The Journey to the Mayflower: God's Outlaws and the Invention of Freedom - Hardcover

Tomkins, Stephen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1643133675 ISBN 13: 9781643133676

Publisher: Pegasus Books, 2020

Synopsis

An authoritative and immersive history of the far-reaching events in England that led to the sailing of the Mayflower.

2020 brings readers the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower―the ship that took the Pilgrim Fathers to the New World. It is a foundational event in American history, but it began as an English story, which pioneered the idea of religious freedom.

The illegal underground movement of Protestant separatists from Elizabeth I’s Church of England is a story of subterfuge and danger, arrests and interrogations, prison and executions. It starts with Queen Mary’s attempts to burn Protestantism out of England, which created a Protestant underground. Later, when Elizabeth’s Protestant reformation didn’t go far enough, radicals recreated that underground, meeting illegally throughout England, facing prison and death for their crimes. They went into exile in the Netherlands, where they lived in poverty―and finally to the New World.

Historian Stephen Tomkins tells this fascinating story―one that is rarely told as an important piece of English, as well as American, history―that is full of contemporary relevance: religious violence, the threat to national security, freedom of religion, and tolerance of dangerous opinions.

This is a must-read book for anyone interested in the untold story of how the Mayflower came to be launched.

8 pages of B&W illustrations

About this title

About the Author:

Stephen Tomkins is the author of eight books on Christian history, including biographies of William Wilberforce and John Wesley. He is the editor of Reform magazine and was previously deputy editor of Third Way. He has a PhD in church history from the London School of Theology.

Review:

“Accessible and guaranteed to give greater insight to our faith. A recommended read for all.”
- Christian Marketplace [praise for Stephen Tomkins]

“Learned, lively journalist Tomkins, who could not write a dull sentence if he tried, here capsules the global Christian story into a brilliant page-turner that keeps you reading for hours at a time. It is all brisk and clear, all well digested, all thoroughly serious, and all great fun.”
- J. I. Packer, Regent College [praise for Stephen Tomkins]

“The sort of book I wish I’d read fifty years ago. Stephen Tomkins provides a context for so much of Western history over the last two millennia. His book explains a lot.”
- Terry Jones, star and cowriter of Monty Python [praise for Stephen Tomkins]

About this edition

• Publisher: Pegasus Books
• Publication date: 2020
• ISBN 10: 1643133675
• ISBN 13: 9781643133676
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304