This scholarly work of legal history comes in a surprising package -- a gripping tale of early Virginia families and early colonial life and the economy. What a great way to learn about the development of American laws and their foundations!! It is so well written that I didn't want it to end.

Excellent, well-writen and very entertaining! Mr. Pagan's book covers a lot of ground, detailing a series of related trials that define the foundations of American justice. A++++

I just finished reading John Pagan's amazing true story of life in colonial Virginia and it reveals so much about life during a period that is little understood in our nation's history. After giving us the facts in the introduction, he unveils the history and its implications as each chapter focuses on one individual who was crucial to the events and the four legal actions which resulted from these events. The detective work has been done for you by the author who spent his summer researching every minute detail that exists--you just sit back and enjoy the tale! It is a great read and an astute portrait of a slice of Virginia life in the 1660s to 1680s--and gives us much to think about as the colonies began to establish a unique American legal system adapted from English law. It also gives us a sense of how "sex" was regulated by government at that time, and how legal decisions relate to social and economic realities of life. It is amazing that this little vignette of forgotten lives is so interesting to read about today and brings up issues of privacy, government regulation, and how courts consider society's social and economic goals--issues that resonate with judicial decisions that are being made today. So please read and enjoy and think about Anne and her son Jasper Orthwood. I think they would be very pleasantly surprised to know that their story is being retold in 21st Century America!