My Father's Kingdom

A Novel of Puritan New England

By: James W. George

Narrated by: Angus Freathy

Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1620, more than 100 devout men and women crossed the treacherous Atlantic Ocean and established a colony in the New World where they could build a righteous and Godly society. Without the fortuitous friendship of the Wampanoag people and their charismatic leader Massasoit, however, it is doubtful the holy experiment would have survived.

Fifty years later Plymouth Colony has not only survived, it has prospered, and more and more Englishmen are immigrating to New England. The blessed alliance with the Wampanoag, however, is in severe jeopardy. Massasoit has passed away along with most of the original settlers of Plymouth Colony, and their children and grandchildren have very different ideas about their historic friendship.

Thrust into the center of events is Reverend Israel Brewster, an idealistic young minister with a famous grandfather and a tragic past. Meanwhile, Massasoit's son, known as "King Philip" by the English, is tormented by both the present and the past. He is watching the resources and culture of the Wampanoag nation fade away at the hands of the English and desperately wishes to restore hope and security to his people.

In a world of religious fervor, devastating sickness, and incessant greed, can the alliance of their forefathers survive? Or will New England feel the wrath of tragic, bloody war?

©2017 James W. George (P)2017 James W. George

Native Americans and the Colonists collide

I was interested in reading this story because I am familiar with this era thanks to a family rich with genealogical knowledge. Interestingly, I recognized several names as being connected to my family history and even heard my family name as a minor character in the book.

The history contained in this book was interesting and I think not well known. It definitely kept me listening through to the end of the book. A sad era in our history and lots of lessons to be learned. The narrator was an excellent fit for the book. I appreciated hearing the narrator's opinion of the book at the end.

I also appreciated the authors note at the end letting us know what was genuine and what was just the covering for the historical framework for this book. Much more was historically accurate than I realized.
I received this audio-book free for an honest review by the author, narrator, or publisher. Thank you!!

Puritan History

I am looking forward to the next book. Enjoyed the story, the narrator's voice was very pleasant.

Interesting take of some American History

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by James W. George. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

This book relates the story of a colony in the New World fifty years after its arrival, and how they related to the people which had to share the land with: the Wampanoag. The new arrivals received a lot of help in the beginning, but later on they became much stronger than the Wampanoag and it seemed impossible to keep their agreements since their ideals and ways were too different.

I was not sure what to expect from a book in which the word puritan was included in the title. As an atheist I am not very interested in stories with a religious background, but I found the subject historically interesting and this is why I decided to listen to this book. First I have to say that the fear I had was unfounded. There was some religion and religious men in this book, but this was inherent to the society of the time, and James W. George did a very good job in depicting 17th century people's ways in the New World. His writing had such beauty that listening to this book was a delight.

It was at first a bit difficult to keep track of all the Indian names but making a quick list saved me some trouble later on. This is one of the things to take into account regarding audiobooks. With written books one can always go some pages back and check but with audiobooks if we are up against many new characters with exotic names at once, I find that lists are a must.

When writing historical fiction I think it is difficult to find a balance between narrating what really happened and making it accessible to the general public. George did a wonderful job by making this subject known to people who did not know much about it like me. His characters were not very developed, but nevertheless it was easy to connect to them, even though I found difficult to understand why they acted like they did. I guess it was a different place and time, and with a much different mentality.

I find this part of American History sad, but it is something that should become well known so that we can learn to avoid making the same mistakes. George has managed to make this history interesting and attractive to the reader. We all know how it went afterwards, but nevertheless I am looking forward to the sequel.

Angus Freathy's style matched perfectly George's style. He did a wonderful job with the narration and the characters' interpretations. I noticed some different voices in some occasions, but most of the time I have to say that the characters sounded the same to me. The book was very well written, so there was no confusion possible, but I just wanted to mention this. There were some little issues like swallowing noises or noticeable breath intakes through the nose, but I was fine with it. Almost towards the end of the book (5:51:01) there is a little hesitancy when pronouncing a word, something that should have been edited, in my opinion. There was also a tiny background noise almost all the time during the recording, but not enough to spoil the narration.

I really enjoyed this piece of history, and I am looking forward to the continuation of the series. If you are interested in history, just do not let it pass because it may seem too religious. It is not, but we have to keep in mind how important religion was at the time.

I enjoyed it!

Would you consider the audio edition of My Father's Kingdom to be better than the print version?

I didn't read the print version.

What does Angus Freathy bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The British accent of Angus Freathy made this book a little more interesting.

Any additional comments?

A movie would be interesting! Provided that the author’s research is trustworthy, I learned much about the daily life and customs of the American tribes and the Pilgrims in this work of fiction.

I received this audio-book free for an honest review by the author, narrator, or publisher. Thank you!!!

very good

Loved it !! this story. the narrator is so fantastic it's like your really there!! good overall

Fascinating book for history lovers!

