This indenture made the twentieth day of May one thousand seven hundred fifty-six has bound and does hereby bind minor child Alice Cole to any lawful work for and to reside with the said John Morton until the sixth day of March one thousand seven hundred and sixty-seven . . .

Alice Cole spent her first seven years living in two smoky, crowded rooms in London with her family. But a new home and a better life waited in the colonies,or so her father promised--a bright dream that turned to ashes when her brothers and mother took ill and died during the arduous voyage. Arriving in New England unable to meet the added expenses incurred by their misfortunes at sea, her father bound Alice into servitude to pay his debts.

By the age of fifteen, Alice can barely remember the time when she was not servant to John Morton and his daughter, Nabby. Though work fills her days, life with the Mortons is pleasant; Mr. Morton calls Alice his "sweet, good girl," and Nabby, only three years older, is her friend, companion, and now newly married, her mistress.

But Nabby's marriage is not happy, and soon Alice is caught up in its storm; seeing nothing ahead but her own destruction, she defies her master and the law and runs away to Boston. There she meets a sympathetic widow named Lyddie Berry and her lawyer companion, Eben Freeman. Frightened and alone, Alice impulsively stows away on their ship to Satucket on Cape Cod, where the Widow Berry offers Alice a bed and a job making cloth in support of the new boycott of British goods. At Widow Berry's Alice believes her old secret is safe, until it becomes threatened by a new one.

As the days pass and the political and personal stakes rise and intertwine, they set off a chain of events that will force Alice to question all she thought she knew. Bound by law, society, and her own heart, Alice soon discovers that freedom--as well as gratitude, friendship, trust, and love--has a price far higher than any she ever imagined.

Praise for Bound

"[A] page-turner . . . Gunning weaves a horrifying, spellbinding story of colonial indenture's cruelties and a meditation on the meaning of freedom."

— Publisher's Weekly

"If The Widow's War identified Sally Gunning as a masterful new voice in historical fiction, Bound confirms her place as one of the very best in the field. Beautifully researched and ardently imagined, Gunning's writing is so vivid you can taste the salt in the Cape Cod air. She has a special gift for rendering the spare, constrained dialogue of the colonial Puritans and at the same time giving her characters emotional lives that are rich, moving and utterly convincing. Her Satucket novels are destined to become classics."

— Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Year of Wonders and March

"Two hundred years ago, Cape Cod was not a haven for visitors in sun hats with boxes of fudge. It was an unforgiving spit of sand, where women's lives were as harsh as those of the men who went down to the sea in ships and came back in shrouds. In her novel of pitiless beauty, Bound, author Sally Gunning demonstrates again what she did in The Widow's War. Unlike many historical novelists, Gunning makes the long-ago feel like this very day. Elegantly, she tells bitter truths #8212;that dignity and grace and even abiding love can flourish where it seems nothing can grow."

—Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean and Still Summer

"BOUND is an insightful look back at the horrors of the late colonial period's indentured servant system . . . Sally Gunning provides a well written thought provoking mid-eighteenth century thriller."

—Midwest Book Review

"A captivating read, written by an author well-trained in taut storytelling and well-versed in the pre-Revolutionary War period of Britain's Massachusetts Bay colony, including Cape Cod. The book's gemstone, however, is Ms. Gunning's wonderfully intense description of Alice's struggle of spirit, without benefit of Prozac and group therapy, to risk being trustful, to choose good, to remain based in reality and to find happiness in a war of literal personal survival."

—The Vineyard Gazette

"Sally Gunning tells an extraordinary story that explodes with a young girl facing harsh conditions and gathering enough strength to find something better in life. Alice never gives up, and I commend her determination in this noteworthy read that comes highly recommended – 5 [stars]." 

