Poison in the Colony, Elisa Carbone
Poison in the Colony, Elisa Carbone
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Poison in the Colony
James Town 1622

Author: Elisa Carbone

Narrator: Fiona Hardingham

Unabridged: 7 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/26/2019

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

The fascinating companion title to the award-winning historical novel Blood on the River: James Town 1607.

After the colony of James Town is founded in 1607. After Captain John Smith establishes trade with the Native Americans. After Pocahontas befriends the colonists. After early settlers both thrive and die in this new world . . . a girl is born. Virginia.

Virginia Laydon, an infant at the end of Blood on the River, has now grown up in a colony that is teetering dangerously on the precipice of conflict with the native Algonquins. Virginia has the gift, or the curse, of the knowing-an ability that could help save the colony, and is equally likely to land her at the burning stake as an accused witch. 

Virginia struggles to make sense of her own inner world against the backdrop of pivotal years in the Jamestown colony. The first representative government is established, the first enslaved Africans arrive, and the self-righteousness of the colony's leaders angers the Algonquin. 

When Virginia's mother first learns of her gift, she is terrified. Kill it, her mother says, or they will kill you. When accusations and danger threaten, Virginia learns that she is on her own; her mother must protect her young sisters rather than stand up for her. So begins a journey of self-realization and increasing strength, as Virginia goes from being a self-protective young girl to someone who knows she must live her own truth even if it will be the end of her.

Includes a PDF map of James Town and the surrounding area, circa 1622.

About The Author

Elisa Carbone taught in the Speech Communications department at the University of Maryland, but now she enjoys being a full-time writer and part-time rock climber, windsurfer, and white-water kayaker. “The physical exertion of the sports balances out the mental exertion of writing,” she says. She loves doing the research required to write historical fiction and is fascinated by the small details of everyday life in the past. Ms. Carbone’s Sarah books, Starting School with an Enemy and Sarah and the Naked Truth, have been praised for their accessibility to reluctant readers.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Charlene on April 12, 2020

Historical fiction is my favorite genre; nowadays, middle school historical fiction is usually very good. This novel, about Virginia Laydon, first child born in the colony of Virginia, is good story and gives an honest, realistic look at what life would have been like in early James Town. Virginia &......more

Goodreads review by Maura on May 02, 2020

A magnificent sequel to the excellent Blood on the River, this novel may be the most effective use of accurate historical research in a children's historical fiction piece that I've read in years. For 4th and 5th grade teachers of Virginia Studies, in particular, Poison in the Colony accomplishes SO......more

Goodreads review by Myrtle on May 26, 2021

I read it for school but we only made it about 3/4ths through it. Not a great loss. It was so religious and full of superstition I can't believe it was the sequel to Blood on the River, which was factual and true. And interesting unlike this book. Overall, would NOT reccomend......more

Goodreads review by Yapha on October 16, 2019

Excellent sequel to Blood on the River. I learned a lot about the later years of the Jamestown Colony that I had not heard before. I was pleased with the better rounded and more fair portrayal of the Native Americans. Highly recommended for grades 4 & up. You do not have to read Blood on the River f......more

Goodreads review by Becky on September 07, 2020

First sentence: I am different. That is what Samuel says, and I believe he is right. Premise/plot: Poison in the Colony is a companion book to Blood on the River. This book features Samuel, the main character in Blood on the River, but it is narrated by Virginia Laydon. Carbone has fictionalized the......more