The Wealth of Virginia

Publisher: Barbara McLennan

The Wealth of Virginia takes the characters from The Wealth of Jamestown into the following decade, 1700-1710. It tells about the development of Virginia, a new and powerful colony, rich on the basis of its own resources and activities. Colonial Jamestown was where streets were actually (not proverbially) paved with gold (tobacco).  Those who worked hard and avoided early death could have families and build great estates.

Sarah Blair, daughter of one of Virginia’s wealthiest planters, and William Roscoe, young Virginia planter and sheriff of Yorktown and Gloucester, continue their relationship though Sarah is formally married to James Blair, Commissary of the Church of England with connections to the Board of Trade in England.  Blair is a lobbyist, a church bureaucrat, and an in-fighter, with little understanding of business.

Sarah has retained her dowry and wealth, but William dies of yellow fever after returning from Charles Towne on one of their ships. Francis Nicholson, the royal lieutenant governor, has angered the colonists by intemperate outbursts and designs on one of their daughters. The planters send James and Sarah Blair to London to have Nicholson removed. Sarah returns a very powerful woman with an understanding of London and world trade.

Barbara McLennan has published eight books and numerous  articles on various political, economic, and historical subjects. For two years she contributed columns and articles on local customs and local history to NorthernNeck.com, a local online newspaper serving the Rappahannock region of Virginia. Holding both Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin, Madison) and J.D. (Georgetown) degrees, Barbara McLennan is a former professor, association executive and high level official in the United States Departments of Commerce and Treasury. Over the last several years, she has served as docent at Jamestown Settlement, and at Historic Jamestown. She also has assisted the historian in preparation for exhibits at the new museum of the American Revolution at Yorktown. Dr. McLennan has taught in the Thomas Jefferson School of Public Policy, The College of William and Mary. She also has been a Visiting Scholar at William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business, in the MBA program. She has held a commission as member of the Governor of Virginia’s Asian Advisory Board on trade and investment and is a Board Member of the Chesapeake Bay Writers Organization.