The author is a Fellow of All Souls
College, Oxford, and has apparently made American history his specialty.
His work on the Puritan colonies is one of a series which when completed
will cover the whole story of English colonization in America. I have
looked in vain in his pages for any remark or allusion indicating that
he has ever visited America, and am therefore inclined to think that he
has not done so. He now and then makes a slight error such as would
not be likely to be made by a native of New England, but this is very
seldom. The accuracy and thoroughness of its research, its judicial
temper, and its philosophical spirit make Mr. Doyle's book in some
respects the best that has been written about New England.
Among original authorities we may begin by citing John Smith's
_Description of New England_, 1616, and _New England's Trial_, 1622,
contained in Arber's new edition of Smith's works, London, 1884.
Bradford's narrative of the founding of Plymouth was for a long time
supposed to be lost. Nathaniel Morton's _New England's Memorial_,
published in 1669, was little more than an abridgment of it. After two
centuries Bradford's manuscript was discovered, and an excellent edition
by Mr. Charles Deane was published in the _Massachusetts Historical
Collections_, 4th series, vol.
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