BRATTLEBORO-On Saturday, March 14, at 3 p.m., ByWay Books & More, 399 Canal St., will host Jessie Haas, author of Dearest Blood: A Romance of the Revolution, published last year.
This historical novel is a well-documented story of Fanny Montresor, a young woman whose fate was determined by an approaching war, the politics rousing the insurrection between New York and Massachusetts, and her impending romance with Ethan Allen.
In 1777, at the Westminster County courthouse, citizens declared Vermont to be a free and independent republic, and it maintained this status until it became the 14th state of the United States in 1791. This speaks to the independent and resilient spirit of Vermonters.
Ethan Allen, a Revolutionary War hero, spearheaded The Green Mountain Boys and fought for the people and the state with a focus on helping Vermont gain independence. Dearest Blood brings the courtship of Fanny and Ethan into focus amid the politics which brings them together. It also chronicles the lead up to and aftermath of the Westminster Massacre of March 1775, considered by some to be the first blood shed of the American Revolution.
Haas is the current president of the Westminster Historical Society. Her other books on Westminster history include Revolutionary Westminster and Westminster, Vermont 1783–2000: Township Number One. She is an avid equestrian and has written several books on horses, among them, Horse-Lover’s Encyclopedia, published by Storey Publishing, and a children’s series, Bramble and Maggie, published by Candlewick Press. All told, Haas has authored more than 40 award-winning books for children and adults. Haas grew up in and still resides in Westminster.
There’ll be a special 10% author event discount applied to the purchase of Dearest Blood. For more information, contact ByWay Books & More at 802-490-8014, contact@bywaybooks.co, or visit bywaybooks.co.
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