Helen Stringer

No Better Thing Under the Sun: Making the First Thanksgiving Helen Stringer

In 1620 a small, leaky boat dropped anchor off the coast of New England. On board were just over one hundred settlers. Some were Puritans and some were not, but all were seeking a new home. By the end of the first winter, nearly half were dead, but by the following Fall they had taken in their first harvest, thanks to hard work and the help of their Wampanoag neighbors. They celebrated this achievement with a feast that we now know as Thanksgiving. But what did they actually eat at that First Thanksgiving? Using a selection of primary sources, including Pilgrim accounts, period cook books, and probate inventories, the author brings the world of the Mayflower settlers to life and creates a 17th century feast incorporating only the ingredients they would have had available (including the five deer that the Wampanoag contributed). An engaging, often humorous, but never dull account of the birth of America?s most beloved festival and the Pilgrim Fathers we thought we knew.