Puritans Plagues and Promises

<p><em>Puritans Plagues and Promises</em> transports you back four centuries into some of England's most tumultuous times. From the beginning pages a web of intrigue engulfs the first two characters: the Cole family patriarch and his Puritan vicar. A participant in secret nonconformist meetings the vicar is arrested imprisoned and put on trial in England's highest courts. Standing firm for his faith he and eight fellow <em>Puritans</em> reveal conflicts of conscience with the Church of England's powerful leaders and with Queen Elizabeth's hand-picked Privy Council. In the face of adversity in London powerful forces collide-with consequences of life or death.</p><p><br></p><p>Author Cole's meticulously researched creative nonfiction narrative contains more than 500 citations to early books manuscripts court records and other sources some dating back hundreds of years. These records illuminate his characters' lives and reveal long-lost details hidden in England's archives-underutilized treasure troves of genealogical gems. The author provides eighty-five images of people places and parchment. Two dozen have never been published revealing more than twenty historic genealogical breakthroughs.</p><p><br></p><p>The resulting stories expose formidable influences and challenges-political religious legal and economic-that set the stage for conflicts of Church and State the rule of law and a monarch's absolute power. <em>Puritans </em>are caught up in extraordinary circumstances that reveal the adventures of ordinary people who were brave and daring. <em>Plagues</em> decimate some families and skip others. Their stories rivet our attention. Deeply touched we are left to reflect on what might have been. <em>Promises</em> are made broken fulfilled unfulfilled and sometimes deferred. These multi-faceted storylines draw us into the lives of those who set the stage for colonizing America.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>As a fitting climax the author delves deeply into the final straws that push pull and propel the author's ancestors and 21000 other English men women and children to leave England during the Great Puritan Migration and forge new lives in America. The story of <em>Puritans Plagues and Promises</em> is one that represents us all.</p>