An Author’s Dream Publisher, LLC
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The Fathers of Caleb Whitcomb
by Ned Bayley
An Authors Dream Publisher, LLC
P.O. Box 8217
Brownsville, TX 78526
ISBN: 0-9771091-1-9
978-0-9771091-1-1
248 pages
$15.95
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Caleb Whitcomb is an eleven-year-old boy living with his mother and abusive father in pre-Revolutionary Maryland. Caleb suffers almost daily beatings from his father, and is forced to do the work of a grown man in the tobacco fields. During a trip to the port of George Town to sell the harvested tobacco, Caleb’s father is shanghaied and Caleb must return home alone.
Things run smoothly for a while, then tragedy strikes, when Caleb’s mother succumbs to complications from childbirth and since his father has never returned, Caleb is left a virtual orphan. He is taken in by the Townshends and grows quickly and strongly, both physically and spiritually, under the guiding hands of the considerate Quakers.
The Fathers of Caleb Whitcomb takes you on an exhilarating ride through Caleb’s growth to manhood, love and marriage, becoming a father himself and considered a Quaker elder. Caleb is once again faced with the reality of what his father has become when he comes begging Caleb for help in his last days. Then, quite by chance, Caleb finally learns the truth about his heritage.
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REVIEW
An engaging tale of life in pre-Revolutionary Maryland. This is not Mr. Bayley’s first foray into the world of literature, but it is his first novel.
Mr. Bayley’s characters are so finely crafted that they jump right off the page and into your heart. The setting is that time in American history when children and wives were treated as nothing more than chattel by their fathers and husbands, and when owning slaves was the accepted practice. Mr. Bayley has meticulously researched the setting and the time period.
Although Mr. Bayley has written The Fathers of Caleb Whitcomb for pre-adult teens, readers of all ages will find it a thoroughly satisfying and informative read. It is a history lesson with a heart.
Trisha Moore, Reviewer,
Midwest Book Reviews
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