Ghoulies, ghosties, and Puritans. Now that’s a potentially horrifying combination. And who better to pen them loose on the page than Concord author Nathaniel Hawthorne? Born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804, Hawthorne came from a family steeped in history, scandals, and a curse put upon them by a young woman about to die.
“A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!” Thus cried Shakespeare’s King Richard the III during the Battle of Bosworth as his horse was cut out from under him during England’s War of the Roses for control of the English throne. No horse came for Richard, and his kingdom was lost to Henry Tudor (Henry VII). But 290 years later, a horse did materialize in the darkness, galloped towards Concord, Massachusetts, and once again the power of the English throne was transformed.
What does a life of freedom and fortune mean to you? And what would you do to attain it?
To find that life, two men from different backgrounds joined the British Army, one as a foot soldier, the other as a commissioned officer. While their upbringings and choices differed, their lives crossed one fiery day in Concord, Massachusetts.
