Chesapeake

Chesapeake is a novel by James A. Michener, published by Random House in 1978. The story deals with several families living in the Chesapeake Bay area around Virginia and Maryland, from 1583 to 1978. Plot summary The story-line, like much of Michener's work, depicts a number of characters within family groups over a long time period, richly illustrating the history of the area through these families' timelines. It starts in 1583 with American Indian tribes warring, moves with English settlers through the 17th century (land appropriation, tobacco farming, indentured servitude, religious persecution, etc.), slavery, pirate attacks, the American Revolution and the Civil War, Emancipation and attempted assimilation, to the final major event being the Watergate scandal of 1972-1974. The last voyage, a funeral, is in 1978. Chapters The book is divided into 14 separate chapters with two sections each. The first part provides a key date and describes the background behind the arrival of a person or thing (i.e., a family of Canada geese in Voyage Eight and floodwaters in Voyage Eleven) to the Delmarva Peninsula area, while the second section provides a thematic name and describes how the new arrivals interact with places and the people already settled in the area. Voyage One: 1583 The River Voyage Two: 1608 The Island Voyage Three: 1636 The Marsh Voyage Four: 1661 The Cliff Voyage Five: 1701 Rosalind's Revenge Voyage Six: 1773 Three Patriots Voyage Seven: 1811 The Duel Voyage Eight: 1822 Widow's Walk Voyage Nine: 1832 The Slave-Breaker Voyage Ten: 1837 The Railroad Voyage Eleven: 1886 The Watermen Voyage Twelve: 1938 Ordeal by Fire Voyage Thirteen: 1976 Refuge Voyage Fourteen: 1978 Geography