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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Some
Historical violence across 400 years including war, slavery, and period conflicts
Language
Some
Adult language across the centuries-spanning cast
Sexual Content
Some
Adult sexual content across the many storylines
Substance Use
Some
Drinking across the historical periods
Emotional Intensity
Some
The psychological depth of watching families and the Bay persist through generations — and the historical weight of slavery and American history — gives the epic its moral dimension
What this book is about
James Michener's epic novel spans the Chesapeake Bay from 1583 through 1978, following multiple families across four centuries of American history — Native Americans, colonial settlers, enslaved people and their descendants, and 20th-century watermen. Michener's historical epics are known for their sweep and their willingness to depict the full range of historical experience, including violence, slavery, and sexual content across their many storylines. For adult readers of expansive historical fiction.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
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