The Rebellion of Jane Clarke by Sally Gunning

Gunning gained her fame with her first novels, "Bound" and "The Widow's War."  "The Rebellion of Jane Clarke" is taken from a small historical fact about a woman who witnessed the killing of five colonists in Boston in March 1770 that helped to spark the War of Independence.  Jane Clarke is the fictional character that embodies the true life witness.
 


Gunning has a true heroine in Clarke, a woman from a small village on Cape Cod from a family that sympathized with the crown.  Jane and her brother both moved to Boston to gain their own independence from a rather judgmental and tyrannical father.  Jane moved into the home of an aunt who appeared to have leanings toward the Sons of Liberty-- or does she?  Jane has to put up with the surreptitious comings and goings of two household employees of her aunt and feels she needs to protect her aunt from the increasingly hostile environment in Boston.

When Jane meets Henry Knox, a bookseller who leans toward the Sons of Liberty cause, it introduces some conflict into her future.  Should she accept Henry's proposal of marriage? Should she try to win back Phinnie Paine, her one-time suitor? Should she embrace her independence as a single woman for the rest of her life. If she decides not to marry, how will she make a living?

As it happens, I also started the docdrama series "John Adams" just as I finished this book.  John Adams starts where this book ends, with the March 1770 shootings and the trial in which John Adams wins a pyrrhic victory in defending Captain Preston of the British guard. 

This is a memorable fictional telling of an important period of American history as seen through the eyes of a woman. 

I loved this book and look forward to many more from Sally Gunning.

Liz Nichols