I sure hope author Lori Crane (click here for Author Wednesday interview) plans to release the next book in her new historical fiction series on the Culpepper family very soon. When I finished the first book, I, John Culpepper, I felt like I’d lost a good friend. I need to find out what happens in this spitfire’s life after . . . Sorry can’t say anything more than that without giving away a spoiler. Ms. Crane said when she first starting writing about this man (her 10th grandfather), she realized she had stumbled upon more than just one novel.
The author transports the reader back to the early 1600s and straight into the lives of the Culpepper family. Tensions start in the beginning chapter between John and his father, playing an integral part in the overall plot of I, John Culpepper.
While many things seem so different from our fast-paced lives today, universal emotions and relationships show us we have much in common with our ancestors, and learning about them may help us to avoid the same downfalls as them. Ms. Crane says the history of our ancestors is the collective history for us all. And it is clear, through the father and son relationship she tells in this story, that we do share a universal past.
Sometimes I put the book down to simply contemplate what it must have been like to travel two weeks or more to visit the family home by horseback. That trip today might take a few hours out of the day. What did the others do while waiting for a family member to return? Imagine how few books had been published up to that time. They must have memorized the ones they had. Reading this book puts into perspective how far we’ve really come in some areas. However, in others we haven’t grown quite as much. Or perhaps the lesson to take away from reading this book is that the conflicts we face in life provide us with the opportunity to grow and mature.
Beyond what we might learn, I, John Culpepper is simply an enjoyable read that I highly recommend.
Purchase links for I, John Culpepper
P.C. ZICK 
6 responses to “BOOK REVIEW FRIDAY – I, JOHN CULPEPPER BY LORI CRANE”
Thank you for the kind review! Times certainly moved at a slower pace back then. It took six weeks to sail across the Atlantic on a good trip. I can do it in six days now…seven hours if I fly. Amazing. I don’t think our personal relationships have changed too much, but of course, us girls can speak our minds a bit more. I wonder if they would have allowed us to read. I’m sure we wouldn’t have been allowed to have blogs.
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No to blogs, for sure! You’re very welcome.
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A great book 🙂
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I so agree, Christoph!
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I really enjoyed Lori’s novel, ‘Okaibbee Creek”. Nice to know she has a series in the making here.
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Yes. I’m envious of you authors with the series ideas. I tend to leave a story when I’m done although the characters do come back to haunt me sometimes.
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