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The Sword & Scabbard: Thieves and Thugs and the Bloody Massacre in Boston

by Allen Woods

The Real Sons of Liberty:

HISTORICAL THRILLER EXPLORES CRIMINAL, POLITICAL

INTRIGUE IN THE MARCH TOWARDS REVOLUTION

In every basic U.S. History class, children and teenagers learn about the American

Revolution and how the colonists came together to fight unfair taxation by their British

counterparts, creating a country founded on the values of freedom, liberty and justice. One of the

most notorious events leading up to this revolution was the Boston Massacre, which helped light

the spark that fueled a rebellion. But what do we know about the events the paved the way to this

historic moment?

The Sword & Scabbard: Thieves and Thugs and the Bloody Massacre in Boston by

Allen Woods is the first in a series of novels that answers this question, weaving a story of crime,

intrigue and politics to look at an unexplored section of history in a compelling new way.

The streets and taverns of Boston prior to ‘The Bloody Massacre’ were filled with brawls

and scrapes, hot words and cold calculations. Nicholas Gray and Maggie Magowan run The

Sword and Scabbard, a tavern that is the center of both criminal and political scheming. Each is a

fugitive from a dangerous past and their relationship grows fitfully in the midst of historic

events. The pair remain suspicious of politicians on both sides of the Atlantic, but are eventually

caught in a world where politics and crime meet.

“The road to the Revolution was not a smooth one,” Woods explains. “There were almost

constant conflicts within the British and American sides, while many ‘ordinary’ people just

wished they could live simple lives without all of the political speeches and protests. But

inevitably, they were drawn into the conflict.”

In this thrilling, yet in-depth look at life in the colonies and the onset of the American

Revolution, The Sword & Scabbard reveals that:

 Samuel Adams and other leaders saw themselves at war long before bullets flew, and they

were willing to use physical intimidation and threats by gangs of unemployed sailors and

dockworkers to further their goals.

 The Sons of Liberty had no belief in freedom of the press if someone published information

harmful to their cause

 Revolutionary Boston was a city in turmoil, not a mythical place of pure and uniform

Revolutionary ideals, and was filled with both self-serving and heroic people, as well as

many others who just wished they could be left alone.

 Resistance to the taxes of the Stamp Act (which led to the Massacre and eventually the

Revolution) through an import boycott helped John Hancock and other large merchants run

smaller competitors out of business.

Allen Woods has been a full-time freelance writer and editor for almost 30 years, recently

specializing in social studies and reading textbooks for all ages. The inspiration for The

Sword & Scabbard came while doing research for an American history text. He resides in

Massachusetts and has been married to his wife, Irene, for over 30 years.

For more information about Allen Woods and The Sword & Scabbard: Thieves and Thugs

and the Bloody Massacre in Boston, please visit www.theswordandscabbard.com

or his Facebook, LinkedIn and Goodreads pages.

The Sword & Scabbard: Thieves and Thugs and the Bloody Massacre in Boston is available

for purchase at lulu.com, as well as Amazon and Barnes and Noble.