A Pilgrim Maid

Waiting aboard the Mayflower, Constance Hopkins watches preparations for a departure that brings both painful partings and hopes for a new life. Her brother Giles, little half-sister Damaris and the lively Billington boys fill the deck with family concerns and restless talk. Marion Ames Taggart places these young people within the beginnings of Plymouth Colony, shaping a historical novel around the daily pressures of settlement and the bonds within the Hopkins household.

Constance's patience becomes especially clear when Stephen Hopkins fears that his anger has driven Giles away. She tries to help her father understand his son and suggests seeking help from Squanto and Captain Standish. Their conversation puts affection, quick tempers and the difficulty of rebuilding trust at the heart of the story. Young readers interested in early Plymouth will find colonial affairs approached through a girl's concern for the people closest to her.