New Hampshire: A Meeting On the Green

“A Meeting on the Green” is historical fiction that takes place in Keene, New Hampshire two days after the ‘shots heard round the world’ of the Battle of Lexington and the official beginning of the American Revolutionary War.

The story focuses on the relationship between two best friends, Abitha and Ester, and how the Battle of Lexington creates a temporary rift between them. Esters father is a patriot, or a part of the growing number of American colonists who wish for independence. Abitha’s father, however, leans toward being a loyalist, or someone who wishes to remain a part of the British government. When 29 Keene men volunteer to march to Boston to fight — and Ester’s father is counted among them — Ester takes out her upset on her friend.

It is a story that frames the Revolutionary war through a lens that is often forgotten: that Americans were not in agreement around claiming their independence. And it asks the question, ‘how can one be a loyal friend to someone AND disagree with them on fundamental questions?’