The Brief and True Report of Temperance Flowerdew

A Novel

By: Denise Heinze

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Determined to set the historical record straight, and clear her conscience, Temperance Flowerdew - the wife of Virginia’s first two governors - puts quill to paper, recounting the hardships that nearly brought the Jamestown colony to its knees, and the extraordinary sacrifice of her servant girl, Lily.

When she steps aboard the Falcon in 1609, Temperance Flowerdew is not only setting sail from England to the distant shores of America, she’s embarking upon a future of opportunity. She doesn’t yet know how she will make her mark, but in this new place she can do or be whatever she wants.

Willing as she is to brave this new world, Temperance is utterly ill-equipped to survive the wilderness; all she knows is how to live inside the pages of adventure and philosophy books. Loyally at her side, Lily helps Temperance weather pioneer life. A young woman running from lifelong accusations of witchcraft, Lily finds friendship with Temperance and an acceptance of her psychic gifts.

Together, they forge paths within the community: Temperance attempts to advise the makeshift government, while Lily experiences the blossoming of first love.

But as the harsh winter approaches, Lily intuitively senses a darkness creep over the colony and the veneer of civilized life threatens to fall away - negotiations with the Indians grow increasingly hostile and provisions become scarce. Lily struggles to keep food on the table by foraging in the woods and being resourceful. Famine could mean the end of days. It’s up to Lily to save them both, but what sacrifice will be enough to survive?

A transporting and evocative story, The Brief and True Report of Temperance Flowerdew is a fiercely hopeful novel - a portrait of two intrepid women who choose to live out their dreams of a future more free than the past.

©2020 Denise Heinze (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

A good find

I’m glad I stumbled upon this book. It was an interesting story. I like the flow of the story and it’s not my usual read. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed

Great message

History does not remember many women and their contributions. Temperance addresses that in this fictional account of history. The author does change perspective from the journal account into other characters brief narrative. However, she can be forgiven for this as the story is compelling and engrossing. Despite the tragedies, this book left me feeling uplifted.

Good from a historical standpoint

Though this book was beneficial in helping the reader understand the history of Jamestown, the story felt disjointed at times.

A Unique Perspective, For Sure

The brevity of the story worked in its favor, but also left me longing for more details. The characters themselves were not well fleshed out, and I found myself wanting to grab Temperance Flowerdew and to give her a hard shake a few times throughout the novel.
There were a few times during the story where there were abrupt transitions between past and present, and they threw me off a bit. They happened because the narrator's writing was interuppted by her children, and I completely emphasize with that feeling, but it was still difficult to follow.
Lastly, there is a quality to the narrator's voice that is borderline whiny in some areas, and her change in tone when going between characters was not as defined as I would have liked. She is by no means a poor narrator. but I wouldn't actively seek out her work in the future. It would not cause me to skip over something I wanted to listen to though.

Good depiction of history

This is a well-written and well-narrated story that helped me get a better understanding of settlers’ lives in the early 1600s. Not sugarcoated but still sympathetic to who the people were.

Gritty and good

As always, Justine Eyre is amazing as narrator. I chose this book from a search for books she has narrated. It turned out to be an engaging narrative of the Jamestown debacle. Good to be reminded of the gruesome and gritty experiences of early European and British immigrants.

historical accuracy is lacking

I enjoy historical fiction and realize that it is fiction. However, I expect it to be it's true as possible to the history. I'm about a third of the way through this book and I am uncertain if I will continue. It is a good story and is Well written. I do have a bit of trouble with the narrator but not so much that I would stop reading. but I object to the fact that historical figures are not written accurately. specifically, and stop reading if you don't want to hear this, the two governors are actual people. one was never married and the other was married to a woman named Elizabeth. so the account of temperance being married to the two governors is patently false. also I do not believe the characterization that she manipulated the leaders of the settlement to follow her bidding. the story seems to indicate that they were stupid man and that the settlement would have been bigger disaster if it hadn't been for a woman. I like the idea of a strong woman. I like the idea of Pocahontas. I don't like the idea of temperance. add to that the fact that temperance is inapt at life in the wilderness and allows her servant to keep her alive. perhaps but that makes her a manipulative and weak woman instead of a strong one.