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Tales from a Revolution: Bacon's Rebellion and the Transformation of Early America. By James D. Rice. New Narratives in American History. (New York and other cities: Oxford University Press, 2012. Pp. [xxii], 253. $24.95, ISBN 978-0-19-538695-0.)
James D. Rice's Tales from a Revolution: Bacon's Rebellion and the Transformation of Early America examines rumor and innuendo and places the events into a much wider context in a narrative that is highly accessible. Rice has chosen to use single endnotes covering what he calls "gateway publications" that introduce readers to recent secondary scholarship and published primary sources (p. xix). The work is divided into two parts; the first includes the rise of the rebellion as well as the death of Nathaniel Bacon. The second part covers the aftermath, including John Coode's rebellion in Maryland in 1689 and the specter of a "Catholic-Indian plot" (p. 154).
Rice is very successful in weaving a tale with equal parts lyrical prose and intrigue. Part 1, "The...