In 1666, in their efforts to steal the land of the Patawomeck people in what is now Virginia, colonists massacred the men of the Patawomeck tribe and took the women and children as slaves, marching them to the coast to slave ships that would take most of them to their deaths in the brutal sugar fields of the Barbados.
Author Lora Chilton who is a member of the Patawomeck tribe of Virginia has written a fictionalized reimagining of this story told from the point of view of the two women who managed to escape slavery in Barbados and separately make their way back to Virginia. Their escape and return is why the tribe is in existence today. The book is titled 1666: A Novel and will be published April 2, 2024 by Sibylline Press.
To honor the women who suffered this ordeal and to pay tribute to the tribe’s ultimate survival in part because of these two courageous women, Chilton is undertaking a book tour April 20 through April 27 that will follow this imagined route from Fredericksburg through Richmond and Williamsburg to Hampton in Virginia.
The 1666 book tour will launch on April 20 at the Patawomeck Museum and Cultural Center with the 1666 Commemorate Day event. Ceremonies and festivities will run from 11 to 3 and include demonstrations of the Patawomeck traditions and culture, interviews with elders, speeches from those who are introducing the new bill recognizing the tribe, a 1666 book talk and book signing with Chilton, plus access to the museum, and much more.
From there, Chilton will make stops at Book People in Henrico on April 23, (with a sidetrip to Busboys and Poets Bookstore in Arlington on April 24), Barnes & Noble in Williamsburg on April 26 and then end with a presentation at the Hampton Historical Society in Hampton on April 27. She’ll be livestreaming and posting on social media along the way.
This tour will be followed by a mini tour in Northern Virginia May 8 through 11 with stops at Fonts Books and Gifts in McLean (Friday, May 9) and Winchester Book Gallery in Winchester (Saturday, May 10).
Lora tells a powerful story of discovering her own heritage and then uncovering this story that up until now has only been known within the tribe. At each event, Lora will share how she came to write this story, how she studied the Patawomeck language, interviewed the elders of her tribe who kept the story alive through oral tradition, as well as conducted her own research. To keep the story authentic, Chilton has opted to infuse the native language into the book. For instance, readers will find the names of the characters in the Patawomeck language rather than translated to make them easy for English readers.
More information about this tour and a map are available here as well as the events page of this site. Media interested in covering this tour as a story are invited to reach out to Jenny McIntosh, JMPR, click here to call, click here to email.