ABOUT:
A Fictional Recounting of the Survival Story of Patawomeck Tribe of Virginia
The story has been remembered within the Patawomeck tribe for generations, but is largely unknown outside of the tribe until now. Author Lora Chilton, a tribal member through the lineage of her father, has created this powerful fictional retelling.
The story follows three Indigenous Patawomeck women who lived through the decimation of their tribe by land hungry colonists in the summer of 1666, the massacre of their men, the harrowing march south where they and their children were sold and transported to Barbados via slave ship, and, eventually, their brave escape back to Virginia. It is because of these women that the tribe is in existence to this day.
This work of historical fiction is based on oral tradition, interviews with tribal elders, written colonial records and extensive research by the author, including study of the language. The book uses Indigenous names for the characters and some Patawomeck words to honor the culture and heritage that was erased when European colonization of the Americans began in the 16th century.
PRAISE AND RECOGNITION:
“Packed with Indigenous culture and customs and sprinkled with tribal terminology, the narrative is vivid, magnetic, and chilling. The author is herself a Patawomeck descendant, and she’s combined scant available written records with tribal oral history to inform her creation of two emotionally powerful, vibrant female protagonists….plenty of action, tears, cheers, and historical detail work to keep the pages turning. A disturbing, absorbing, and valuable addition to the literature of cruelty inflicted upon Indigenous peoples.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Lora Chilton’s 1666: A Novel is an historically accurate, horrific, moving chronicle of the devastation wrought on the indigenous population by white settlers in early America. The author manages to take large dollops of shocking history and fashion them into a narrative that moves like a chilling wind. The story is a tragedy, of course, but in Chilton’s sure hands, it transcends the horrors, and the name of this transcendence is Art.” —Corey Mesler, author of Memphis Movie, and The World is Neither Stacked For Nor Against You: Selected Stories
“With meticulous research, Lora Chilton’s 1666: A Novel, brings to life the forgotten and tragic story of women who survived a disgraceful chapter in our melting-pot history. Following them from Virginia and the birth of the ‘New World,’ to Barbados, eventually back to their lost homelands, you cannot help but mourn the lost opportunity early settlers had to collaborate rather than annihilate.” —Molly Caldwell Crosby, author of The American Plague, and The Great Pearl Heist
“In this debut novel by Lora Chilton, 1666: A Novel, we are introduced to a history based account of two brave Indigenous women of the Patawomeck tribe, who are abducted from their native Virginia home in 1666 and enslaved under the brutal ‘Master’ and ‘Mistress’ of the plantations in Barbados. A page-turning marvel of a historical novel! Otherwise, the shameful erasure of the Patawomeck would have been maintained.” —Diana Y. Paul, author of Things Unsaid
“Focusing on the experiences of three Patawomeck women in the latter half of the seventeenth century, Chilton, in 1666 : A Novel, draws on contemporary scholarship regarding Patawomeck and Virginia Algonquian history, culture, and language to develop her characters and add depth to their stories. It is refreshing to read a story about Virginia Indian women in the seventeenth century that avoids the glamorized, sexualized, and racialized Pocahontas mythology and instead centers on the experiences of those everyday people who may not have been so well-known to colonizers but are the true ancestors of most Virginia Indians…. A fast-paced novel that takes the reader through numerous Atlantic landscapes from the traditional Patawomeck homelands along Potomac Creek, to Barbados, to New York, 1666 illustrates the interconnectedness of the early Modern world and its people.” —Dr. Brad Hatch, Patawomeck Tribal Historian and Tribal Council Member
“Beautifully written, 1666: A Novel tells a story that needs to be told…this is a story of the survival of our best selves over our worst.” —Dr. Barbara U. Prescott, co-author of My Heart Got Married and I Didn’t Know It
“History is usually written by the conquerors, so it is said to be HIS-story!… 1666: A Novel, an often raw and gritty work of historical fiction, describes the resilience and tenacity that ultimately is OUR-story! Based on actual Colonial documents from the 1600s, this tragic tale often seems as shocking as a sudden plunge into cold water… but then reverberates with redemption and the LOVE of family and friends that brings warmth to the heart!” —Buddy “White Cloud” Jett, Patawomeck elder, Former Tribal Council Member and Tribal Judge Emeritus
“For centuries before English settlers arrived to establish the Jamestown settlement in 1607, Native Americans inhabited the land we now call Virginia. Upon their arrival, Native Americans shared their mastery of the land with the English settlers and ultimately ensured the Colony’s survival. However, in 17th century Virginia three cultures collided (Virginia Indian, African, and English). Lora Chilton’s novel, 1666: A Novel, tells the true untold story of the survival of her tribe, the Patawomeck. It is important that stories like this be told from a Native American perspective. The Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival supports elevating the perspectives of Native Americans as part of our shared collective history. This amazing story of survival needs to be shown on the big screen.” —Bradby Brown, Pamunkey, Executive Director, Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival
AUTHOR VISITS:
Author visits with Laura Chilton are available via NovelNetwork.com.