245 years ago today!
Although I didn’t use this in my book, I researched the trial of the soldiers charged in the Boston Massacre and wrote this dramatization. It is told from a 3rd person point of view (different from the book where Nicholas provides descriptions in his own words).
In another instance of how similar our culture has remained over the centuries, I was struck by how important legal technicalities were even in 1770 and how hard both the British and the Americans worked to shape public impressions. “Controlling the narrative” was just as important then as now, possibly even more so.
Any comments on this or other issues related to the book or recent publicity are welcome.
Take a trip to the courtroom and the streets of Boston by clicking on this link: The Soldiers’ Trial.
I am pleased to let you know that a fellow historical fiction writer has published an in-depth review on her blog at http://www.nightsoftheroad.com/blog/. She has taken the time to read and analyze the book carefully.
She also asked a variety challenging questions for an interview. My responses will appear next week. I’ll provide the link then.
I hope you enjoy it.
I am happy to announce an upcoming event:
Sam Adams, Fox News, and Freedom of the Press
April 4, 2015
11:30am-1pm
Forbes Library, Community Room
20 West St, Northampton, MA
I’ll be reading from The Sword and Scabbard (Ch. 11) and leading a discussion on common views of Revolutionary activities during this period. Those who have read the book can ask questions and comment on events described by Nicholas, while others can begin to examine the narrative that is prevalent throughout the U.S. and worldwide.
I’m looking forward to it!
A mere 245 years ago, on March 5, 1770, two groups faced off in the square in front of the Custom House in Boston. When the confrontation ended, America had been pushed down a revolutionary path that allowed little room for reversing direction. The deaths of five unarmed men drew lines that neither the colonists nor the British government could or would cross.
The dramatization that is attached here (click on the Massacre Anniversary link at the end) describes the Massacre from a third-person perspective, unlike the description by Nicholas Gray in The Sword and Scabbard. His circumstances limited what he saw and experienced. Like in the book, the thoughts and words of the characters must be invented, but all of the events are documented in a variety of sources. The Massacre was as much the beginning of the Revolution as the shots fired six years later. I hope you enjoy the description and relish the importance of a few barely remembered men, British and American, in the world’s history.
Welcome. My name is Allen Woods, author of The Sword and Scabbard: Thieves and Thugs and the Bloody Massacre in Boston. I’m happy to have you as a visitor to my book blog.
This blog is a way to interact with you about The Sword and Scabbard, expanding on some of the topics in it, and considering the changing worlds of publishing, communications, and modern culture. It’s a chance for you to learn more about me (if you choose) and for me to get to know you and others interested in historical fiction, colonial Boston and America, and how they relate to the modern world.
