Discuss the role of women as property owners and participants in society in the early American colonies. How were American policies during that time different from those in England?

Anya Seton portrays Bess Fones as a rather wild girl and impetuous woman. Discuss the childhood event that may have set this course for Bess, and why it would affect her for the rest of her life.

The land Bess owns has a section that becomes cut off from the mainland when the tide comes in. How does Seton use this phenomenon as a symbolic device?

Discuss John Winthrop's character. Was he a good man? Explore his primary goal, and his behavior as a leader. Can his behavior be justified, given the circumstances?

The transition from life in England to life in the new land required characteristics that not all new colonists possessed. Discuss the...