Welcome to the Pilgrims’ Post and One Candle’s Light
Fay’s First Blog
I welcome all readers interested in the American Pilgrims and their determined quest for freedom from government thought control.
My book, One Candle’s Light, (Oaktara, 2009) is a historical novel beginning with William Brewster’s coming-of–age around 1578 in rural England and continuing through the community’s home at Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts in 1622.
I made three trips to England to research the Pilgrims’ individual stories and the gathering of their community. At key sites in England American groups have erected monuments to memorialize these Englishmen and their determined effort to seek freedom instead of power. Some of the buildings the Pilgrims used are still standing, notably Scrooby Manor and Babworth Church. The English are famous for preserving sturdy buildings and their historical significance.
From the point of view of Americans, the most significant contribution the Pilgrims made to American history was that they were part of the English Reformation of the Christian church which swept Europe and England in the 16th Century. The Pilgrims therefore became known as the “Pilgrim Fathers” celebrated at Plimoth Plantation as the first permanent family settlement in America.
For readers interested in authentic details of the Pilgrims’ quest I recommend Jeremy Bangs’ definitive work, Strangers and Pilgrims: Traveler and Sojourners, published in 2009. It is an exhaustive history and bibliography of the Pilgrims’ story.
Fay Alexander, author – One Candle’s Light