| Laced with real events and leaders such as Thomas Jefferson and
Patrick Henry, Give Me Liberty explores the Revolutionary ideas and
risks colonists faced in their quest for liberty. |
 |
Nathaniel Dunn is a
thirteen-year-old indentured servant who has known only hardship
since arriving in Virginia from England. His mother died during the
ocean passage and his father was purchased to clear frontier farmland.
Taken by a Tidewater tobacco planter, Nathaniel is soon resold.
At that auction, he is separated from the one friend he has made,
a teenaged slave named Moses.
But his luck is about to change. Basil Wilkinson, an
eccentric, idealistic schoolmaster, purchases Nathaniel
and brings him to Williamsburg where patriots and loyalists
are clashing. Nathaniel works in the shop of an ill-tempered
carriage-maker, loyal to the Crown. All around him-
spurred by Patrick Henry's impassioned words, “Give
me liberty or give me death” - people are joining
the struggle for liberty. Yet fearful of trouble, Nathaniel
avoids taking sides. Gradually, Basil’s books and music
open his mind to daring new attitudes about equality.
Under his influence plus that of an apprentice named
Ben, Nathaniel finally realizes that he is deserving
of a better, independent life.
When Ben is hurt in a booby-trap left by British marines in
Williamsburg’s gunpowder magazine and Basil joins the infantry,
granting Nathaniel’s freedom, Nathaniel takes control of his own
fate. He becomes a fifer in the 2nd Virginia Regiment.
Nathaniel’s belief in the Revolution is marred only by the fact
his friend, Moses, is still in bondage. Moses’ only chance for
liberty is to run away and join the British Royal Ethiopian, a
regiment of escaped Virginian slaves. In the dramatic battle at
Great Bridge in December 1775, just south of Norfolk, Nathaniel
will not only face well-trained British troops, he will confront
his oldest friend.
What is the meaning of liberty in a country that depends
on slaves and indentured servants? Nathaniel faces crucial choices
as his courage and sense of right and wrong are tested in this
explosive turning point in American history.
|
|
Learn more about
|
|
