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A Great and Godly Adventure: The Pilgrims and the Myth of the First Thanksgiving
The first Thanksgiving wasn't celebrated with turkey (there weren't any in Massachusetts) and didn't take place in 1621. Indeed the settlers, who probably didn't think of themselves as Pilgrims and were most certainly not revolutionaries against their king, were lucky not to be wiped out during their first winter. They probably would have been had the local Indian population not been affected even worse by disease and starvation. In this fascinating history of America's favorite creation myth, peppered with delightful and unexpected insights, Godfrey Hodgson throws new light on the radicalism of the so-called Pilgrims, the financing of their trip, the state of the Indian tribes that they encountered when they landed and the reasons why Plymouth probably didn't have a rock.
212 pages, Hardcover
First published October 2, 2006
About the author
Godfrey Hodgson
50 books3 followersGodfrey Hodgson was a White House correspondent for a London newspaper with a desk in the Washington Post newsroom during the Kennedy and Johnson years. He has worked as a reporter for print and television throughout the United States and has written sixteen books, most dealing with people and issues in American politics. He taught at Oxford University and lives in Oxfordshire, U.K.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
September 18, 2017
Loved this historic look at the pilgrims
This book was so filled with new information to me and I found it so enlightening. This told more than just the basic religious freedom story, it told about specific people, the reasons and the details. I loved that each phase was shared in an intelligent and fascinating manner. Learning note than I ever knew about the tribes of the New England area also gave me more insight. I liked that the history was not told with excessive hindsight blame being cast on any one group if people. Excellent read and I recommend this to all ages of history buffs.
This book was so filled with new information to me and I found it so enlightening. This told more than just the basic religious freedom story, it told about specific people, the reasons and the details. I loved that each phase was shared in an intelligent and fascinating manner. Learning note than I ever knew about the tribes of the New England area also gave me more insight. I liked that the history was not told with excessive hindsight blame being cast on any one group if people. Excellent read and I recommend this to all ages of history buffs.
December 10, 2017
I admit, a lot of the time, especially when I was a kid, I more suffered through than enjoyed Thanksgiving. And with a lot of family in Massachusetts, I'd heard all about Plymouth and the Pilgrims. So I saw this book about "The Myth of the First Thanksgiving" and got curious.
The book was a bit less focused on Thanksgiving than the sub-title suggests. There's a lot on the history of what led to the Pilgrims leaving, and the religious history of England, with Catholics, Protestants, the Reformation, and all that. The author does a good job of research, going into detail about not just the religious aspects, but the political history, and the early settlers' economic problems.
There's also a lot about the various Indian nations they found, and the traditions have come to associate with the holiday. I note, for example, the first Thanksgiving didn't have turkey, which I regard as a personal victory, since I've never really liked the stuff. How the myth became what it is is explored a lot, and done well.
It's an interesting, informative look at what most people "know" about Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims.
The book was a bit less focused on Thanksgiving than the sub-title suggests. There's a lot on the history of what led to the Pilgrims leaving, and the religious history of England, with Catholics, Protestants, the Reformation, and all that. The author does a good job of research, going into detail about not just the religious aspects, but the political history, and the early settlers' economic problems.
There's also a lot about the various Indian nations they found, and the traditions have come to associate with the holiday. I note, for example, the first Thanksgiving didn't have turkey, which I regard as a personal victory, since I've never really liked the stuff. How the myth became what it is is explored a lot, and done well.
It's an interesting, informative look at what most people "know" about Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims.
December 3, 2007
This is a book about the evolution of Thanksgiving from Plymouth, Mass to our modern holiday. It's written by a British historian, whose outside-looking-in viewpoint offers a perspceitve on one of my favorite holidays. The beginning and end are the best parts. The history in the middle was sometimes a bit tedious for me, but if you get lost there, make sure you read the last two chapters.
February 25, 2020
Good information, not very good reading. The chapters tended to wander in circles, making me wonder what, exactly, the author’s point was.
November 29, 2019
In this nonfiction work, British journalist and historian Godfrey Hodgson takes a brief look at the true history behind the Thanksgiving holiday. He debunks several myths along the way, myths that have been taught as fact in schools over the centuries. Hodgson brings you the truths and likelihoods behind some of the iconic symbols of the holiday, such as:
* Turkey -- The Pilgrims likely didn't have turkey at that first meal. They maybe knew OF it, but the turkey species we know today was not native to New England. There's also the research -- from ten different sites excavated at Plymouth, only one turkey bone was ever found. ONE single, solitary bone. And that one was found after a decade of digging in the area. A DECADE. Historian James Deetz goes on to say, "The circumstantial evidence is that it wouldn't be very likely. Turkeys are very hard to kill and the matchlocks of the period weren't very good for hunting."
