Who were the Pilgrims? Far from the somberly clad, stern, and righteous figures children learn about in school, many of the early settlers of Plymouth actually dressed in bright colors, drank heavily, and often got into trouble. A surprising new look at America's founding fathers and mothers, The Times of Their Lives presents a realistic, factual account of the Plymouth colony based on contemporary archaeology, cultural research, and living history. Taking little known trial transcripts, personal accounts, wills and probate records, as well as physical artifacts such as shards and spoons unearthed from old foundations, James and Patricia Deetz reveal what life in seventeenth century Plymouth was really like. In the process they blow the dust off the dull, wooden figures of tradition and show the people of Plymouth as vibrant individuals who lived out complex and colorful lives in a world profoundly different than our own. Beginning with an eyewitness account of the first Thanksgiving, The Times of Their Lives offers an often startling portrait of Plymouth Colony that includes aspects of the legal system, folk beliefs, family life, women’s roles and gender issues, eating habits, alcohol use, sexual misconduct, domestic violence, suspicious deaths, and violent crimes. The result is an impeccably researched and highly imaginative work that shakes up our view of one of the most cherished myths of American history. Adult/High School-The authors demystify both the political realities and the daily social lives of the New England colonists popularly identified as "Pilgrims." Both casual readers and researchers are offered an engaging and edifying introduction to the actual ramifications of life in the early 17th-century colony. The Deetzes look at how order was maintained, relations with the native people, the roles and maintenance of law and punishment, gender relations, violence, death, and the habits of the hearth and home. While knocking down the mythologies that have taken root across the generations, the narrative supplies images that are just as lively and compelling. Sources are retained as notes at the back so that readers need not follow footnotes, yet have documentation close at hand. Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Rejecting both the sacred myth of the Pilgrim fathers and the revisionist view of the rigidly repressed Puritans, the Deetzes present a radically different picture of the settlers who populated Plymouth Colony. To humanize their subjects within their historical context, the^B authors scrutinized a variety of primary sources, including court records, probate inventories, wills, archaeological artifacts, and first-person chronicles of life in the early settlement. Although vivid descriptions of folk customs, houses, and furnishings are provided, the detailed accounts of superstitions, sexual indiscretions, and criminal proceedings offer an especially fresh perspective on daily life in seventeenth-century America. Neither saints nor villains, the Plymouth colonists were very much a product of their unique social, political, and cultural environment. Margaret Flanagan Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "Giving new life to an old myth, James and Patricia Scott Deetz demonstrate that as far as Plymouth and the Pilgrims are concerned, the past is not what it used to be, and probably never was. Meticulous, generous, and irreverent, this work is an instant classic." --Peter J. Gomes, Harvard University, Formerly Librarian and President of the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth "Thoughtful, provocative, creative, and inclusive, this book will engage any student of American history and culture. It's the next best thing to time travel." --Elizabeth Reis, Department of History, University of Oregon, author of Damned Women: Sinners and Witches in Puritan New England "There is no one who could possibly know more on a firsthand basis about life, love, and death at the 17th century American colony of Plymouth, Massachusetts than Jim Deetz. [This is] a fresh, compelling, and entertaining story of the foundation and early development of a significant segment of early American society." --William M. Kelso, Director of Archaeology, Jamestown Rediscovery "James Deetz and Patricia Scott Deetz envision an exciting new kind of cultural history, shaped by paths they cut through historical archaeology, anthropology, material culture, and social history. The Times of Their Lives should be required reading." --Robert Blair St. George, author of Conversing by Signs , and professor of history, University of Pennsylvania "Mythic in power, graceful in presentation, The Times of Their Lives is a gift to the people." --Henry Glassie, Folklore Institute, Indiana University "The detailed accounts of superstitions, sexual indiscretions, and criminal proceedings offer an especially fresh perspective on daily life