Ventura author Jane Hulse’s latest book, “Spanktown Papers,” is the third installment in her American Revolution series and was released just in time for America’s 250th anniversary.
The historical fiction follows Sarah Barrett, a young journalist who investigates the murder of a coffeehouse owner during a robbery. As she pursues the case, Barrett becomes entangled in a scandal that rocked Philadelphia during the American Revolution.
The real life scandal involved nearly 20 Quaker pacifists who were banished after refusing to support the Patriot cause, said Hulse, 79.
A collection of documents known as the Spanktown Papers seems to have proved the case, but Barrett remains unconvinced. In her search for the truth. She risks her life, encounters spies and deception and finds romance along the way.
Barrett lives with a Quaker family during the events of the novel, Hulse said.
“She’s got a front-row seat to all of this that’s going on,” Hulse said. “She’s kind of conflicted because she understands the reasons why the Quakers are nonviolent and opposed to the war, but at the same time she has a boyfriend who’s a soldier, a Patriot.”
The inspiration for the book and the series came from her childhood in New Hampshire and a father who was “very enthusiastic” about colonial history and the American Revolution, she said.
“We lived in a house that was built in 1790, and my dad filled the house up with all these antiques and memorabilia from that period, so we had grandfather clocks, bed warmers and muskets,” Hulse said.
Her other books in the series are “Outcasts of Essex” and “Prisoner of Wallabout Bay,” all published by Open Books.
Hulse, who is married to former journalist Steve Chawkins, also spent her career in news working for The Rocky Mountain News in Denver, the Los Angeles Times, the Santa Barbara News-Press and the Ventura County Star. She said researching this and her previous books has given her a deeper appreciation for the nation’s founding documents.
“It’s quite an amazing story, and the documents that came out of that are even more amazing to me now,” she said. “The Constitution and the amendments are the bedrock of who we are as a people and as a country. It’s an amazing creation of checks and balances, and it’s been tested for centuries and managed to survive.”
She said the Constitution and its amendments are facing their “toughest test” and that it remains to be seen how current challenges will affect them.
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” she said.
Hulse will hold a book signing at 1 p.m. on July 18 at Timbre Books, 1910 E. Main St. in Ventura.
“Spanktown Papers,” which sells for $19.95, was released June 5 and is available online and through Hulse’s website at janehulse.com.
Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura author’s historic thriller arrives for 250th celebration
Reporting by Wes Woods II, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Wes Woods II, Ventura County Star | USA TODAY Network
