Carrying Independence

Carrying Independence is a work of historical fiction at its finest. I’m particularly attracted to American history, especially the Colonial Era. Author Karen A. Chase has created just such a story. As a good historian, Ms. Chase learned that not all signers of the Declaration of Independence had actually been present when Thomas Jefferson gave his Declaration to the Continental Congress, so then how did all the signatures get there? So, the meat of the story is about Nathaniel Marten accepting the task of carrying the original document to six men, sometimes through enemy lines, to secure the signatures that would officially bind the 13 colonies together against the rule of King George III. In the course of the story, Nathaniel has his own personal crisis since he was not yet committed to the American Cause – he was more interested in just having an adventure which took him away from his dreaded day-to-day life.

But, there was so much more to Chase’s novel. Nathaniel was one of three men who had grown up together but who came from very different backgrounds. Nathaniel was the son of a gunsmith who learned the craft from his father who had learned it from Nathaniel’s grandfather. So he was a from a working class family. Arthur Bowman was from an upper crust family with strong ties to the King. And Kalawi was a Shawnee Indian from the Wolf clan, a group that sought peace. This revolutionary war would have very different impacts on these young men and their families, a war which tested the men’s boyhood pledges to one another.

The story also centered on the double dealings of people who were trying to profit from the war, including Nathaniel’s brother. In the course of this novel, not only did Chase present fictional conversations among Nathaniel, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and others, she also brought the impact of the war on women in a way that I’ve not often seen. Although the women were not called into battle, they suffered enormous losses and had to make heroic adjustments to life they had never dreamed of.

Finally, given the news of our current day political mess in the US, in contrast to the underhanded dealings of spies and selfish efforts for personal profits, it was so refreshing to read of the personal sacrifices and high principals that were behind this necessary American Revolution. In the end, the book is inspirational in terms of seeing the bigger picture of what American life can mean if the rights of all people are taken into consideration and proper compromises can be made. Ms. Chase’s book gets my highest possible recommendation.

Please note that this is a pre-publication review. This novel will got on pre-sale on April 11, 2019, and it is scheduled for release on June 11, 2019.