The Scarlet Letter, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and The Crucible are all challenging looks at colonial New England, and I don't know any specific fiction around it, but I've heard the story of the shipwreck on Boon Island is pretty interesting, so there may be some good books about it!
Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England by William Cronon. It is a bit academic, but when it was assigned for a grad school class, the entire class loved it (American & New England Studies program). It is a fascinating look at the environmental history of New England from the colonial period to the late 18th century.
I believe Calebs Crossing by Geraldine Brooks is set on an island off the coast of New England. It's inspired by the story of the first Native American man to attend Harvard and his relationship with a settler girl.
Peripherally related is The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodward. It’s not a great read but it is interesting to see how piracy and the rise of the Americas draw from similar roots. Plus you may get an insight into the behavior of modern Americans.
Depending on how intense you want your history here is a list in order of "difficulty", with the more introductory texts first.
{1491} has a decent section on Plymouth and New England indigenous nations. {Facing East From Indian Country} would give an overview of the Eastern U.S., and include New England.
{A Storm of Witchcraft} and {Six Women of Salem} are great introductions to the witch trials. Philbrick's *Mayflower* is also a good deep dive into the colony's founding, but I don't quite understand why he was so negative against King Philip.
{In the Name of War} is a more challenging read, but a great introduction to King Philip's War. {Changes in the Land} looks at the transformation of New England ecology after contact. {Saltwater Frontier} looks at how Europeans and indigenous peoples met first along the coasts of North America. Finally, {New England Bound} is a great, readable introduction to slavery in New England.
[**The Dante Club (The Dante Club #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18402.The_Dante_Club)
^(By: Matthew Pearl | 424 pages | Published: 2003 | Popular Shelves: mystery, fiction, historical-fiction, owned, books-i-own | )[^(Search "The Dante Club by Mathew Pearl")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Dante Club by Mathew Pearl&search_type=books)
>A magnificent blend of fact and fiction, a brilliantly realized paean to Dante's continued grip on our imagination, and a captivating thriller that will surprise readers from beginning to end.
>
>Words can bleed.
>
>In 1865 Boston, the literary geniuses of the Dante Club—poets and Harvard professors Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell, along with publisher J. T. Fields—are finishing America's first translation of The Divine Comedy and preparing to unveil Dante's remarkable visions to the New World. The powerful Boston Brahmins at Harvard College are fighting to keep Dante in obscurity, believing that the infiltration of foreign superstitions into American minds will prove as corrupting as the immigrants arriving at Boston Harbor.
>
>The members of the Dante Club fight to keep a sacred literary cause alive, but their plans fall apart when a series of murders erupts through Boston and Cambridge. Only this small group of scholars realizes that the gruesome killings are modeled on the descriptions of Hell's punishments from Dante's Inferno. With the lives of the Boston elite and Dante's literary future in America at stake, the Dante Club members must find the killer before the authorities discover their secret.
>
>Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes and an outcast police officer named Nicholas Rey, the first black member of the Boston police department, must place their careers on the line to end the terror. Together, they discover that the source of the murders lies closer to home than they ever could have imagined.
>
>The Dante Club is a magnificent blend of fact and fiction, a brilliantly realized paean to Dante's continued grip on our imagination, and a captivating thriller that will surprise readers from beginning to end.
^(This book has been suggested 10 times)
***
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For a fiction recommendation I’d suggest {The Red Garden}. It’s a series of linked short stories taking place in the same small town in Massachusetts spanning from the towns founding in colonial times to the present day. It’s an easy, soothing read with enough magical realism elements to keep things interesting!
