Pennsylvania Colony

In 1681, King Charles II granted William Penn, a Quaker, sole proprietorship of more than 450,000 acres of land. The colony of Pennsylvania soon offered thousands of European settlers the civil liberties, representative government, and affordable land they wanted.

Many other mainline Christians viewed the Quakers as a dangerous sect, so much so that they pressured the British Parliament to pass the Quaker Act of 1662. This act set forth in law the “prescribed form” of prayer and worship as designated by the state. It was a formula that specifically left the traditions of the Quakers out. Unable to gain acceptance in England, the Quakers would soon leave the place of their origin altogether and try their luck in a brave new world on another continent.

The early settlement of the region around Pittsburgh was characterized by a messy collision of personal, provincial, national, and imperial interests. Driven by the efforts of Europeans, Pennsylvanians, Virginians, and Indians, almost everyone attempted to manipulate the clouded political jurisdiction of the region. A Colony Sprung from Hell traces this complex struggle. The events and episodes that make up the story highlight the difficulties of creating and consolidating authority along the frontier.

In Huntington, West Virginia-based author and poet, ESMERALDA LINTNER's previous novella, the appearance of an unusual man of the cloth lighted up the pages of the narrative. Now, the Reverend Doctor Sinner returns in a tale which plunges the reader directly into the maelstrom of the American Revolution and its effect on the inhabitants of a small fictional village located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The action is nonstop, and the laughs are also plentiful as Doctor Sinner amazed everyone with his dual personality: mild-mannered vicar of the Cobblestone All Saints Congregational Church ...