Civilized Men: A James Towne Tragedy [signed] [first edition]

Civilized Men is a fact-based novel that needed to be written. In contrast to the familiar and almost entirely fictional story of Pocahontas and John Smith, the hitherto untold truth of what happened in Virginia in 1610 between the English and the Native Americans they called savages led all the way to the tragedy at Wounded Knee in 1890. By seeing the events through the eyes of two young English brothers, the reader can take sides, following one brother true to his English heritage and the other forsaking it in defense on the Indians' way of life. This is the story of the clash between one civilization and another, and one religion and another. The brutalities common in England in the 17th century contrast with ritual-related penalities acceptable to the Indians. Neither side understood the other, but both put their trust in a god. The fictional brothers, Will and John Jefferys, thread their way through the often horrifying and traumatic events of the year, each finding solace in the arms of women-Will with Jamestown widow, Maggie Beale, and John with Tarapoto, sister of the Paspahegh queen whom the English murdered. All the other principal players were real people doing what comtemporary records say they did. Of necessity, however, their dialogue has been recreated, but motives and attitudes have followed the truth as closely as the sources permit.