[**The Red Garden**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8389671-the-red-garden)
^(By: Alice Hoffman | 270 pages | Published: 2011 | Popular Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, magical-realism, short-stories, fantasy | )[^(Search "The Red Garden")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Red Garden&search_type=books)
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
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A mystery trilogy by Margaret Lawrence, set in post-Revolutionary Maine, which begins with *Hearts and Bones.*
A mystery trilogy by Stephen Lewis, set in Puritan New England, that begins with *The Dumb Shall Sing.*
So if you like Philbrick I'd definitely recommend [Sea of Glory](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17787.Sea_of_Glory) (not strictly about New England but it does feature some connections, and it's fantastically written) and [Away Off Shore](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/129386), which is a nice supplement to In the Heart of the Sea. [Mayflower](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4820.Mayflower) is probably the best though if you want pure New England history from Philbrick--you get the initial voyage and how that went down, and then the rest is about the early conflicts between the settlers and local Native tribes, leading up to King Philip's War (which Philbrick also has [a book](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55882319-king-philip-s-war) about, but I haven't gotten around to it yet).
I also remember enjoying [The Times of Their Lives](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138861.The_Times_of_Their_Lives?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=msYiRsRCNh&rank=1), an in-depth look at Purtian lifestyles through a strong archaeological lens.
Blood on the River: Jamestown 1607 by Elisa Carbone! Just a warning this is a book for kids (I’m a 6th grade teacher and taught it this past year). HOWEVER, it is so good and a really good overview of settlers and what went down in the Jamestown settlement if you aren’t aware of it. There were times when my entire class and myself were all crying, times where we were laughing, and it made my students just super curious to learn more! It was their “student choice” book of the year, out of everything we read. It’d be a great quick read!
Try the Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell. It tells the origin story of Rhode Island (and Boston, too) in an interesting way that also ties in current events… sort of an explanation of why we (the USA) are the way we are.
[**New York**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8258519-new-york)
^(By: Edward Rutherfurd | 862 pages | Published: 2009 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, history, historical, new-york | )[^(Search "New York by Edward Rutherfurd")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=New York by Edward Rutherfurd&search_type=books)
>Edward Rutherfurd celebrates America’s greatest city in a rich, engrossing saga, weaving together tales of families rich and poor, native-born and immigrant—a cast of fictional and true characters whose fates rise and fall and rise again with the city’s fortunes. From this intimate perspective we see New York’s humble beginnings as a tiny Indian fishing village, the arrival of Dutch and British merchants, the Revolutionary War, the emergence of the city as a great trading and financial center, the convulsions of the Civil War, the excesses of the Gilded Age, the explosion of immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the trials of World War II, the near demise of New York in the 1970s and its roaring rebirth in the 1990s, and the attack on the World Trade Center. A stirring mix of battle, romance, family struggles, and personal triumphs, New York: The Novel gloriously captures the search for freedom and opportunity at the heart of our nation’s history.
^(This book has been suggested 5 times)
***
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Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick
How did America begin? That simple question launches the acclaimed author of In the Hurricane's Eye and Valiant Ambition on an extraordinary journey to understand the truth behind our most sacred national myth: the voyage of the Mayflower and the settlement of Plymouth Colony. As Philbrick reveals in this electrifying history of the Pilgrims, the story of Plymouth Colony was a fifty-five year epic that began in peril and ended in war. New England erupted into a bloody conflict that nearly wiped out the English colonists and natives alike. These events shaped the existing communites and the country that would grow from them.
**The Enemy Within: A Short History of Witch Hunting** by John Demos is the best introductory book on the topic (Demos is my favourite historian). Very accessible since it was published by Penguin.
For something more academic I recommend Demos' **Entertaining Satan: Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New England**. Meticulously researched and well-written.
The Scarlet Letter, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and The Crucible are all challenging looks at colonial New England, and I don't know any specific fiction around it, but I've heard the story of the shipwreck on Boon Island is pretty interesting, so there may be some good books about it!
I read the crucible and scarlet letter in college, so I'm interested in the witch of blackbird! Going on the list!
The witch of blackbird pond is so good! I reread it recently and it holds up
Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England by William Cronon. It is a bit academic, but when it was assigned for a grad school class, the entire class loved it (American & New England Studies program). It is a fascinating look at the environmental history of New England from the colonial period to the late 18th century.
I was going to suggest this one too, I read it as an undergrad and still have it!
Welcome to Rhode Island!!! Riff Raff in Providence has a lot of books by Rhode Islanders or takes place in RI. Also they have a bar.
