Product Description

Mary's Land is a novel of Lord Baltimore's rowdy colony in 1638. Kirkus Review calls it a "stylish, superior historical... a richly detailed, first rate tale" with, "memorable characters, scenes, and lilting dialogue."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #516160 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 482 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Set in the "wild country" colony of Maryland in the mid-17th century, Robson's (Light a Distant Fire) languidly paced novel brims with authentic detail and dialect but, because of a tepid plot, fails to bring this historical period to full life. In 1638, Anicah Sparrow, a tough-talking 13-year-old pickpocket, is kidnapped in Bristol, England, and held inside the rat-infested bowels of a ship bound for Mary's Land, where she'll be sold as an indentured servant to the highest bidder. Several decks above is Margaret Brent, a 37-year-old descendant of English nobility who, along with her devout sister and brother, is being smuggled out of England to avoid persecution for illegally practicing Catholicism. Arriving in the New World, Anicah is sold to Samuel Smythe, a local tavern owner, but manages to steal away for romantic trysts with Martin, another indentured servant. Meanwhile, Margaret, who had purchased property in the new colony in exchange for transporting laborers from England, and who despaired upon first viewing the desolate land, begins building her new manor and planting tobacco and other crops. Robson diligently chronicles the struggles facing the new settlers and the ongoing battles over religious freedom, but few of her characters, including real-life historical personages like Margaret, inspire more than ordinary interest. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternate selections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In 1638, Margaret Brent, an upper-class Catholic, sets out for Lord Baltimore's new colony in search of personal and religious freedom. On the same ship is Anicah Sparrow, an orphan who has been kidnapped to serve as an indentured servant in the colony. The reality of their new home is much harsher than expected, but Anicah finds love and a better life. Ultimately, Margaret moves on in her search for freedom. Maryland native Robson has meticulously researched her work, using a mix of real and fictional characters. As author of several historical novels, including The Tokaido Road (LJ 2/15/91), she has an eye for the details of everyday life and an ear for the rich and earthy language of the period. Her novel will do well in most historical fiction collections. [Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates.]-Barbara E. Kemp, SUNY at Alban.
--Barbara E. Kemp, SUNY at Albany
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap
The San Francisco Chronicle has praised Lucia St. Clair Robson for her re-creations of "colorful people, stunning landscapes, and arcane customs." And Cosmopolitan proclaimed that in a Robson novel "what is to us an unfamiliar world comes absolutely alive." Now the author of Ride the Wind and Walk in My Soul has crafted an enthralling tale of early Maryland. A truly American novel of dreams and courage, Mary's Land tells the story of two women who build a new life in a verdant country that is strange and threatening, yet gloriously sweet with promise.
As the ship Charity sails from England across the Atlantic, two vastly different yet equally courageous women make the perilous journey. Strong-willed, upper class Margaret Brent has decided to make better use of her dowry than to hand it over to some doddering squire. She has invested in Lord Baltimore's Maryland plantation, because the new colony is her single chance for a home of her own, and the right to practice openly her Catholic religion.
Anicah is a teenage guttersnipe who lives by her wits and quick tongue. kidnapped off the streets of Bristol, she is transported to the New World and indentured to Samuel Smythe, a local tavern keeper. Used to the world's indifference, she never envisioned a life of food, shelter, and only Goodwife Smythe's ill-temper with which to contend. And then there is Martin, who opens her heart to a woman's love.
For Margaret and Anicah, the future is different from any they might have imagined. One will achieve the American dream, the other will keep moving in search of freedom. But both bring to glorious life the world of Mary's Land, a novel of such meticulous historical accuracy and detail that it could only have been written by the acclaimed Lucia St. Clair Robson.
An Alternate Selection of the Literary Guild(c)
and the Doubleday Book Club(c)

Customer Reviews

Louisa does it again!!!
I am an avid reader of historical biographies both fictional and non fictional. I found this book to be a treasure trove of information and details of live in a very young America. If you want to get a feel for the type of people that started this country this is a must read book. I highly recomend.

TOO much detail
I loved RIDE THE WIND and other books by this author, but this one is a struggle for even a history lover to read. I appreciate the exhaustive research she obviously put into the book, but the details obscure the characters and make the novel dull, dull, dull. Unless there are well-developed characters, all the earthy language and descriptions of customs in the 17th century won't make an interesting book. This was supposed to be a historical NOVEL, wasn't it?

Happy to see this classic back in print
"Mary's Land" is a colorful and detailed novel of a time at the beginning of Europeans' migration to the New World. Robson's novel puts the reader into the thick of the action from the long journey on a small ship to the taming of the frontier. The characters are people you care about. You cheer them on when they find success and cry for them when they don't. Wonderful to see it back in print.