Nancy Turner burst onto the literary scene with her hugely popular novels "These Is My Words, Sarah's Quilt, "and "The Star Garden. "Now, Turner has written the novel she was born to write, this exciting and heartfelt story of a woman struggling to find herself during the tumultuous years preceding the American Revolution.
The year is 1729, and Resolute Talbot and her siblings are captured by pirates, taken from their family in Jamaica, and brought to the New World. Resolute and her sister are sold into slavery in colonial New England and taught the trade of spinning and weaving. When Resolute finds herself alone in Lexington, Massachusetts, she struggles to find her way in a society that is quick to judge a young woman without a family. As the seeds of rebellion against England grow, Resolute is torn between following the rules and breaking free. Resolute's talent at the loom places her at the center of an incredible web of secrecy that helped drive the American Revolution. Heart-wrenching, brilliantly written, and packed to the brim with adventure, "My Name is Resolute" is destined to be an instant classic.
About the Author :
NANCY TURNER is the author of "These Is My Words, Sarah's Quilt, "and "The Star Garden. "She was born in Dallas, Texas and grew up in Southern California and Arizona. "These Is My Words "was selected as One Book, One Arizona. She lives in Tucson with her husband and her dog.
Review :
Praise for "My Name Is Resolute"
From Kirkus
"Turner's (The Star Garden, 2007, etc.) historical novel, set principally in the New World between 1729 and 1781, follows the life of a woman who struggles to control her own destiny and then uses her skills to help found a new country.
Resolute Talbot is a young child when she and her two older siblings are captured by pirates and taken from the family home in Jamaica. Patience, her sister, does whatever is necessary to protect her younger sister and herself, and brother August signs on to become a privateer. Surviving inhumane conditions, illness and harsh treatment, Resolute is stripped of her name, sold as a slave in the New World, taken prisoner by Indians and confined in a Catholic orphanage, where she learns to spin and weave. After years of waiting for the right opportunity, she and Patience escape, but Resolute is left to her own devices on the outskirts of Lexington, Mass. There, her dreams of returning to Jamaica, where she believes her mother awaits her return, are supplanted by the practicalities of everyday living. Resolute inherits property, establishes a business, meets carpenter Cullah MacLammond and weathers the effects of two wars: the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. During difficult political conditions and epidemics that shape Resolute's family's and friends' futures, she proves worthy of her name and uses her skills to assist others. Among her brave acts, she rescues a slave, hides contraband for the Sons of Liberty in her home, volunteers for secret missions, provides sustenance to starving soldiers, and sews cloaks and uniforms for the troops. Throughout the narrative, Turner skillfully keeps her main characters in the forefront and reveals historical events through their eyes and actions rather than by means of long, explanatory passages that stall the plot. The novel is lengthy and somewhat repetitious as so many characters are introduced, disappear and then ar
From Kirkus
"Turner's (The Star Garden, 2007, etc.) historical novel, set principally in the New World between 1729 and 1781, follows the life of a woman who struggles to control her own destiny and then uses her skills to help found a new country.
Resolute Talbot is a young child when she and her two older siblings are captured by pirates and taken from the family home in Jamaica. Patience, her sister, does whatever is necessary to protect her younger sister and herself, and brother August signs on to become a privateer. Surviving inhumane conditions, illness and harsh treatment, Resolute is stripped of her name, sold as a slave in the New World, taken prisoner by Indians and confined in a Catholic orphanage, where she learns to spin and weave. After years of waiting for the right opportunity, she and Patience escape, but Resolute is left to her own devices on the outskirts of Lexington, Mass. There, her dreams of returning to Jamaica, where she believes her mother awaits her return, are supplanted by the practicalities of everyday living. Resolute inherits property, establishes a business, meets carpenter Cullah MacLammond and weathers the effects of two wars: the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. During difficult political conditions and epidemics that shape Resolute's family's and friends' futures, she proves worthy of her name and uses her skills to assist others. Among her brave acts, she rescues a slave, hides contraband for the Sons of Liberty in her home, volunteers for secret missions, provides sustenance to starving soldiers, and sews cloaks and uniforms for the troops. Throughout the narrative, Turner skillfully keeps her main characters in the forefront and reveals historical events through their eyes and actions rather than by means of long, explanatory passages that stall the plot. The novel is lengthy and somewhat repetitious as so many characters are introduced, disappear and then are reunited multiple times, but the au
Praise for "Sarah's Quilt"
"A sensitive, vibrant story about the strength of love and family . . . Reminiscent of Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove"." --"The Denver Post
""Gritty Sarah Elliot, who lassoed our hearts in "These Is My Words", proves that women as well as men tamed the West." --Sandra Dallas, author of "The Diary of Mattie Spenser
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"Hard times, danger, love, well-defined characters, and a strong sense of place all merge to form the heart of this novel." --"Dallas Morning News "
"Action-packed." --"Tucson Guide Quarterly"
Praise for "These Is My Words"
"Incredibly vivid and real." --Rosamunde Pilcher, author of "The Shell Seekers"
