Author Bio:
I spent over 30 years in the computer industry, starting in the UK in 1962. This was followed by 13 years with the Essex County Community Foundation which I co-founded in 1998. I live on Cape Ann, Massachusetts, with Helen, my wife of 48 years.
After retiring from ECCF, I felt the urge to research the origins of philanthropy in New England. My research uncovered facts about the early settlements here that appeared to be generally unknown. As I delved deeper, the character Isaac Stanfield evolved to become the observer and participant in that early history.
Boats have been a part of my life from an early age. After moving to the United States in 1980, Helen and I spent over 30 years sailing our 37′ Pearson. We fell in love with the coast of Maine, its history, the bays, islands, fog, and abundant wildlife.
Book Blurb:
Exploration: The Stanfield Chronicles
Seduction. Spies. Sodomy. Starvation. Severe cold. Indian Attacks. A plague of sickness and death. And a love story, too.
Isaac Stanfield is a young man with a thirst for adventure. He leaves his home to become a sailor on a merchantman, the Sweet Rose, and through ingenuity and sheer luck, finds himself in the middle of the drama and explorations that precede the departure of the Mayflower for New England in 1620. Exploration is Isaac’s coming-of-age story, capturing the turbulence of the times through his observations and experiences.
Suspenseful, poignant, and expertly researched, David Tory’s novel brings to life an engaging cultural history of English seafaring exploration and intrigue in the early 17th century.
Book Buy Link: https://geni.us/explorationdavidtory
Retribution: The Stanfield Chronicles
‘Retribution’ begins in 1620. A grieving Isaac Stanfield heads out across the Atlantic Ocean.
After the Mayflower sails for the new world, Isaac has been sent to explore the potential for trade and further settlements in New England. His efforts are frustrated by the incompetence and duplicity of the people with whom he has to deal. This second book in the Stanfield Chronicles series continues with Isaac’s love of adventure, his courage, and ingenuity being fully tested, his fascination with and respect for the native peoples he meets.
Isaac’s life consists of blue water sailing adventures, kidnapping, smuggling, pirates, torture and romance, on two continents, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. A life lived on the edge while he attempts to protect those he loves.
The story is captivating, the research meticulous. A book to be bought and enjoyed. It is an excellent read.
David Tory has sailed the coast of Massachusetts and Maine for 30 years. He brings other settings alive through his familiarity with Dorset, England, and his intimate knowledge of Bermuda and its waters. Years of research give his books a firm grounding in historic facts and figures while allowing his imagination to use his fictional characters to tell a compelling story of the turbulent early history of New England. Background information on that history can be found on www.DavidToryAuthor.com.
Book Buy Link: https://geni.us/retributiondavidtory
Author Interview:
1. What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
I am an avid reader and find every book a unique experience, however these three pilgrimages have had a significant impact on me:
Plimoth Plantation: Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick
Gettysburg: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
Shrewsbury, England: The Cadfael Stories by Ellis Peters
2. What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
I have met and talked with numerous authors, and always learn from each person that I connect with. While I would count a few of them as friends, those I do, were friends before I ever thought of becoming an author myself.
3. Can you give us a quick review of a favourite book by one of your author friends?
While I don’t personally know CJ Sansom, his book, Dissolution, was the first book in his Shardlake series which left a decided impression on me and was a strong influence on the development of my own narrative style.
Set during the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, ordered by Henry VIII and orchestrated by Thomas Cromwell, the protagonist, Matthew Shardlake, is a lawyer, unprepossessing, small, a hunchback, who has developed a reputation as a detective and sent on a mission by Cromwell. The book is written as a first-person narrative and describes in rich detail life in 16th century England. I found all the books in the series to be compelling, each story weaves a complex tale which engrosses the reader and provides a vivid depiction of court, town and country life in that time period.
4. How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?
My first two books, Exploration and Retribution, resulted from extensive historical research that was driven by a desire to understand the Puritans. Uncovering the true history was of primary importance to me. The development of fictional characters only came when I was persuaded to convert my findings into a story. in my third book, the fictional life of the hero has become paramount, the research I undertake is subordinate to the story he tells.
