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Dark Enough to See the Stars in a Jamestown Sky

Connie Lapallo

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Is there a soul in Virginia who is not aware that the four hundredth anniversary of the founding of the colony, and thus the state, will take place in 2007? We all have been gearing up for the celebration to one degree or another. Connie Lapallo is one Virginian who has done much more than displaying a license plate.

Mrs. Lapallo is a descendent of one of the very few colonists who survived the "starving time" which almost annihilated the colony in 1610. With this personal interest in the early history of Virginia she has written a well-researched novel in which her ancestor, Joan Phippen Peirce, Joan's five-year-old daughter, Jane, and their friend Temperance Yeardley, are the central characters. Dark Enough to See the Stars in a Jamestown Sky is "based on the true story of the women and children at Jamestown" in the years 1609 and 1610. Also populating the tale are the well-known and lesser-known leaders of the colony, their Native American antagonists, and a few fictitious characters representing generically the soldiers, mariners and colonists whose names are lost to history. Chief among these are Maggie Deale and Elizabeth Mayhew who "are fictitious but represent all those women whose names and stories are lost to time."

Macro-history is often written by men; micro-history is always lived by women. While kings and captains issued orders, some wise, many foolish, and "made history" a few women of the colony survived despite the blunders. This story of the colony is told through the first person narrative of Joan and so it told through a woman's perspective with a woman's sensibilities, and a feminine attention to detail.

As a girl, Joan was taught by her mother the use and value of herbs, a knowledge that stands her in good stead during the long sea voyage (with its week-long wild hurricane), as well as during the ravages of the "starving time." Her determination to survive is born of her love for her daughter, empowered by her knowledge of things botanical, strengthened by her sisterly solidarity with her three friends and most fundamentally, anchored to her faith in Divine Providence. To her the acorns falling from the oaks were truly manna from above to be gathered, horded, ground and made into cakes when the common supply of food was exhausted. The frozen chickadee which fell at her doorstep was as welcome as the plumpest goose would have been. Yet not all the saving food fell from above. The women grubbed for edible roots and tubers with frozen and cracked hands while other less resourceful colonists gave in to despair and starvation, some losing their sanity before losing their lives.

This book is a labor of love, in honor of the author's thirteenth and twelfth great grandmothers. As such it adds a granddaughter's tenderness to the narrative. But it has the rigorousness of history, well documented in several appendices. Original documents are quoted and brief biographies of the historical figures are included.

Dark Enough to See the Stars in a Jamestown Sky: Based on the True Story of the Women and Children at Jamestown

by Connie Lapallo

Four hundred years ago the first permanent English settlement in North America was established at Jamestown in the colony of Virginia. The colony survived some perilous times. But survive it did. Eventually other colonies were settled, the colonies declared themselves united and independent and the United States of America was born. Jamestown was the seed from which this great nation grew.

We are pleased and proud to present the first historical novel of Connie Lapallo, based in the time when Jamestown was only two years old. Mrs. Lapallo, a homeschooling mother, is the thirteenth generation descendant of the heroine of the story, Joan Peirce. Joan left England with her five year old daughter Janey in July 1609, in the "third supply" to Virginia. She, her daughter and a few other women were passengers together with farm animals on The Blessing, one of the smaller of the eight ships of the convoy. Her husband, Will, was aboard the largest ship of the fleet, The Sea Venture, together with the officers and the leaders for the colony. The fleet was battered by a fearsome three-day hurricane in mid trip. The ships were scattered. The Blessing and three other ships reached Jamestown. The Sea Venture did not.

For Joan Peirce the perils merely began with the hurricane. The colony was short of food and supplies. Almost all of the replacement supplies had been lost in the storm. The old leadership, including Captain John Smith, was in disarray. The Indians were (understandably) not friendly. Husbandless, Joan took up residence in a small, primitive cottage with her daughter and two other women whose husbands had been on the Sea Venture. The winter of 1609-1610 proved bitter. Food ran out, Indians blockaded the settlement, the few ablebodied men were kept busy burying the dead. It was called "the starving time." Yet Joan Peirce survived. Her love for her daughter, her pluck and determination, her ingenuity, her knowledge of herbal remedies and her faith in God enabled her to survive when many stronger settlers perished. The story has many heart wrenching moments and some big surprises.

The story of her ancestor is lovingly and effectively told by Connie Lapallo. Historical records, eye witness accounts, family tradition and logical extrapolation are woven together to make this an outstanding and captivating narrative, a superb book to read for enjoyment and one to make American history live for your students. It is, I think, especially important because it highlights those vital aspects of history which are often lost in the "macro" approach to history, namely, the role of "little people" who bear the brunt of the labor and the trials and the pains of life as it becomes history; and secondly, the role of the women whose love and determination glue the parts of life and history together. gjb

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Dark Enough to See the Stars in a Jamestown Sky

Connie Lapallo

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