William Byrd's Histories of the Dividing Line Betwixt (Between) Virginia and North Carolina

by William Byrd, William Kenneth Boyd

A masterpiece of American prose and history, here is an early 18th-century account of surveying expedition. Official, printed account by Byrd on facing pages with private manuscript of secret-history, telling scandals, bawdy exploits of commissioners among Indians, settlers. Map, reproduction of manuscript pages. Introduction by Percy Adams.

Genres: History, American History

340 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1967

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

William Byrd II was a British planter and author from Charles City County in colonial Virginia. He is considered the founder of Richmond, Virginia. (Source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Ted Manahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good writing and clever wit transform what could be a boring travelogue into a fun read.

[Dylan C · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read about Byrd’s adventure surveying the border. The Dismal swamp, various run ins with farmers, and the snowy mountains near the end, end up creating a very interesting story to read. This book was also a neat way to see how the colonists viewed and treated other races, with disparaging remarks about jews early in the book, to the way the surveyors treated the Saponi natives and Bearskin himself.

[twrctdrv · Rating 2 out of 5]

Given the title, I didn't know what to expect. The superb double punch of the introductions though, the first about how stately an aristocrat he is, a true pleasure-haver, the second about how handwriting analysis shows he didn't write either history but maybe his daughter is, and how a lot of the info is wrong and that there's a chance he might have made the whole thing up, they're probably the best introductions I've ever read

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humorous! I am not at all into geography, history, or American literature, but this was quite the entertaining read. For a very interesting, easy to read, and fun look at the early development of the United States, I highly suggest it.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book to complement John Lawson account. There were buffalo in the Carolinas! Interesting to learn about how close the surveyors of Virginia and Carolinas came to defining the same line.