—Coffee Time Romance

"Author Sally Gunning is like a dog with a bone, and lately she's been chewing on the subject of young people sold into indentured servitude during the early years of our nation. The resulting novel [is] Bound. When Gunning finds a fascinating story idea, she grabs hold and won't let go until she's spun it into a compelling yarn filled with drama, passion and always a heaping helping of history. Her stories are so memorable that if she had been your history teacher, you would have made an A."
—Provincetown Banner

A page-turner of a great novel.

—Cape Cod Times

"Bound is a fascinating book, relating as it does not only the winds of change blowing through the colonies but also the day-to-day lives of the residents of Satucket. This is a tale well-told with credible characters for that time in the past - well-rounded, hardworking folk who believed in themselves. An interesting note is that the author considers the indentured to be the first slaves brought to America, saying also: 'There are more people living today in indentured servitude, or debt bondage, than in any time in history, it being the most common form of slavery worldwide, including the United States. Currently, there are an estimated twenty-seven million people living in slavery."

—Book Loons

"Sally Gunning weaves a powerful, brooding story. Based on life in 1775, the historical flavor and research done by Ms. Gunning brings forth the feeling of being there and witnessing Alice's harsh and bitter life.  Alice is a simple girl, yet her struggles and strength will win the reader's heart. . . . Mesmerizing."

—Romance Reviews Today

"The gritty sometimes ugly truth of early American life is told through the eyes of a young indentured girl whose courage and determination are her only liberation. Excellent character development makes these characters real enough to step out of the pages, and their emotional ups and downs are impossible not to share. The author has created more than just a wonderful historically based account of indenture. She's fashioned a heartfelt story of love and hope that will captivate readers from beginning to end."

——Affaire de Coeur 

"[Indentured servant Alice Cole], fleeing abuse, runs away to Boston where she meets a widow and a lawyer— from the absolutely stellar The Widow's War. Gunning wrote good mysteries, but she's really found her voice in this colonial New England series."

—The Poisoned Pen

Reader Reviews of BOUND from FirstLook

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"I know I'm enjoying a book when I can hardly suppress the instinct to turn to the last page and see what happens. This time I controlled myself and only allowed myself to skip ahead a few pages at a time. I found the history enlightening and the story and characters very real. I never quite new which way the story would turn or whether Alice would change in any way. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to friends and to my book club."

—Sarah (Maysville, KY)

"I know I'm enjoying a book when I can hardly suppress the instinct to turn to the last page and see what happens. This time I controlled myself and only allowed myself to skip ahead a few pages at a time. I found the history enlightening and the story and characters very real. I never quite new which way the story would turn or whether Alice would change in any way. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to friends and to my book club."

—Sarah (Maysville, KY)

"BOUND is an insightful look back at the horrors of the late colonial period's indentured servant system that included selling children into servitude. Readers will be stunned by the horrors of what happens to Alice in her second assignment, although her flight to freedom doesn't necessarily bring happiness. In many ways a cautionary tale that claims economics often wins over freedom especially for impoverished people. Sally Gunning provides a well written thought provoking mid eighteenth century thriller . This novel is one of the best of 2008. If you have not read historical fiction now is the time. One will not be disappointed! Highly recommended!"

—nancy r (mc calla, AL)

"I just finished Bound and loved every minute of it. This tale tells the story of young Alice Cole who, through a series of circumstances, ends up becoming an indentured servant to her childhood friend's new husband. This was a whole new side of colonial America I hardly knew about. While most of the story takes place in a small town on Cape Cod, the descriptions of "the Cape" and of colonial Boston are so realistic. The book is the perfect blend of historical fiction and a vivid description of life in the colonies during a transitional time."

—Kathy (Lake Oswego, OR)

"This book was so amazing and I would recommend it to everyone I know. It gives historical detail, but wraps it up in a great story. I loved this book."

—Kayla (East Lansing, MI)

"Bound was well written and unforgettable."

—joel (Albuquerque, NM)

"Bound is an excellent book and Sally Gunning has obviously done a good deal of research on Colonial America. I enjoyed it tremendously."