5. What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
I believe that every writer needs a really good editor. Finding mine was money well spent.
6. What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
At a very early age, I was transported into a make-believe world by Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows. I experienced the power of words and how they can take people anywhere!
I recently received a note from a reader of my book series, a retired professor of history, and she acknowledges this as well:
I have just spent the most delicious week listening to the Audible recording of David Tory reading his first book. I was completely wrapped up in the story, in the lives of Isaac, Aby, Will and Annie, et al. Then, in the middle of the night, as I lay in the dark listening to the story, David said, "The End." And I shouted, enough to awaken my daughters, "what do you mean, the end? It was like smacking into a hard wall in the dark of the night.
7. What’s the best way to market your books?
The genre for my book series is historical fiction, which is a broad category. I did not set out to write for a specific audience, but to convert an intriguing history into a compelling story. The element of story is powerful and what ultimately resonates with readers. I enjoy talking about the historical background to the books as well as the books themselves through presentations, book readings, guest interviews, podcasts and blogs. My audiences are somewhat divided, however. I have readers who like the history and others are drawn to the story, preferring less fact more fiction. So, I look for any means to build awareness.
8. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
I started my research about five years before I began turning what I had gathered into a story. Initially, my research was confined to acquiring books on the subject of New England colonial settlement prior to the arrival of the Mayflower in 1620. From those books I found further sources from their bibliographies, leading me to more information. From relevant historical figures I came across, I surfed for information about them on the Internet. Rabbit holes beget rabbit holes. I accumulated notes comprising some 400,000 words. Now, I have a continuing fictional story to tell. The story tells me what specific further historical information I need to research, not the other way round.
9. Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?
Interestingly enough, I have found that historical fiction makes me feel different about history. When I was a young lad, I was introduced to the works of the author G. A. Henty, who wrote historical adventure stories for young people. Prior to then, history was about dates, events and kings. Henty took an episode of history, placed a young man into that episode and retold the history from the perspective of that young man, a fictional account that brought the history to life. This was a completely different approach to historical fiction than anything I’d ever been exposed to. I have been fascinated by history ever since.
10. What are the ethics of writing about historical figures?
Historical figures leave indelible “footprints”, but often they become obscured by the detritus of history. Uncovered, they remain footprints. You must accept their presence and work hard to build on the people and events that created them.
11. Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
Yes. I accept them all and try to learn from them. Book reviews are very personal responses. I am grateful for the time a reviewer takes to reveal their subjective reaction to the book. I learned many years ago that once you open yourself to a critique, you must put your ego on pause. And I think it’s important to note that no one ever improves a skill simply by being told how talented they were. All feedback, including negative feedback, pushes you to work harder.
12. What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
It can be very difficult at times to create and sustain ‘compelling conflict.’
13. Tell us about your novel/novels/or series and why you wrote about this topic?
The Stanfield Chronicles describes the political, religious and commercial intrigue and rivalry that drove the initial settlement of New England. It is told in the form of a journal by a young adventurer, Isaac Stanfield, who observes and actively participates in the events and people that made that happen. Isaac also tells the story of his own life and loves.
I wrote the story as a result of the research I had undertaken, exploring the early Puritan influence in New England. In 1998, I started a Philanthropic Foundation, the Essex County Community Foundation When I retired in 2011, I was interested in the influence the Puritans had on Philanthropy in New England. Before long, I became fascinated with the history I was uncovering and the conclusions I was drawing that are not reflected in received history.
14. What is your favourite line or passage from your own book?
My favorite passage from my book is this quote: “What will be is already beginning.” Within the context of the story, it has relevance. But pulled from it, it has relevance to the reader’s life too.
15. What was your hardest scene to write?
The hardest scene to write in my first book, Exploration, was when Aby leaves Isaac at the end of the first book. Without giving too much away, it was as challenging to write as it is to read. Generally, trying to balance the historical narrative with the fictional story is always a difficult task to undertake.
16. Tell us your favourite quote and how the quote tells us something about you.
“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
I have been a sailor and lover of boats for most of my life, and this quote really speaks to me. Writing The Stanfield Chronicles enabled me to indulge myself by including detailed accounts of Isaac’s adventures at sea.