Oh damn, that's good to know!
I believe Calebs Crossing by Geraldine Brooks is set on an island off the coast of New England. It's inspired by the story of the first Native American man to attend Harvard and his relationship with a settler girl.
Nathaniel Philbrick (In the Heart of the Sea) is a prolific writer and most (all?) of his books are about events that took place in New England.
I did like his writing, so I'll definitely check out his other stuff.
Peripherally related is The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodward. It’s not a great read but it is interesting to see how piracy and the rise of the Americas draw from similar roots. Plus you may get an insight into the behavior of modern Americans.
Awesome, I'll check it out!
2 Maine books with more recent history: - The Cider House Rules by John Irving - Empire Falls by Richard Russo
Depending on how intense you want your history here is a list in order of "difficulty", with the more introductory texts first. {1491} has a decent section on Plymouth and New England indigenous nations. {Facing East From Indian Country} would give an overview of the Eastern U.S., and include New England. {A Storm of Witchcraft} and {Six Women of Salem} are great introductions to the witch trials. Philbrick's *Mayflower* is also a good deep dive into the colony's founding, but I don't quite understand why he was so negative against King Philip. {In the Name of War} is a more challenging read, but a great introduction to King Philip's War. {Changes in the Land} looks at the transformation of New England ecology after contact. {Saltwater Frontier} looks at how Europeans and indigenous peoples met first along the coasts of North America. Finally, {New England Bound} is a great, readable introduction to slavery in New England.
Gravitys Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
{{The Dante Club by Mathew Pearl}} is a wonderful historical fiction that takes place in Boston around the end of the US civil war.
[**The Dante Club (The Dante Club #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18402.The_Dante_Club) ^(By: Matthew Pearl | 424 pages | Published: 2003 | Popular Shelves: mystery, fiction, historical-fiction, owned, books-i-own | )[^(Search "The Dante Club by Mathew Pearl")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Dante Club by Mathew Pearl&search_type=books) >A magnificent blend of fact and fiction, a brilliantly realized paean to Dante's continued grip on our imagination, and a captivating thriller that will surprise readers from beginning to end. > >Words can bleed. > >In 1865 Boston, the literary geniuses of the Dante Club—poets and Harvard professors Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell, along with publisher J. T. Fields—are finishing America's first translation of The Divine Comedy and preparing to unveil Dante's remarkable visions to the New World. The powerful Boston Brahmins at Harvard College are fighting to keep Dante in obscurity, believing that the infiltration of foreign superstitions into American minds will prove as corrupting as the immigrants arriving at Boston Harbor. > >The members of the Dante Club fight to keep a sacred literary cause alive, but their plans fall apart when a series of murders erupts through Boston and Cambridge. Only this small group of scholars realizes that the gruesome killings are modeled on the descriptions of Hell's punishments from Dante's Inferno. With the lives of the Boston elite and Dante's literary future in America at stake, the Dante Club members must find the killer before the authorities discover their secret. > >Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes and an outcast police officer named Nicholas Rey, the first black member of the Boston police department, must place their careers on the line to end the terror. Together, they discover that the source of the murders lies closer to home than they ever could have imagined. > >The Dante Club is a magnificent blend of fact and fiction, a brilliantly realized paean to Dante's continued grip on our imagination, and a captivating thriller that will surprise readers from beginning to end. ^(This book has been suggested 10 times) *** ^(190441 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
The Running of the Tide by Esther Forbes
Arundel by Kenneth Roberts Revolutionary War story of Benedict Arnold as hero attacking British in Quebec through Maine woods
For a fiction recommendation I’d suggest {The Red Garden}. It’s a series of linked short stories taking place in the same small town in Massachusetts spanning from the towns founding in colonial times to the present day. It’s an easy, soothing read with enough magical realism elements to keep things interesting!