—Gaye (Saint Peters, MO)

"I really enjoyed reading this book. I found Ms. Gunning's writing very descriptive and completely believable. I felt as if I were there, in that time, experiencing the story. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future."

—Donna (Bristol, CT)

"This was an amazing book! I was hooked immediately and although I didn't intend to, I ended up reading the entire novel in one day because I felt compelled to know what was going to happen to Alice. Often I feel books end a chapter too soon, but in this case I felt the author took the story beyond the obvious conclusion - and with remarkable results. I now feel compelled to seek out the previous novel by this author - and am eagerly awaiting subsequent works. I hope you will let me know when the book is published, so I can recommend it to all my friends!"

—Carol (Grove City, PA)

In a small Cape Cod village in 1761, one woman is about to engage in the struggle of her life, defying her family, friends, and neighbors in a fight for her freedom that resonates even today . . .

THE WIDOW'S WAR

When was it that the sense of trouble grew to fear, the fear to certainty? When she sat down to another solitary supper of bread and beer and pickled cucumber? When she heard the second sounding of the geese? Or had she known that morning when she stepped outside and felt the wind? Might as well say she knew it when Edward took his first whaling trip to the Canada River . . . .

Lyddie has long been the wife of Edward Berry, a well-liked and successful whaler in Satucket Village, Massachusetts. Married for twenty years, Lyddie is used to the trials of being a whaling wife - her husband's sudden departures, when whales are sighted in the bay; his long absences at sea, when she must run the house herself; the constant fear that Edward will simply not come home. But when the unthinkable does happen and Edward is lost at sea, Lyddie finds that she must bear not only the grief of losing her husband but also the insult of losing her autonomy. As a widow, she finds herself cast into society's cellar, her property and rights now at the whim of her nearest male relative, who happens to be her daughter's husband.

With her son-in-law implacable and hostile, Lyddie realized she cannot live under his roof and under his decrees. Refusing to bow to both her "guardian" and the societal and legal pressures brought to bear upon her, Lyddie finds that defying one rule emboldens her to defy another . . . and another. As she moves back into the house she shared with Edward - the house she is entitled to use only one-third of now - and begins to figure out how she'll make a living on her own, she finds that her defiance earns her nothing but the abuse of friends and neighbors and puts her home and her family at risk. Ultimately, Lyddie must decide how much she values her personal freedom and how willing she is to become estranged from those she loves.

While conjuring the hearths and salt air of eighteenth-century colonial America, The Widow's War captures a timeless human longing. With rich, realistic characters, Sally Gunning weaves a tale of a woman's journey to understand herself and her world, and her place in that world. Honest and moving, The Widow's War is a stunning work of literary magic, a spellbinding tale from an assured and gifted writer.

Praise for The Widow's War

"Many historical novels die on the page, the characters never having drawn breath. In Gunning's capable hands, a novel of history is allowed to be as vivid as the smell of a man: 'Tobacco and sweat, but a different sweat, and something like sassafras but not sassafras.'"

— WashingtonPost

"Gunning's vibrant portrayal of Lyddie's journey shows that the pursuit of happiness is not for the faint of heart."

— The BostonGlobe

"This is historical fiction at its best; highly recommended."

— Library Journal [starred review]

"Gunning paints the ethical, emotional and financial dilemmas of her refreshingly adult characters in surprisingly lively shades of gray."

— Kirkus Reviews

"The crisp prose is flavored with the stinging salty atmosphere of a New England community witnessing one individual's war for independence. A good choice for book groups."

— Booklist

When five-year-old Lucy Suggs finds a human skull while playing, the residents of Nashtoba Island are horrified. Pete and Connie Bartholomew, who took Lucy in after her mother died, are even more shocked to learn that the skull was found in their marsh

—and that it was all that remained of Susan Jameson, a stunning redhead and an old flame of Pete's who disappeared fifteen years earlier. Matters only get muddier after a second skull is unearthed

—this one identified as Manny Rose, a legendary bootlegger from the 1920s.

