Desire Minter
The girl who crossed an ocean—and then crossed back.
In 1620, Desire traveled with the Carvers aboard the Mayflower, enduring cramped decks, fearsome storms, sickness, and hunger. In Plymouth she witnessed both deep sorrow and unexpected hope—from the loss of the Carvers, whom she served with loyalty, to the fragile beginnings of a new colony struggling to survive through its first winter.
Introduction to the Desire Minter Letter Series
Long before she set foot upon the Mayflower, young Desire Minter knew more of uncertainty than most. Orphaned early and taken in by the Carver family of Leiden, she learned to make herself useful, to keep to quiet corners, and to stitch her small hopes into the fabric of other people’s households. History records only fragments of her life—her likely companionship with Elizabeth Tilley, her brief time in Plymouth, and her eventual return to England—but the heart of her story beats beneath those few spare lines: a girl seeking belonging in a world that often gave her none.
The letters that follow are historical fiction, drawn carefully from the real events of her journey yet imagined to grant Desire a voice that time never preserved. In these pages she writes to her cherished friend Constance, sharing the daily trials of the voyage, the tenderness of borrowed family, and the quiet ache of wanting a place to call her own. Though not a single letter of hers survives, these writings allow us to gliP-16578295GT891424FNE4E2OYmpse the courage of a girl who faced the unknown with both trembling and trust.
As you open each wax-sealed envelope, may you hear Desire’s gentle, earnest voice—shaped by hardship, brightened by friendship, and strengthened by the quiet faith that carried her across the narrow sea. Through these imagined letters, she steps out from the edges of the historical record and into the warm light of remembrance, offering her story to all who would walk beside her across four centuries of time.
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A wax-sealed letter series from Desire Minter, Mayflower passenger, written to her dear friend Constance, each page shares her hopes, doubts, and bravery as she faces the stormy Atlantic and the unknown world ahead.
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