• William Cunningham, fanatic Loyalist, was mercilessly beaten and driven from town only to return after being appointed provost marshall of British occupied New York City. As provost, he was responsible for the most atrocious cruelties inflicted upon the American prisoners under his purview and for the deaths of thousands.
• Samuel Fraunces, owner of Fraunces Tavern, one of the few relics of old New York City still standing at the corner of Pearl and Broad Street.
• Dr. Malachi Treat, Professor of Medicine at King’s College, eventually appointed physician-general to the Northern Army by Congress.
• General George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, who engineered the nation’s first network for gathering intelligence.
• Major General Henry Clinton, architect of the brilliant flanking maneuver that clinched victory for the British during the Battle of Long Island.
• Major General Sir William Howe, commander-in-chief of the British Army in America
• Betsy Loring, mistress to General Howe.
• Admiral Richard Howe, AKA “Black Dick,” General Howe’s brother and vice-admiral in command of the North American station.
• Major General James Grant, Howe’s principal planner for the New York Campaign.
• Oliver DeLancey, Loyalist and member of New York’s elite, he raised and equipped DeLancey’s Loyalist Brigade.
• Hercules Mulligan, the Irish tailor to the British officer corps in occupied New York City and leader of the Mulligan Spy Ring.
• Joshua Loring, opportunistic Loyalist who exchanged his wife’s favors for the lucrative position of Commissary of Prisons.
The following facts and events have been modified or altered for sake of this particular story and for dramatic effect:
• No official American flag existed at the time of the reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 9, 1776, and there is no documented account of the “Stars and Stripes” on display in the parade down Broad Way that day.
• Provost Marshall William Cunningham did see to the execution of convicted rebel spy, twenty-one-year-old Nathan Hale, on September 22, 1776, but the hanging and display of the corpse most likely occurred outside Dove’s Tavern near the British artillery park located at present day Third and Sixty-sixth Streets, and not on the Commons.
• James Rivington’s return from exile was accelerated to June from September of 1777.
• Though extravagant balls and gala events were common in British occupied New York City, there is no record of a ball celebrating the King’s birthday occurring on June 4, 1777, at the Kennedy Mansion.
• There is no solid documentation to support the notion of British banknotes in use in the colonies in this time period.
Though my attempts to be true to history and geography in the telling of this story were undertaken with great diligence, The Tory Widow is still a work of fiction, written by a mortal being capable of error, misjudgment and inaccuracy, and I claim complete credit for any mistakes that may exist.
—CB
THE TORY WIDOW
By Christine Blevins
READERS GUIDE
1. A woman’s marital status had considerable impact on the opportunities available to her in eighteenth-century colonial America. The same was true of widowhood. How do you think Anne Merrick ’s life changed as a result both of her marriage and of the death of her husband?
2. What specific events and experiences do you think caused Anne Merrick to move from political ambivalence to ardent patriotism over the course of the story? How do you think her life changed as a result?
3. American Patriots and Loyalists alike were adversely affected by tumultuous events depicted in The Tory Widow. Do you think the demands and sacrifices required of average Americans during the revolution compare to those of present day Americans in twenty-first century wartime? How so?
4. “Now there’s another fine example of foolishness—they won’t allow a black man to carry a gun or stop a British musket ball when it is clear they need every willing hand—more afraid of slave insurrection than they are of becoming slaves themselves.” What would be the motivation for a black man, free or slave, to support the revolution?
5. Colonial Americans waged armed rebellion against the colonial system, which lacked representational government and limited economic growth. Can you imagine conditions or events that could drive contemporary Americans to revolt against their government?
6. “Our independence is won as much by lead type as it will be by lead bullets.” What was the importance and the impact of the printed word during the time of the American Revolution?
7. The struggle for independence is a major theme of The Tory Widow. What stories of quest for individual freedom are interwoven into the larger backdrop of the fight for American independence from England?
8. Tarring and feathering and physical violence against private citizens, destroying private property, and firebombing naval vessels—all can be described as acts of terrorism. As a private citizen, does the goal of political change free Jack Hampton of any moral liability for his involvement in these acts?
9. The city of New York in 1775 convulses with sudden and violent change. How do the experiences of Jack, Anne, and the people they meet reflect those changes?
10. Describe the Anne Merrick we meet on her wedding day at the beginning of the book. Compare her to the Anne Merrick we’ve come to know by the story’s conclusion.
11. We are introduced to the strong—in some cases, overbearing—personalities of Anne Merrick ’s father, husband, and brother. Little mention, however, is made in the story of female family members. How do you think Anne may have been affected by the relative lack of women in her family life?
12. How does the early death of Anne’s son, Jemmy, affect the relationships she has with other characters in the novel?
13. Despite her low status as a common prostitute, Patsy Quinn was an ally both to Jack and Anne, and a fearless patriot. Compare Patsy’s value and standing in society to that of Betsy Loring.
The Tory Widow Page 40
