Anne Orthwood's Bastard: Sex and Law in Early Virginia
"Pagan'sAnne Orthwood's Bastard: Sex and the Lawin Early Virginiaspin engaging yarns that tie together the best of recent scholarship while also interweaving fresh historical questions and issues....the kind of work tailor-made to grip and hold the imaginations of undergraduates in early American survey courses everywhere."--Reviews in American History"Four cases provide the basis for John Ruston Pagan's intelligent and highly readable book." --Virginia Magazine of History and Biography"superb analysis of the colony's nascent social, economic, and judicial structures. . . . terrific scholarship that adds significantly to historians' understanding of early Virginia. . . . Microhistories succeed when their case studies illuminate larger themes; at their best, the stories they tell rate as literature. John Pagan scores on both counts."-The Journal of Southern History"John Pagan's subtle and sophisticated research and analysis and his lucid and evocative writing bring to life these Virginians of 350 years ago. The character sketches of the servants, justices of the peace, planters, jurors, and of Anne Orthwood and her lover are gems of historical writing....[An] excellent book."--Richmond Times-Dispatch