A Guest Post - Historical Background
Between 1600 and 1620, there were numerous documented explorations of discovery to the coastline of what we now know as New England. These voyages were driven by investors who sought to benefit from the rich potential for trade and commerce with the new lands. Trading companies were established and competed for a share of that potential wealth. There were many other interests involving both domestic and foreign players, of which religion was but a part.
The voyage of discovery by Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602 to New England was one of the most auspicious. He explored the coastline from Cape Elizabeth south to Cape Cod and thence to Buzzard’s Bay, establishing a base on the island of Cuttyhunk before continuing his exploration South to Virginia. On his return to England, he together with Sir Walter Raleigh, worked to establish the first such trading company, the Virginia Company, which was formed in 1606.
The mission of the Virginia Company was to extend the bounds of English civilization by finding wealth, converting the Virginia Indians to Christianity, creating jobs for England’s unemployed, seeking a route to the Orient, and tapping the resources of the New World.
The charter established two branches of the Company—the London company was granted land between latitudes 31 – 41, (approximately Wilmington, North Carolina to New York) while the Plymouth company was granted land between latitudes 38 – 45 (the Maryland/Virginia border to Eastport, Maine). The overlapping area between latitudes 38 and 41 was open to the branch first occupying it. Once occupied by one branch, the other branch would not be allowed to occupy land within 100 miles.
From the start, the two branches were antagonistic towards each other, leading to bitter rivalry. The London company (Southern Virginia) established its first settlement in Jamestown in 1607. Land occupation was of vital importance to confirm and consolidate ownership. The Plymouth company (Northern Virginia) sought to do likewise. Their first attempt, the Popham expedition to Sagadahoc in 1607, failed. Further expeditions gained detailed knowledge of the coastline, bays, islands and rivers but no settlements. Without them, the land granted to the Plymouth company was susceptible to encroachment, not only from the French in Canada but also the London company from the South. This threat was heightened by the availability of the overlapping area between latitudes 38 and 41.
From as early as 1605, Native Americans were captured and some brought back to England to be taught English and to teach the English about their homelands. They were then returned as interpreters and guides from whence they came with subsequent expeditions. Tisquantum (or Squanto) was one such Native American. He was captured with many others to be sold into slavery in the Mediterranean by a renegade English sea captain. He was rescued and brought back to England and after further adventures returned to his Patuxet tribe at the southern end of Massachusetts Bay.
Long before 1620, the Plymouth company was desperate to establish a settlement, meeting the requirements of their land grant through actual occupancy, and begin to exploit their new possessions. The company had a further incentive. The merchants of England’s southwest country, the counties around Plymouth, had longstanding and profitable trading relations with the Huguenot (Protestant) seaports in France. The Huguenots had developed a substantial trade with Native Americans in French Canada. That trade had generated a flow of exports to England’s benefit. Towns such as La Rochelle were virtual city-states with huge latitude given by Catholic France to run their own affairs. However, with a change of monarch, pressure was increasingly brought to bear to regain control of these towns. As a result, there was political unrest which threatened the trading relations these towns had with the English. It reached the point when the Plymouth Company realized they had to, as a matter of urgency, establish their own direct trade with the Native Americans.
In 1603, James became King of England and Scotland. On his succession to the English throne, he tried to reduce the tensions in England. Tensions between old stock Catholic nobles, elements of the clergy still steeped in Catholic fervor and the protestant mainstream. King James inherited the Church of England. With that, the inseparability of church and state. He was, after all, King, by divine right. Unfortunately, he inherited a Puritan movement that evolved under Elizabeth after the break from Rome. This movement always wanted to purify England’s new religion of all vestiges of Catholic influence. The pomp and ceremony of the Church, the catechism, the hierarchical structure and transferred traditions were equivalent to that of the secular nobility. The nobility and the Church were critically important components of a national institution under James’ absolute authority. He saw this purification (or Puritan) movement to be a threat to this national institution; therefore, to him and his authority as its head.
