American Jezebel

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the colony of Rhode Island where she set forth a law that allowed religious freedom. She eventually left Rhode Island and moved to Dutch territory.

Sometime around 1643, Ann Hutchinson and her family were killed by the Indians. She was survived by six children and thirty grandchildren.

LaPlante does an excellent job when it comes to dealing the setting and the overall mood of the colony in Massachusetts. I think without her detailed explanations and descriptions of the early colonial days, the meaning and significance of Ann Hutchinson’s trial would be lost to the modern individual.

However, with that said, I do think that some parts of the book were a little more difficult to read than others. For instance, she used a lot of dialogue from the trial itself. This was, for the most part, helpful as it told the story directly from Hutchinson’s point of view and her voice. However, in other parts, she left too much of the dialogue in. This was sometimes hard to understand and interpret. I found myself re-reading the passages trying to get a better understanding.

Another area that LaPlante excels in is explaining to the reader the distinct ideological differences between Hutchinson’s religious beliefs and the ruling class of the Massachuchtes colony. LaPlante clearly explains that governor John Wintrop and his followers saw Hutchinson as a threat because she was a voice for individuality. They feared that her ideas would spread and later become the norm which would make life harder for the ruling class in the colony.

Overall, I found the story to be very intriguing and an important part in American history. American Jezebel has the right mix of entertainment and educational value from a historical perspective.