This book was great surprise! First off, the narrator is absolute perfection for this story.
Secondly, I didn’t know much about this book before purchasing it and I found it fascinating. I consider myself to be fairly well read when it comes to American History, but the lead up to King Phillips War was something I didn’t know much about. I really enjoyed the mixed perspectives offered- the reader gets inside both the Native American and Puritan perspectives of the time and sees through eyes of each. The author achieves this through outstanding character and story development. There are obvious and not so obvious moral issues that are raised in the layered storytelling. I felt like characters and groups were used to make different points about government, religion, women’s rights, tolerance, friendship, society, education, stereotypes, greed, double standards, true belief, etc so many interesting issues raised. I learned a lot about this period of history. I also really liked the way the author portrayed Native Americans with such profound respect and dignity.
This is just a really, really good book, and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.
It is now in with some of my all time favorites. Can’t wait to get into the next installment.
Thank you so much for this wonderful book and masterclass narration.

Excellent novel on a little discussed subject

The element that was the most interesting draw for me in selecting this book was the subject matter: My Father’s Kingdom focuses on the events in colonial America that lead up to King Phillip’s War. Now this is an area that I have only heard of in passing, did not learn about in any of my American History or Native American classes in school, and hasn’t been the subject of any novels that I have read. I’m always looking for new historical fiction set in America and love finding niche areas to read about and My Father’s Kingdom fits the bill. As the author points out at the end in his Notes section, this event was quite significant in early colonial history however most classes focus on the initial settling at Plymouth and Jamestown and then jump over 100 years to the Revolution, missing this unsettled time period entirely.

In My Father’s Kingdom, James George tells the story through dual narrative of that of a Wampanoag and from the perspective of the Puritan colonists. Through this storytelling method we see the issues resulting from the clash of the two cultures from both sides and it felt fairly even in terms of balance. I never really felt that the author was choosing a side. There were some characters that felt sympathy for the other culture and then those who didn’t care one bit to live peaceably with them – which is likely rather true about perspectives of the time.

There were some elements that bogged me down a little bit, primarily the emphasis on the Puritan ideals and religious belief, but I felt that it was important to get into the mindset of these colonists. At the same time there were some excellent action/drama scenes that kept the story moving; I especially appreciated the court trial scene of a group of Native Americans because of how ridiculous the whole thing was and how it showed the vast difference in the two perspectives.

While the story ends just at the first shots, literally, of King Phillip’s War I thought that George did an excellent job of bringing the reader right up into those events with a solid understanding of the complex web of events that lead to it. You can easily figure out what the end result of the war will be, one of the characters analyzes that and speaks to his people about it, but you can still see why they make that choice to go to war.

I would highly recommend this book for fans of American historical fiction as it will present something that is a fresh idea that has not been overdone.

Audiobook discussion:
Angus Freathy does a very good job narrating this book. His more subtle British accent lends itself well to the personification of the colonial characters. Freathy creates unique voices for all of his characters which lends itself to their uniqueness and how they stand out as individuals in my mind even looking back on it. His voice for one of Brewster’s adversaries is hilariously comical and heightened my enjoyment of the scenes he was in. Having grown up and lived in the area that this book takes place I did recognize some mispronunciations of locations and names, but it wouldn’t have likely been a noticeable issue for non-residents. I give Freathy kudos for actually singing the songs that make appearance in the novel rather than simply reading them. While not an excellent singer, his attempt at this made the listening experience feel more full and to what the author would have wanted the reader to experience; I know that I tend to sing songs in my head when I encounter them on the page even when I have no point of reference for the tune. Freathy asks for us to ignore his poor singing in the Author/Narrator notes, but I give him props for this, no apology needed!

Fascinating glimpse at colonial history

James W George has provided a masterful glimpse into a little known part of the history of the colonies in the 1670's. His development of the understanding of key characters was nicely done...and the narrator's vocal qualities lent quite bit of subtle credibility to the characters and accounts in the story. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

A great listen that will have you time travelling

What did you love best about My Father's Kingdom?

My favorite thing about this audiobook was how the rich language was brought to life by the talented narrator. The story transported me to the 1600s for 6 hours, and I was impressed with how much research was obviously put into recreating New England. The characters are fully developed and complex, and Angus did an outstanding job breathing life into them. I thought his voice was a perfect match for the story. Highly recommended listen!

VERY ENJOYABLE

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If it's a friend who enjoys historical novels, yes. It was informative while being engaging.

What was one of the most memorable moments of My Father's Kingdom?

In the courtroom when Linto was trying to defend his "brothers".

What does Angus Freathy bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Let's face it, it's enjoyable to listen to a British accent, and Angus has a very nice resonant voice as well. It was also noted that he wasn't uncomfortable changing his voice for the various characters, and even sang the little songs!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The very end, of course.

Any additional comments?

This was my first experience at home with audio books. I'm a painter and listened to it while painting. It allowed me to concentrate on my work while having something besides inane television in the back ground. I will listen to more of them.