Stanley Harris

Several years ago, I was in a Lexington bookstore looking for a novel about the Battle of Lexington for my nine-year-old granddaughter.  I was surprised  and disappointed when the store manager explained that while she had several history books about the battle that were appropriate for children of that age, she was unaware of any novels that described the battle in any detail.

As former long-time resident of Lexington, I wanted my grandchildren to learn about the battle in a way that was different from reading the relatively dry accounts of history books.  So I decided to write a novel that was historically accurate, using time-travel, presented in a thoughtful and educational way, to help young readers become personally involved with the people and events of Lexington’s most famous day.

When I discussed The First Shot with its proof-readers - young people, their parents, and educators - I was pleased at their enthusiastic response.  But I also learned that combining a fascinating story with historical accuracy is an excellent way of teaching young readers about important historical events and people.   

Evacuation Day, my second novel of the series of historic novels about the American Revolution, describes the people and events of the British Evacuation of Boston in 1776.  Evacuation Day is celebrated as a holiday in Boston, but is recognized virtually nowhere else in the United States.  It is given relatively minor mention in most history books, an oversight, I believe, because the British evacuation of Boston was George Washington’s first victory – a vital morale-builder for the budding colonial rebellion against the most powerful nation in the world.

As I wrote The 4th of July Spies, I realized that I always had thought of the “Declaration of Independence” as a single phrase, not as three separate words.  But the Declaration of Independence was a declaration of independence – with a small d and a small c – three words.  Nowhere in the document are the words “Declaration of Independence”.  What to Americans living in the 21^st century is a famous and treasured document was to the people who lived in the colonies in 1776 just a document that declared their independence from the rule of the British king.