It was Christmastide of the year 1606. In London, above the sound of sailors' shouts, creaking sails and the splash of water in the Thames, could be heard the last farewells from shore and the voice of a town crier:

"Twelve o'clock and all is well! Twelve o'clock of a cold, clear winter's night. Tonight sailed for the New World three ships, commanded by Captain Christopher Newport. Three ships, the Susan Constant, the Goodspeed and the Discovery, of the London Company—bound for Virginia!"

The happiest passenger in the fleet was young Martin Wynne, apprentice to the expedition's doctor. Martin, with his taste for action and excitement, had been unhappy about his apprenticeship, for he would have preferred to be a soldier or a gentleman-adventurer. Medicine was interesting, but he hated to spend his days mixing remedies for toothaches and stomachaches, making beauty poultices for ladies and extracting splinters. He yearned to do great things and be a hero—like the doctor's friend, Captain John Smith of Lincolnshire, who had had marvelous experiences with Turks and pirates and become a famous explorer.

Yet because Martin was Dr. Russell's apprentice had come this chance to sail to the New World, with its rumored wealth of gold and jewels, its fierce "naturals" and fabulous game. It had brought him and also his good friend Tom on board the Susan Constant, with Captain John Smith himself. A glorious future surely lay ahead. All the tiresome duties, all the silly girls, like Tom's impudent cousin Cecily and giggling little Anne Burras, were left behind. The boy was facing a man's life. in a world few men had ever seen.

This book is a vivid picture of that world, a fine retelling of the story of Jamestown, as it was experienced by the eager, lighthearted boy who came with Captain Smith. Martin was to share the life of men made desperate by hunger, disease, loneliness and fear of a savage land, but for him the expedition never lost its quality of gay adventure, its deep significance. There were disastrous and dangerous episodes—more than any boy could foresee—but there were also constant new discoveries and many amusing moments to rouse a lively boy's enthusiasm and faith in the colony. Martin's story is an absorbing introduction to one of history's most important villages.

Ten-to-fourteen-year-old readers will find here a Jamestown that the legends of Pocahontas rarely suggest. The tiny settlement is seen as its first colonists saw it, as it reflected the personalities of that first oddly assorted group of colonists. They are fascinating characters right out of history, strange, interesting companions for the doctor's young apprentice. Realistically, the author has shown the interesting and amusing sides of Jamestown as well as the grim, unhappy one. Along with Martin the reader sees Jamestown grow, until the first settlement becomes an unforgettable part of American history.

From the dust jacket