Geraldine Brooks – Caleb’s Crossing (2011)

 Geraldine Brooks – Caleb’s Crossing (2011)

Time Period: 17th Century Martha’sVineyard. Early American fiction has largely been overshadowed by exaggerated depictions of “witchcraft”-era Salem, but Brooks presents a wholly different Puritan story. Set off America’s craggy East Coast, the novel follows the relationship between Bethia, a young Puritan, and Caleb, who will become the first Native American Harvard grad. Like many other historical novels, Brooks highlights the tensions between personal relationships and the political conflicts that overshadow them.