Visions of Teaoga

The year is 1790 and Queen Esther, a notorious American Indian matriarch, travels under cover to observe a U.S.-Iroquois summit at the ancient Teaoga treaty grounds. Will she be able to pass on her wisdom – and warnings – to the Indian villagers before the hostile settlers discover her in their midst? Will troubled native girl Sisketung awaken to Esther’s truths and see how wrong-headed the brash settler girl Sarah was?

Moving two centuries forward, restless tweener Maddy Winter also visits Teaoga, now a quiet riverfront town on the Pennsylvania-New York border. She tunes in to the region’s dramatic lost history and soon encounters spirits in the wind. As she gains in wisdom, Maddy longs to take on Esther’s mantle of the “peace woman,” but will she find the courage to do right in her own life?

Drawing richly from the historical record, Visions of Teaoga captures a world in upheaval. Readers sit at a native story circle and learn of the tensions and treachery besetting the Eastern frontier. As Maddy and her modern-day compatriots enter the story, they ponder how our history was recorded and by whom. The book is a perfect companion for middle-school history classes, with discussion questions and other supplemental materials provided on the author’s website, www.jimremsen.com.

Jim Remsen is a professional writer and editor in Philadelphia, where he had a successful career at The Philadelphia Inquirer. Prior to retirement, he was newspaper’s awarding-winning Religion Editor. He also is co-author of The Intermarriage Handbook: A Guide for Jews and Christians (HarperCollins), a widely used bible for mixed-faith couples.

Jim, an avid student of history, stumbled onto the story of Queen Esther and the Bloody Rock while on a road trip. Deciding to bring the poignant saga to life for the young reader, he spent nearly two years researching and writing Visions of Teaoga. He is a member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, and the Authors Guild. To learn more about Jim, and to access educational materials about Queen Esther’s world, visit his website at www.jimremsen.com.