Damnable Heresy

Misunderstandings between races, hostilities between cultures. Anxiety from living in a time of war in one's own land. Being accused of profiteering when food was scarce. Unruly residents in a remote frontier community. Charged with speaking the unspeakable and publishing the unprintable. All of this can be found in the life of one man--William Pynchon, the Puritan entrepreneur and founder of Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1636. Two things in particular stand out in Pynchon's pioneering life: he enjoyed extraordinary and uniquely positive relationships with Native peoples, and he wrote the first book banned--and burned--in Boston.Now for the first time, this book provides a comprehensive account of Pynchon's story, beginning in England, through his New England adventures, to his return home. Discover the fabric of his times and the roles Pynchon played in the Puritan venture in Old England and New England.As the key founder of Springfield, Massachusetts, William Pynchon has been used by historians to show the economic origins of New England. But as David Powers shows, Pynchon was every bit as much an intercultural pioneer and religious figure with unorthodox ideas. This first book-length biography of Pynchon brings to bear new knowledge and approaches to the settlement period of New England, to give us a portrait of a person who was as complex as the Puritan movement from which he came.--Kenneth P. Minkema, Director, Jonathan Edwards Center, Yale University, New Haven, CTIf David Powers's remarkable work were only the story of William Pynchon's life and thought it would be a model of scholarly depth, well worth reading as a solid, learned account of an unusual Puritan. This book is something much more, however: a broad and deeply textured view of life in early New England, blending theology, politics, and economic realities into a single compelling story.--Margaret Bendroth, Executive Director, Congregational Library, Boston, MADavid Powers's new book makes an important contribution to the long and venerable tradition of early New England studies. His subject, William Pynchon, was one of the movers and shakers of the period. His achievement however, goes beyond biography to more general matters: life in and around western Massachusetts, the cross-cutting textures of Puritan belief and practice, the very shape of life at ground level in the 'world we have lost.' The research is thorough and deep. The book's architecture is effective, even elegant. The prose, too, is excellent: smooth, clear, with many pleasing touches. Altogether: a remarkable accomplishment!--John P. Demos, Professor of History emeritus, Yale University, New Haven, CTDavid M. Powers is a graduate of Carleton College and Harvard University. He is a native of Springfield, MA, and lives on Cape Cod.