NEW WILMINGTON Writer bases novels on Pilgrim ancestors

The author is descended from one of the passengers on the Mayflower.
BY MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Betty Shaffer, 77, has just published the second of a trilogy of historical novels based on her Pilgrim ancestors.
And, despite a disability that has robbed her of her ability to type, she is working hard on the third.
"Hannah and the Indian King & quot; was recently published through SON-RISE Publications. In 1992, the New Wilmington publishing house also released Shaffer's first book in the series, "Daughter of the Dawn," a retelling of the Mayflower voyage through the eyes of a Pilgrim girl. That book has become a best seller at the Pilgrim Museum in Plymouth, the author said.
Story continues
"Hannah" depicts an attempt by Indians to drive Pilgrims out of New England It picks up with Hannah Gorbham, granddaughter of the first novel's protagonist, who at age 12 develops a friendship with a young Indian warrior and is later kidnapped by Indians.
The famous Quaker Roger Williams is also woven into the novel, a tribute to some of Shaffer's forbears.
Shaffer said she has taken pains to portray the Indians' point of view through the sympathetic eyes of Hannah. She acknowledges that white settlers "infringed more and more on Indian territory" and said she has tried to portray the dark side of the settlers' treatment of Indians. The novel also demonstrates the Pilgrims' strong Christian convictions.
Shaffer said she is descended from original Mayflower passenger Elizabeth Tilley Howland. As part of her historical research for the series, she visited England to see the ports from which the Pilgrims departed.
Up to the challenge
The third novel in the trilogy is her toughest challenge. Three years ago Shaffer was diagnosed with a form of Parkinson's disease that has left her unable to type or walk without assistance.
She is dictating the book, and it is later transcribed. She said writing a novel this way is difficult because she cannot see what she has written and immediately revise it. But. "I have the outline in my head," she said.
Shaffer is a native of Cape May County, New Jersey, and a graduate of Westminster College. She taught world history in New Jersey for four years before marrying Dr. Howard Shaffer and moving to New Wilmington. Her first book, "Lisa," was published in 1982 by Bethany House, a major Christian publisher.
X"Hannah" by Betty Shaffer (SON-RISE Publications) is available at Grand Book and Bible in New Castle and Miller's Variety Store, New Wilmington.