* Pumpkin Pie --- Pumpkins were available in the area, but the Pilgrims lacked the butter, wheat flour, and proper ovens needed for baking a classic pumpkin pie.
* Sweet potatoes? A Southern introduction years later. Sweet potatoes didn't grow as well in New England's cold, rocky soil. We can also thank the South for pecan pie being added to the standards list (THANK YOU --- one of my faves!)
* Cranberry sauce -- Cranberries were in the area at the time of the first Thanksgiving, but not sugar....so no sweet sauce to jazz things up for the Pilgrims.
Hodgson takes his research way back to the days of Martin Luther pinning a certain paper to that monumental door, an act that led to the beginning of the Reformation period. From there, readers are taken through the time of Henry VIII and his heirs trying to turn the Reformation period around, right on to the moments in the 1600s that led up to the "Pilgrims", as we tend to call them (Hodgson points out that they would not have referred to themselves as such), first setting out towards new lands and new beginnings.
The first Thanksgiving is often credited to the March 1621 meeting of John Carver, the Governor among the Pilgrim population, and Wampanoag chief Massasoit. To cap off what was actually a series of meetings, a feast was laid out for Carver's group and the Wampanoag people to share, so that they might literally and symbolically break bread together. Another early example of Thanksgiving occurred June of 1636. Unfortunately, this particular day of festivities was arranged by the General Court of Massachusetts to "celebrate" the recent genocide of the Pequot tribe, long deemed "problematic" by English settlers.
Several of the country's leaders tried to set up a widespread day of thanks over the centuries. Governor Shirley of Virginia and Governor Pitkin of Connecticut both tried in the mid-1700s. Years later, George Washington went on to recommend a nationwide celebration of a day of Thanksgiving, but it was not made into an official national holiday until November 26, 1863 by Abraham Lincoln, inspired by the persistent petitioning of Sarah Hale, the editor of Lady's Book Magazine (Fun fact: Hale was actually the first female editor of a magazine in the US. She also authored the famous rhyme, "Mary Had A Little Lamb"). Just prior to Lincoln proclaiming Thanksgiving a holiday for the Union, Jefferson Davis had done the same for the Confederacy. Typically, those in favor of the holiday had the themes of gratitude and inclusiveness in mind.
In terms of sheer factual coverage of the historical period, Hodgson certainly did his due diligence in research. But as far as easy readability, this text has a much more academic, rather than conversational, tone to the writing, much like a college paper in published book form. Things get a little more interesting when he gets into the journey of the Mayflower itself and the building of the community at Plymouth. Of note: here he also points out that the Pilgrims didn't just land and stumble out at the shores near Plymouth Rock --- the image we're typically given as grade school children --- instead, this point was actually deliberately chosen from a few options as the most suitable for land cultivation.
Though, as I said, Hodgson puts in the work, as far as research, some of what he presents does read more like opinion and speculation rather than fact. To be expected to some extend, I guess, given the minimal amount of irrefutable fact we do have to rely on from that period. There are some interesting lessons to be learned here, but the flow of the writing itself didn't exactly win me over.
* Turkey -- The Pilgrims likely didn't have turkey at that first meal. They maybe knew OF it, but the turkey species we know today was not native to New England. There's also the research -- from ten different sites excavated at Plymouth, only one turkey bone was ever found. ONE single, solitary bone. And that one was found after a decade of digging in the area. A DECADE. Historian James Deetz goes on to say, "The circumstantial evidence is that it wouldn't be very likely. Turkeys are very hard to kill and the matchlocks of the period weren't very good for hunting."
* Pumpkin Pie --- Pumpkins were available in the area, but the Pilgrims lacked the butter, wheat flour, and proper ovens needed for baking a classic pumpkin pie.
* Sweet potatoes? A Southern introduction years later. Sweet potatoes didn't grow as well in New England's cold, rocky soil. We can also thank the South for pecan pie being added to the standards list (THANK YOU --- one of my faves!)
* Cranberry sauce -- Cranberries were in the area at the time of the first Thanksgiving, but not sugar....so no sweet sauce to jazz things up for the Pilgrims.
Hodgson takes his research way back to the days of Martin Luther pinning a certain paper to that monumental door, an act that led to the beginning of the Reformation period. From there, readers are taken through the time of Henry VIII and his heirs trying to turn the Reformation period around, right on to the moments in the 1600s that led up to the "Pilgrims", as we tend to call them (Hodgson points out that they would not have referred to themselves as such), first setting out towards new lands and new beginnings.