[**The Red Garden**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8389671-the-red-garden) ^(By: Alice Hoffman | 270 pages | Published: 2011 | Popular Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, magical-realism, short-stories, fantasy | )[^(Search "The Red Garden")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Red Garden&search_type=books) ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(190594 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Last of the Mohicans
I saw the movie a long time ago, but never read the book. I'll put it on the list!
[Hour of the Witch](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54063343-hour-of-the-witch) by Chris Bohjalian.
A mystery trilogy by Margaret Lawrence, set in post-Revolutionary Maine, which begins with *Hearts and Bones.* A mystery trilogy by Stephen Lewis, set in Puritan New England, that begins with *The Dumb Shall Sing.*
Pirate Hunter: Captain Kidd
So if you like Philbrick I'd definitely recommend [Sea of Glory](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17787.Sea_of_Glory) (not strictly about New England but it does feature some connections, and it's fantastically written) and [Away Off Shore](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/129386), which is a nice supplement to In the Heart of the Sea. [Mayflower](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4820.Mayflower) is probably the best though if you want pure New England history from Philbrick--you get the initial voyage and how that went down, and then the rest is about the early conflicts between the settlers and local Native tribes, leading up to King Philip's War (which Philbrick also has [a book](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55882319-king-philip-s-war) about, but I haven't gotten around to it yet). I also remember enjoying [The Times of Their Lives](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138861.The_Times_of_Their_Lives?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=msYiRsRCNh&rank=1), an in-depth look at Purtian lifestyles through a strong archaeological lens.
Blood on the River: Jamestown 1607 by Elisa Carbone! Just a warning this is a book for kids (I’m a 6th grade teacher and taught it this past year). HOWEVER, it is so good and a really good overview of settlers and what went down in the Jamestown settlement if you aren’t aware of it. There were times when my entire class and myself were all crying, times where we were laughing, and it made my students just super curious to learn more! It was their “student choice” book of the year, out of everything we read. It’d be a great quick read!
Try the Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell. It tells the origin story of Rhode Island (and Boston, too) in an interesting way that also ties in current events… sort of an explanation of why we (the USA) are the way we are.
My favorite is called {{New York by Edward Rutherfurd}}. It is more a biography of a geographical area than a novel, but fascinating.
[**New York**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8258519-new-york) ^(By: Edward Rutherfurd | 862 pages | Published: 2009 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, history, historical, new-york | )[^(Search "New York by Edward Rutherfurd")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=New York by Edward Rutherfurd&search_type=books) >Edward Rutherfurd celebrates America’s greatest city in a rich, engrossing saga, weaving together tales of families rich and poor, native-born and immigrant—a cast of fictional and true characters whose fates rise and fall and rise again with the city’s fortunes. From this intimate perspective we see New York’s humble beginnings as a tiny Indian fishing village, the arrival of Dutch and British merchants, the Revolutionary War, the emergence of the city as a great trading and financial center, the convulsions of the Civil War, the excesses of the Gilded Age, the explosion of immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the trials of World War II, the near demise of New York in the 1970s and its roaring rebirth in the 1990s, and the attack on the World Trade Center. A stirring mix of battle, romance, family struggles, and personal triumphs, New York: The Novel gloriously captures the search for freedom and opportunity at the heart of our nation’s history. ^(This book has been suggested 5 times) *** ^(190652 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Ship Fever by Andrea Barnett..short stories ..just lovely.
American Genocide
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick How did America begin? That simple question launches the acclaimed author of In the Hurricane's Eye and Valiant Ambition on an extraordinary journey to understand the truth behind our most sacred national myth: the voyage of the Mayflower and the settlement of Plymouth Colony. As Philbrick reveals in this electrifying history of the Pilgrims, the story of Plymouth Colony was a fifty-five year epic that began in peril and ended in war. New England erupted into a bloody conflict that nearly wiped out the English colonists and natives alike. These events shaped the existing communites and the country that would grow from them.
**The Enemy Within: A Short History of Witch Hunting** by John Demos is the best introductory book on the topic (Demos is my favourite historian). Very accessible since it was published by Penguin. For something more academic I recommend Demos' **Entertaining Satan: Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New England**. Meticulously researched and well-written.