The police are baffled by possible connections between the deaths, but they're clear about whom to pursue. As the owner of the makeshift burial ground and Susan's jilted lover, Pete tops the list of murder suspects, and suspicion spreads like wildfire to include his wife as well. Now, with a burning desire to clear himself and Connie, Pete embarks upon his own investigation, and uncovers shocking secrets, buried truths, and scandalous lies that leave him up to his neck in fire water.

Pete and Connie Bartholomew are making a second go at marriage, and this time around they're determined to make it work...come hell or high water. But the honeymoon's been cut short by a phone call from the police chief of Nashtoba Island, suggesting they return home. Pete's old friend Sarah Abrew, eighty-eight and counting, has made a rather startling confession: she caught local accountant Webster Sutton in a compromising position with an innocent young girl and proceeded to shoot him dead....

Indeed, Webster Sutton has been found with his belt unbuckled and a bullet in his brain. But as Pete and Connie discover, the rest of Sarah's story just doesn't hold water. Cutting through the lies, however, could mean exposing a truth no one on Nashtoba wants to hear.

As if there isn't enough excitement for one honeymoon, a hurricane is set to slam into the island

—but its churning power is nothing compared to the destructive force of the dark memories and secret sins about to rise to the surface in Dirty Water.

When his friend's bride turns up late for her wedding--murdered--it's up to Peter Bartholomew to investigate. What he discovers hits uncomfortably close to home and exposes a tangle of jealousy, love, and murderous anger lurking beneath some very muddy water.

Cobie Small was Nashtoba's local die-hard drunk who inhabited a floating wreck offshore. It's a shock when Cobie shows up at a local bar flashing a wad of cash, and even more shocking when his dead body is hauled in the next morning with a net full of mackerel. Now, Peter Bartholomew and his errant sister, Polly, wind up investigating the case, and find themselves in Deep Water.

Peter Bartholomew is busy trying to romance his ex-wife and catch up on the paperwork in his office, when Anthony Simmons shows up with a problem--someone may be trying to kill his young bride. He wants Pete to go undercover as the household handyman. When murder does occur, it's swift, brutal and unexpected. Now it's up to Pete to catch a wily killer.

Fifth in Gunning's popular mystery series featuring odd-job entrepreneur Peter Bartholomew. Peter takes ex-wife Connie, sister Polly, and her fiance, Jackson Beers, on a whale-watching cruise. But when the would-be sightseers are treated to the grisly spectacle of Beers impaled on a harpoon, the expedition turns into the hunt for a killer.

Gunning takes her popular sleuth, Peter Bartholomew, into his roughest waters yet. The surprising double death of beloved spinsters on the usually quiet New England island of Nashtoba leaves amateur sleuth Peter with plenty of questions . . . and trouble.

It's beginning to look at lot like murder for Peter Bartholomew in the third installment of this popular mystery series. When a local businessman is killed at a Christmas party, it may have been because he refused to sell out to a powerful condo developer. Pete sets out to expose the murderer, but his real concern is for his ex-wife--who may be next on the killer's list.

When Peter Bartholomew finds a teenager's body drifting in the Sound, the only clues are a class ring and the murdered girl's pregnancy. Peter and his ex-wife Connie determine to search for the truth, and their most memorable encounter traps them in the rising waters of a tidal cave, where a killer feels free to let nature take its deadly course.

Peter Bartholomew's odd-job company does just about anything that needs doing on the Cape Hook island of Nashtoba. He's all set to catalogue the books at Edna Hitchock's place when he finds her lifeless body in a bath. It looks like a clear case of too much bourbon and Seconal until Pete notices that the bathwater is still hot. To top it off everyone on Nashtoba can't wait to tell Pete that his ex-wife Connie is back in town, Edna's sexy daughter Martha is looking to Pete for consolation, and the local police chief is looking to Martha as the main suspect in the crime.