Polakoff

The Diary of Essie Lassiter was an authentic read, with a strong female narrator blazing a fiery path in a harsh new world. Her voice was as captivating as her journey, and the world created around her was vibrant with the sights, sounds and smells of colonial life. - Reedsy Discovery

In the runup to the Revolutionary War, a young English midwife is unsuspectingly thrown into the London Debtor’s Prison. With no prospect of retiring her debt, she becomes indentured to Aquila Wright, a wealthy mill owner in the British colony of Maryland. After saving Aquila’s life and earning his admiration and trust, Essie faces her biggest challenge when she is asked to start the colony’s first hospital.

The Diary of Essie Lassiter is a startling, first-person account of one woman’s improbable journey from prison to prominence.