Why am I passionate about this?

I am a Lifetime member of Bordentown Historical Society (NJ) and have written four non-fiction books about Bordentown history. I am a Lifetime member of New Egypt Historical Society (NJ) and have written a non-fiction book about New Egypt history. I have written and published short stories about my ancestors and the part they lived in New Jersey history.


I wrote...

Leafing the Family Tree

By Arlene S. Bice ,

Book cover of Leafing the Family Tree

What is my book about?

Traveling over violent Atlantic Ocean storms, the pilgrims eventually land at Plymouth Rock, and this particular family is a vital…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Mayflower: Voyage, Community, War

Arlene S. Bice Why I love this book

He brings USA history to life using facts and creating well-written stories that are exciting and adventurous.

I somehow wound up with two of these books on my bookshelf and one ebook of this story. Guess I didn’t want to miss reading this important and fascinating book.

By Nathaniel Philbrick ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Mayflower as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Nathaniel Philbrick, bestselling author of 'In the Heart of the Sea', reveals the darker side of the Pilgrim fathers' settlement in the New World, which ultimately erupted in bloody battle some fifty years after they first landed on American soil.

Behind the quaint and pious version of the Mayflower story usually taught in American primary schools is a tumultuous and largely untold tale of violence, subterfuge and epic drama.

For amidst the friendships and co-operation that sprang up between the settlers and indigenous people, whose timely assistance on more than one occasion rescued the Pilgrims from otherwise certain death, a…


Book cover of The Endless Forest

Arlene S. Bice Why I love this book

I loved this story so much that I read the whole series of very large books, some are 800 pages!

I bought two of the books in the series because I knew they bear rereading. They sit on my bookshelf waiting for a return visit. They are well-written, exciting, inspired from family ancestors, historical fiction.

This book is the kind where you don’t stop at the end of a chapter, but keep on reading, because you must find out what happens next!

By Sara Donati ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Endless Forest as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A rich, passionate, multilayered portrayal of family strength and endurance from bestselling author Sara Donati
 
In the spring of 1824, in the remote village of Paradise on the New York frontier, Nathaniel and Elizabeth Bonner celebrate a glorious reunion as their children return from far-off places: Lily and her husband from Italy, and Martha Kirby, the Bonners’ ward, from Manhattan. In the peace that follows a devastating flood, childhood friends Martha and Daniel, Lily’s twin brother, suddenly begin to see each other in a new light. But their growing bond is threatened when Martha’s estranged mother arrives back in Paradise.…


Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Book cover of The Frozen River

Arlene S. Bice Why I love this book

This book proves that real-life factual history taken from Martha Ballard’s diary can be exciting and hold a history lover’s fascinated attention.

Midwives always seemed to hold the pulse of a community. Lawhon’s characters are compelling and keep the plot moving forward. The story is set post-Revolutionary War in New England.

By Ariel Lawhon ,

Why should I read it?

46 authors picked The Frozen River as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • GMA BOOK CLUB PICK • AN NPR BOOK OF THE YEAR • From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène comes a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself into American history.

"Fans of Outlander’s Claire Fraser will enjoy Lawhon’s Martha, who is brave and outspoken when it comes to protecting the innocent. . . impressive."—The Washington Post

"Once again, Lawhon works storytelling magic with a real-life heroine." —People Magazine

Maine, 1789: When…


Book cover of Caleb's Crossing

Arlene S. Bice Why I love this book

The book explores the cultural differences in the 1600s of Martha’s Vineyard of Native Americans and Puritans.

It is inspired by the story of the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College, as narrated by his friend Bethia. She is forbidden education but learns from him. 

Brooks, as always, has characters teeming with excited tension and reveals historical life set in that time and place. I love her depiction of the early settling in of the Puritans.

By Geraldine Brooks ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Caleb's Crossing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A bestselling tale of passion and belief, magic and adventure from the author of The Secret Chord and of March, winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

Bethia Mayfield is a restless and curious young woman growing up in Martha's vineyard in the 1660s amid a small band of pioneering English Puritans. At age twelve, she meets Caleb, the young son of a chieftain, and the two forge a secret bond that draws each into the alien world of the other. Bethia's father is a Calvinist minister who seeks to convert the native Wampanoag, and Caleb becomes a prize in the contest…


Book cover of Cities of Women

Cities of Women by Kathleen B. Jones,

Cities of Women is a dual timeline novel that interweaves the contemporary story of Verity Frazier, a disillusioned professor lacking passion and love in her life, with the tale of a medieval woman, who transforms herself into the artist, Anastasia, an unidentified illuminator of the manuscripts of the historical Christine…

Book cover of 1776

Arlene S. Bice Why I love this book

I keep this book handy on my bookshelf to be used as a companion to other books I read about the Revolutionary War.

He writes the big picture with passion and reveals characters who are alive with patriotism and action! His words flow easily as his descriptions bring you right into the story, cheering for the righteous rebels!

It’s where I was first introduced to Nathaniel Greene, leading me to further reading interesting, exciting stories of history as it was lived! 

By David McCullough ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked 1776 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

America's most acclaimed historian presents the intricate story of the year of the birth of the United States of America. 1776 tells two gripping stories: how a group of squabbling, disparate colonies became the United States, and how the British Empire tried to stop them. A story with a cast of amazing characters from George III to George Washington, to soldiers and their families, this exhilarating book is one of the great pieces of historical narrative.


Explore my book 😀

Leafing the Family Tree

By Arlene S. Bice ,

Book cover of Leafing the Family Tree

What is my book about?

Traveling over violent Atlantic Ocean storms, the pilgrims eventually land at Plymouth Rock, and this particular family is a vital part of it. Stories of the trials and dangers of settling in to live an exciting new way of life. Young men court young women and build new lives. Descendants move toward freedom from the tyranny of England.

War makes heroes out of everyday men and women. The terror of British and Hessian occupation during the Revolutionary War is at its thickest in New Jersey. New Jersey was fully occupied by the British and Hessian armies from December 1776 to June 1777. The area was devastated by the British. 

Book cover of Mayflower: Voyage, Community, War
Book cover of The Endless Forest
Book cover of The Frozen River

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