Monday, March 29, 2021

April Virtual Author Talk: Tobey Pearl

We invite you to join us for an online conversation with Tobey Pearl, author of the new book, Terror to the Wicked: America's First Trial by Jury That Ended a War and Helped to Form a Nation. This talk is presented in partnership with the Boston Public Library and American Ancestors/New England Historic Genealogical Society.

The year: 1638. The setting: Providence, near Plymouth Colony. A young Nipmuc tribesman returning home from trading beaver pelts is fatally stabbed in a robbery in the woods near Plymouth Colony by a vicious white runaway indentured servant. The tribesman, fighting for his life, is able with his final breaths to reveal the details of the attack to Providence’s governor, Roger Williams. A frantic manhunt by the fledgling government ensues to capture the killer and his gang. Their success and the trial that followed changed the course of America’s future, ending the two-year Pequot War and bringing about a peace that allowed the colonies to become a full-blown nation. 

Piecing together a fascinating narrative through original research and first-rate detective work, Tobey Pearl recreates in detail this startling, pivotal moment in pre-revolutionary America as she examines the evolution of our nascent civil liberties and the role of the jury as a safeguard against injustice.

Author Tobey Pearl earned degrees in law and international relations from Boston University and studied international law at the University of Hong Kong. She practiced law and taught at Emerson College, and she lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

To register for this free online event, please visit: https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/events/60415721e85a2b2f009a948d

And be sure to check out the other upcoming events hosted by our partners!


Author Talks Committee
State Library of Massachusetts


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