Flames Over New England tells the story of what Samuel Eliot Morison describes as the "most colorful, tragic, and hard-fought war in colonial history." It was of short duration, lasting only from June, 1675 to August, 1676, but in that short span of time the New England colonies came perilously close to being wiped out.
Here is a graphic picture of two radically different ways of life-the easy- going, wide-ranging existence of the Indian tribes and that of the aggressively enterprising Puritans who came to New England with the strong-willed determination to conquer the wilderness and to impose their religion upon the "heathen."
Gradually seduced by the material advantages of the white man's culture, and then driven to rebellion by the humiliations suffered at the hands of the dominant race, the Indians plunged into the war before they were ready for it. Even so, they fought with a ferocity and a cunning that made shambles of many English towns and settlements, and spread terror and despair across the land.
King Philip, the proud, individualistic Wampanog chief, became the elusive leader of his people when their frayed patience turned them against the settlers. Benjamin Church was the hard-driving soldier from the Plymouth Colony who finally brought Philip and his followers to their doom.
In presenting the contrasting cultures of the two races, Mrs. Hall-Quest emphasizes not the ultimate victory of the colonists but the tragedy of the inevitable conflict. The strong black and white drawings by Christine Price add visual drama to this skillful recreation of a grim but historically significant era in America's history.
—from the dust jacket
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