meg Whitman, who is currently running for governor of my state (California). It says she was born on Long Island, and that her father's name is Hendricks Hallett Whitman. Could it be she is a descendant of Eizabeth and William Hallett? I would love to know.....!

I first read this book in my early twenties and did not truly appreciate it. Now many decades later I have read it again in true appreciation of the the colonial times in New England. Of the characters in this tale I have spent time learning to do a search for my ancestors and read many articles about the life and times of these remarkable individuals. The events that led to the Great Migration are represented within these pages. So many came here in pursuit of religious freedom, and yet they created a new world based on hypocrisy and in many ways worse than the one they left behind. Women were basically property and at the whim of the men in their lives. The life here was hard and full of difficulties, many died young and only the strongest seem to have survived. The Puritans were very strict and believed that their reward for a life led following the strict rules that were established was in heaven. Elizabeth Winthrop was a head strong woman who married three times losing her first husband to drowning before she even left England, her second husband selected for her by her uncle suffered with mental health problems and eventually only lived in the past and the third husband who was younger than her stood beside her as she obtained a divorce from her second husband and struggled to be able to marry . This book overwhelmed me at times to picture being a woman in that time. I can honestly recommend this book to anyone who loves reading about that time before we became the United States.

I loved this book, especially as it is so well researched. One really sees the Christian fundamentalist beginning in the US which is replicated today and is unique to the US. Having been to Plymouth, Boston and seen the impact of the Winthrops, the book resonated more. But the women bore the brunt of misogynist men back then and do today as we see appalling but similar ways of treating women in fundamentalist Christian sects, muslim and orthodox jews.

...as promised

This book is a must for anyone especially if Elizabeth is in your ancestry. I have read this book many times. I have it in hardcover (original publication) plus have it now on my kindle.

Years ago I had borrowed this book from a hospital trolley and on leaving hospital I had to leave it behind having not finished it. I bought it recently and read it all again enjoying every bit. It is well written, researched well and very interesting. I will definitely search out books written by this author.

I'm glad to see the book is available again.As a descendent of Elizabeth Fones through Hannah Bowne, I first read this story as a child, when my family happened to move to Ipswich, Massachusetts. The character of Elizabeth spurred my own determination to make my own way in life.When I eventually moved to the UK in the mid 1990's, one of the first things I did was go look for the Winthrop roots. A copy of Henry VIII's charter granting Groton Manor to the Winthrops can be found in the National Archives at Kew, but sadly the manor house itself is no longer standing. The church, however, still stands and one can get a feeling of history by reading the book and visiting this part of the country.