The first Thanksgiving is often credited to the March 1621 meeting of John Carver, the Governor among the Pilgrim population, and Wampanoag chief Massasoit. To cap off what was actually a series of meetings, a feast was laid out for Carver's group and the Wampanoag people to share, so that they might literally and symbolically break bread together. Another early example of Thanksgiving occurred June of 1636. Unfortunately, this particular day of festivities was arranged by the General Court of Massachusetts to "celebrate" the recent genocide of the Pequot tribe, long deemed "problematic" by English settlers.
Several of the country's leaders tried to set up a widespread day of thanks over the centuries. Governor Shirley of Virginia and Governor Pitkin of Connecticut both tried in the mid-1700s. Years later, George Washington went on to recommend a nationwide celebration of a day of Thanksgiving, but it was not made into an official national holiday until November 26, 1863 by Abraham Lincoln, inspired by the persistent petitioning of Sarah Hale, the editor of Lady's Book Magazine (Fun fact: Hale was actually the first female editor of a magazine in the US. She also authored the famous rhyme, "Mary Had A Little Lamb"). Just prior to Lincoln proclaiming Thanksgiving a holiday for the Union, Jefferson Davis had done the same for the Confederacy. Typically, those in favor of the holiday had the themes of gratitude and inclusiveness in mind.
In terms of sheer factual coverage of the historical period, Hodgson certainly did his due diligence in research. But as far as easy readability, this text has a much more academic, rather than conversational, tone to the writing, much like a college paper in published book form. Things get a little more interesting when he gets into the journey of the Mayflower itself and the building of the community at Plymouth. Of note: here he also points out that the Pilgrims didn't just land and stumble out at the shores near Plymouth Rock --- the image we're typically given as grade school children --- instead, this point was actually deliberately chosen from a few options as the most suitable for land cultivation.
Though, as I said, Hodgson puts in the work, as far as research, some of what he presents does read more like opinion and speculation rather than fact. To be expected to some extend, I guess, given the minimal amount of irrefutable fact we do have to rely on from that period. There are some interesting lessons to be learned here, but the flow of the writing itself didn't exactly win me over.
February 12, 2025
a study of this mythical u.s. national holiday written by a british journalist of the historical events leading up to the "first thanksgiving" and its evolution to the present day holiday . . . we as a people & our leaders have not changed much from those early leaders/puritans driven by greed, corruption, settler mentality & attack of native peoples.
it is shameful that the myth is still taught as history in our local grade school.
drawn to the book bc of chapter about scrooby. this place/name was mentioned in my paternal grandmother's family genealogy research.
also found learned of castle garden (or "kesselgarden" yiddish word for noisy, chaotic, confusing) [1855-1890], as the immigrant entry point before ellis island.
it is shameful that the myth is still taught as history in our local grade school.
drawn to the book bc of chapter about scrooby. this place/name was mentioned in my paternal grandmother's family genealogy research.
also found learned of castle garden (or "kesselgarden" yiddish word for noisy, chaotic, confusing) [1855-1890], as the immigrant entry point before ellis island.
March 16, 2018
Book was good in the beginning and end but the middle was more dry. There were good details about the history of the land that the US is now located on dating back thousands of years ago. Did not know many facts of the first Thanksgiving and found out they were much different than what I thought they were.
September 22, 2017
Goo,d history lesson
And excellent detail of the history of Thanksgiving going back to even before the pilgrims. It discusses how the origins of Thanksgiving or not quite what they're presented to be today.
And excellent detail of the history of Thanksgiving going back to even before the pilgrims. It discusses how the origins of Thanksgiving or not quite what they're presented to be today.
October 1, 2017
Interesting
A lot more detail than I wanted, but still a good read. Probably not one I would be anxious to tell people about.
A lot more detail than I wanted, but still a good read. Probably not one I would be anxious to tell people about.
November 7, 2017
An interesting book about Thanksgiving. Although I knew thr pilgrims came over on the Mayflower to escape religious persecution, I didn't know the details.
November 9, 2017
Just cannot get into this one.
December 9, 2019
Full of information and prespective to this wonderful holiday.
January 17, 2021
This is a good look at the motivations and methods of the colonists that are too often unfairly reduced to simplistic themes.
January 17, 2024
Contains a lot of historical background to the settlement of the land that would become the United States. A bit academic to read, but most informative.
June 20, 2024
Very well written. I enjoyed the old church history that I had not revisited since my college days around 1976.
January 15, 2025
Not what I necessarily expected, but a good read around Thanksgiving time. Interesting to read about the true first Thanksgiving and how it has evolved into what it is today.
August 8, 2014
"Thanksgiving is a unique national holiday, a day to celebrate not the national government nor a religious festival but some of the deepest and best-loved American beliefs. It is a wonderful private festival. But much of what we think we know about it is mythical.
