Jonathan B Walker

A Certain Cast of Light Jonathan B Walker

As a prosperous farmer refusing on principle to sign oaths of loyalty to either the newly formed American government or the English King, Deliverance Bennett has much to lose at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. When the Redcoats arrive at his doorstep, he is pressured into committing treasonous acts in order to keep his sons away from what he believes will be a certain blood bath. A Certain Cast of Light takes place in Fairfield, Connecticut, a quiet country town that finds itself caught in the crosswinds of war, its residents plagued by poisoned wells and vicious retaliations, violent raids, smugglers and highwaymen. Wedged between the Loyalist-leaning New York City and the ardent Patriots of New England, it is a place where ever-shifting alliances turn neighbor against neighbor and tear families apart. The novel is narrated by Deliverance Bennett's son Haynes in the form of a memoir written fifty years after 2,000 Redcoats march past his house on their way to destroy a military depot in nearby Danbury. The actions his father takes during the war not only shame and enrage Haynes, they open doors to grave dangers with tragic and lasting consequences for all. The novel shows that the arc of any person's life is peppered with its share of heart-wrenching conflicts, dark secrets and missed opportunities, and how over time and in spite of an altered landscape, these echoes of the past are handed down to future generations, remembered and forgotten and remembered again.