The Brief and True Report of Temperance Flowerdew by Denise Heinze

 Temperance Flowerdew (1590-1628) was an early settler of the Jamestown Colony and its significant member. She was wife of two Governors of Virginia. However, this story is mostly concentrated on two years 1609-1610. She was one of the few survivors of the brutal winter of those two years, known as the Starving Time, which killed almost ninety percent of Jamestown’s inhabitants. This book is a dedication to such historical figures forgotten by history. “For all the women gone missing from history.”

1609, Lily, Temperance’s maid, has premonition of storm coming their ship’s way, which sails for Jamestown. Temperance is well-read and she prepared for the voyage by “consuming all the maps, books, and pamphlets about the New World…” With her knowledge and Lily’s help, she charts the path of the storm. Only to be dismissed by a narrow-minded and opinionated Master of the ship. Two of the nine ships survived the storm.

“The utopia they had nursed in their imaginations for months, even years, was little more than a stick-built village on the edge of nowhere.” Jamestown is not what they imagined. Nevertheless, Temperance sees “the elixir of opportunity. (…) With the feelings came a torrent of thoughts, ideas, plans for the future – both mine and Jamestown’s. Where others saw deprivation, I envisioned abundance.”

She meets the legendary John Smith, de facto governor of Jamestown. He favors “exploration over husbandry.” What strikes her about him right away is him being a force of nature. She hopes “to emulate this remarkable man, not antagonize him.” She knows he is the person she needs to ally herself with if she hopes “to gain leverage in the settlement.”

This engrossing story weaves strong characters with historical events of clashing with the natives, drought, and siege by Powhatan Indian over winter time, bringing the starving time.

Temperance is a remarkable character. She seems to be a force of nature herself. Someone to reckon with. She is a strong woman. She is smart. She knows how to use her knowledge to her advantage. But she also recognizes her weaknesses. She is not that quick with her hands and home chores. That’s why she needs Lily. Together, they form an incredible bond, bond of friendship and reliance on each other in order to survive the uncharted territories.

This is a quick read. However, the story is so interesting and the heroine is so intriguing that I wished it took more pages to tell the rest of her story.

From the first lines of the story, you can tell that it has been crafted by a very talented writer.

Release date: 29 September 2020

Source: Blacktone Publishing