"The arrival of Pilgrims (who didn't call themselves Pilgrims) to establish a colony (they didn't in fact want to do any such thing) having been driven out of England (they left Holland, of their own free will), in which they survived their first year (half of them didn't) thanks to a shared feast with the local Indian tribes is part of the national consciousness. It is just that so many of the details are flat out wrong. There was, for a start, no turkey. No cranberries, no sweet potatoes, no pecan pie. Our commemoration could hardly be more inauthentic: there were no turkeys in Massachusetts when the Pilgrims landed; the cranberries were inedible without sugar, which arrived fifty years after the Mayflower; pecan pie and sweet potatoes were a nineteenth century addition from the American South. The first meal with the Indians was likely composed of venison, raccoon, and beaver meat, with beans and squash and perhaps a few Jerusalem artichokes. And this was not a thanksgiving. The Pilgrims gave thanks not by feasting, but by fasting.
"A Great and Godly Adventure exposes the mythology, explains why it was adopted, and recovers the real story of our origins: where the Pilgrims came from and what it was that drove them to quit England, what kind of settlement they envisaged when they set foot in Massachusetts, how they navigated their first perilous year on the edge of the new continent, and why the idea of the Thanksgiving Feast has proved so enduring and cherished a symbol of American inclusiveness and American hopes."
~~front & back flaps
A very interesting and informative book.
"The arrival of Pilgrims (who didn't call themselves Pilgrims) to establish a colony (they didn't in fact want to do any such thing) having been driven out of England (they left Holland, of their own free will), in which they survived their first year (half of them didn't) thanks to a shared feast with the local Indian tribes is part of the national consciousness. It is just that so many of the details are flat out wrong. There was, for a start, no turkey. No cranberries, no sweet potatoes, no pecan pie. Our commemoration could hardly be more inauthentic: there were no turkeys in Massachusetts when the Pilgrims landed; the cranberries were inedible without sugar, which arrived fifty years after the Mayflower; pecan pie and sweet potatoes were a nineteenth century addition from the American South. The first meal with the Indians was likely composed of venison, raccoon, and beaver meat, with beans and squash and perhaps a few Jerusalem artichokes. And this was not a thanksgiving. The Pilgrims gave thanks not by feasting, but by fasting.
"A Great and Godly Adventure exposes the mythology, explains why it was adopted, and recovers the real story of our origins: where the Pilgrims came from and what it was that drove them to quit England, what kind of settlement they envisaged when they set foot in Massachusetts, how they navigated their first perilous year on the edge of the new continent, and why the idea of the Thanksgiving Feast has proved so enduring and cherished a symbol of American inclusiveness and American hopes."
~~front & back flaps
A very interesting and informative book.
January 3, 2012
I read this book in November because I wanted to immerse myself in Thanksgiving history and lore. It was an enjoyable look at the origins of Thanksgiving, tracking the Puritans from their home church in Scrooby, England, to the Netherlands and then to Plymouth. (There was no rock, by the way.) Was there a "first Thanksgiving?" Probably not really. The early church fathers commanded their congregation to observe both feast days of thanksgiving periodically and days of "humiliation and fasting" to seek God's favor in difficult times. Food was scarce, even when the Pilgrims learned some Native American techniques, and disease was rampant. Half the flock died during the first winter in Plymouth. Modern American Thanksgiving is more a creation of government. Abraham Lincoln decreed the first national Thanksgiving observation during a difficult time in American history. As far as the whole turkey thing -- the Pilgrims ate game (venison and rabbit, mostly) and fish. So let's have that at our next Thanksgiving feast.
January 22, 2014
This is a general and very readable account of the Pilgrims, their interactions with the Americans and bit of the history of Thanksgiving, including the puncturing of a few myths. There can be no "spoiler" here as the 17th century story is well-known and often told. There are good guides to further reading as well as a few quotes that seldom get in to the usual literature. A fuller account is given in Philbrick's "Mayflower" but there are other accounts as well. This is a good start on the story for those who know little about the early years of both Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay Colony.
September 1, 2009
This book, while very informative, seemed to have random facts that weren't at all important to the story of the Pilgrims. However,some of the facts about how the Native Americans and Pilgrims came together for the first "Thanksgiving" were interesting.
November 19, 2011
A thorough look at Thanksgiving and the mythology and actual history behind it. It's actually a good book and well written, but I guess I just wasn't in the mood to wade through so much history. Excellent source notes and a good index.
November 15, 2008
Not the best written book I've ever read, but it covers the subject thoroughly and expediently. Very good overview.
October 27, 2013
Factual, dry, learned to appreciate the difficulties that the pilgrims experienced in the new world.
December 24, 2016
Interesting information. Author did try to get a wee bit politically correct and insert his opinions toward the end of the book, otherwise it was a good read.
July 19, 2007
Debunks myths of the First Thanksgiving
August 26, 2008
Poorly written, didn’t finish
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews