When David Lindsay started researching old records for details of the life of his ancestor, Richard More, what he found illuminated more than just More's own life. The tale that emerged painted a clear and satisfying picture of the way the first comers, saints and strangers alike, set off for the new land, suffered the voyage in the Mayflower, and put down their roots to thrive on our continent's north-eastern shore. From the story emerges the individual, Richard, a man of questionable morals, much enterprise, and a good deal of old-fashioned pluck - a combination that could get him into trouble and often did. He lived to father several children, to see, near the end of his life, a friend hanged as a witch in Salem, and to be read out of the church for unseemly behaviour Mayflower Bastard lets readers see history in a new light by turning an important episode into a personal experience.