Category: Historical Fiction Publisher: Scott Skipper
Type: Fiction
Copyright: June 9, 2011
ISBN-13: 9781466050143
How a proper Englishman arrived in the New World and became an Indian chief.
Exiled by the English Civil War and afoul of the colonial governor, George Skipper seeks refuge—and women—with the Indians of southern Virginia. His endearing ways elevate him to the status of 'chief man' of the Nottoway Indians. George and his descendants aid the Indians in their struggle against the depredations of the encroaching colonists. In the process the Skipper gene pool spreads across the countryside and those endearing family traits get preserved for posterity.
This whimsical tale is based on historical events. Much of what seems to be nonsense actually happened to real people in the historical record. As for the parts that are pure invention—well, if you knew the Skipper family the way that I do, you wouldn't doubt them for a minute.
I intend this book to appeal to those who enjoy history, genealogy, and a good laugh. It is about my own ancestors and is the product of fifteen years of research, plus over sixty years of observing my family's traits.
Excerpt
On the first night the horses were scarcely hobbled and the fire had not yet kindled when strangers painted for war raced whooping into the camp with tomahawks raised. Laura screamed and lost bladder control. George threw an arm across her midsection, knocking the wind from her and tumbled with her under the wagon banging her head in the process. He rolled free of her and drew a pistol from his belt hoping it was still primed. Tom and Will fended tomahawks with their muskets and Robin Scholar sidestepped his attacker tripping him going past then swung his gun by the barrel smashing the back of the fallen Indian’s skull. George fired the pistol dropping Tom’s threat with a gut shot. The third man fled but Will leveled his gun and hit him square in the back. Tom took the wounded Indian by the scalp lock and holding his knife to his throat demanded to know his tribe.
“We are Meherrin, Nottaway!” he spat.
“You were Meherrin,” he sneered coolly cutting a circle around his hairline. “Anybody else would have known not to rob Cheroenhaka warriors.” He yanked the scalp off his white skull. Laura gasped then fainted. While she was oblivious to what they did, the men scalped the dead and took the wounded man out of earshot and tied him to a sycamore where he could bleed to death without disturbing their sleep. They left the bodies with him for company.
“They may draw wolves,” George observed.
“Better them than us,” Tom reminded him.
“Good point.”
Professional Reviews
Decades of Distilling and Deceit
Family Traits is historical fiction written by a descendant of the Skipper family who landed in Virgina/Carolina in the late 1600s. The book begins with Native Americans watching a meteor streaking across the sky. A shaman and a warrior seek the meteor that arrived from the east, from across the water. As we learn, the meteor was a harbinger of trouble to come to their people from that direction. Following the foreshadowing of the meteor, we meet three brothers who have just witnessed the beheading of King Charles. These Skipper brothers decide to head to America before they experience the same fate as their father who had supported the King. After adventures at sea and in the Carribbean, where they learn to distill rum, they finally arrive in America. Fortunately they are meat by friendly Indians who share food, water, women, women, and more women. With all these women, and with the influence of their distillery, the Skipper brothers quickly run afoul of the "White Devil" English and find themselves becoming more Indian than English. Over the generations covered by the story, civilization and society spread farther and farther into the Indian country, eventually leading to inevitable conflicts, culminating in the Battle of Alamance. The book never takes itself too seriously and pokes fun at many societal norms that made no sense for the time and place. At times I was reminded of Edward Rutherford's London and at other times I was reminded of the early portions of Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales. I think many readers will thoroughly enjoy this slightly irreverent trip through the legends of Mr. Skipper's immigrant descendants.
Factual Fiction
Family traits follows the exploits of the wildly diverse and thoroughly entertaining Skipper clan who immigrated from England under duress to become Colonists in the New World. The author tells a good story though I must confess I started to lose track of all the Georges after a certain point. It has Wild Indians, runaway slaves, tobacco plantations, spirit quests and lots and lots of rum.I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading the next installment of the Skipper family saga.
A Historical Novel With Teeth
Family Traits is a novel about a family of English Settlers in America who co-mingle with the American Indians and end up, through successive generations becoming more Indian than White Man. They fight for the rights of Indians, intermarrying until many of them know nothing about their English origins. Along the way, none of their family's easily recognisable traits are diluted and the extended clan are as comical and bawdy as they ancestors. There is a George Skipper in almost every generation but one, which was a deliberate exception engineered by one patriarch but even so, George is recognised in every branch of the clan.
It is nothing short of a miracle that Scott Skipper manages to hold all the threads of this family together. I know I got lost trying to remember who was whose son or grandson but not so the author whose research of the townships, historical characters and events is nothing short of excellent.
Below the surface though, we come to respect the fact that the American Indian spirit was never broken as they became reluctantly integrated with the invading hoardes. Their pride and wily survivalist mentality carries them through the worst of times and I think they will be pleased with Scott for this treatise of their predicaments.
Fleeing from a scorned past,Catherine Merit struggles with her failing medical practice and a rich man's obsession of her.Book Four in the Indignities Series