Within the Puritan movement there were those that wanted to purify the Church from within and then there were the Separatists who wanted to separate from the Church to form their own fellowship, where each congregation was an independent community with its own elected leadership. Of most concern to James was an undercurrent commitment among the Puritans that Church and State should become entirely disconnected.
This movement gathered momentum. The response by the authorities was mixed. In the extreme case, with the Separatists being persecuted and eventually fleeing the country in 1607, was an indication of the way a consistent and aggressive response evolved. There was a worry that the inherent community leadership that comes from disaffected parish clergy would turn whole communities against the institution of the Church of England and therefore against the authority of the King. The Separatists fled to Holland and settled in Leiden in 1608. By 1617 they were actively seeking to resettle in North America.
The Plymouth Company (now called The Council for New England) were well aware of the plan of the Separatists to resettle in North America. However, the Separatists plan was to take land being offered to them by the Dutch who had established a colony at the mouth of the Hudson River. If, instead, they could be persuaded to accept land from the Plymouth company, such a settlement would meet the Plymouth company’s needs. Massachusetts Bay had been thoroughly surveyed by Gosnold, Champlain, Captain John Smith and others, including a natural harbor close to Patuxet.
In 1620, the Separatists left Plymouth, Devon on the Mayflower in the belief they were destined for the mouth of the Hudson. They ended up in Patuxet where Tisquantum saved their lives and the Plymouth company gained their first settlement - an extraordinary set of coincidences.
Book Excerpt - Exploration
I climbed up to the foredeck and checked the head gratings. No place to be, with the bow constantly burying itself deep into oncoming waves, lurching up and over into the following trough. Looking up, I saw a figure up under the bowsprit, huddled in the belly of the furled sprits’l. It could only be Johnny. I turned, stumbling, to look down the main deck. In the waist I saw a crewman and screamed for his attention, waving like a madman. He dragged himself along a lifeline towards me as I shouted at him to inform the skipper that Dawkins was on the bowsprit and help was needed. I turned back to work out a way to get to Johnny. There was a mad scramble behind me as Rosie’s helm was eased. She fell off downwind with the main and fore courses loosened. Her movement steadied. The crew went aloft to furl the fore course, which further reduced pitching and slowed Rosie down.
J.B. joined me on the foredeck.
“What the hell is the idiot doing?” he shouted.
“Don’t know, but we have to get him back down,” I shouted back. “We could haul the sprits’l spar down the length of the bowsprit, but it might tip Johnny out. We need to fetch him.”
J.B. tied a line round my waist, me being the lighter and nimbler, with a spare for Johnny. I ventured down the ladder onto the beakhead and started up the bowsprit. Johnny had wedged himself into a pocket of canvas hard up against the sprits’l yard. His eyes were tight shut and he was trembling all over like he had the ague. I shouted at him to open his eyes, but he shook his head and squirmed away from me. Hanging on with one arm, I tied the spare line ‘round his waist. He did not have his oilskins on and he was soaked, probably half frozen. I snatched my hat off my head and rammed it onto his; the distraction made him open his eyes. We went nose-to-nose.
“You’re endangering others,” I shouted. “You have to come down. We need to get you ashore. Your mother needs you at home. Your life is on land, not here in this maelstrom.”
He didn’t seem to be hearing me, but I was able to get an arm ‘round him and work him away from his nest, pulling him up onto the bowsprit. Thank God for the line, as he almost went overboard. The shock spurred him into helping himself, his instinct for survival overcoming his lethargy. Once on the bowsprit, I rolled him face down. With me leading the way and dragging Johnny by his legs, we slid backwards slowly down the bowsprit. Arms reached out to grab us. J.B. lifted Johnny and took him to the cook room where Dusty took charge. Johnny was quickly stripped, rubbed dry, wrapped in a blanket, and given a steaming tankard of cooking brandy. He wanted to collapse, but he was made to walk about in the heat. We headed back to the quarterdeck to report. By now, Rosie had been brought back to her previous heading, courses and lines reset, and sails braced accordingly. The Skipper was on deck and gave me a bollocking for further risking my skin. He ordered me below to dry off and get some rest. J.B. gave me a wink behind the skipper’s back. The rest of the trip was relatively uneventful.