The Search for the Bronze Amulet is historical fantasy fiction, the story of a young Congregational minister (Jonathan Tucker, called Tuck) after the American Revolution who takes a position as pastor to impoverished fishers and their wives on the Isles of Shoals, off the Maine/New Hampshire coast. He is very uncertain about his call to minister to these people. The islanders are extremely poor and very superstitious. He does his best to gather the flock, and begins to have strange dreams….

…. of a ship blown off course that is about to sink; the captain of the Roman vessel tells his slave, a Phoenician nicknamed Punic, to take the helm, and the ship arrives safely at an island. Punic is a priest of the god, Baal; he wears a bronze amulet devoted to the god. Over the course of several dreams/nightmares, Tuck seems to be taking on the persona of Punic. In the dreams the Romans eventually kill Indians who come to the island; the Roman leader suspects Punic of being in cahoots with the natives; he is crucified, and the bronze amulet is left in the ashes.

Meanwhile, Tuck is intrigued by a recluse, Matthew Randolph, who lives on one of the islands; Randolph seems to know a great deal about philosophy, religion, and history, is a skeptic, and has a “museum” as he calls it on the island where he keeps various treasures he has discovered on the isles. Tuck is also intrigued by a young woman named Etsy, who is the daughter of a fisher, is beautiful, a bit mysterious, very independent, and convinced that the islands are haunted by something that invades people’s dreams.

The story takes a turn south to Boston, where a physician, Ebenezer Norton, is fascinated by all sorts of science and history. He has been corresponding with some of his friends about the Dighton Rock, a rock with strange, confusing hieroglyphics. One correspondent believes that they are Phoenician letters, similar to the Algonquian language. Norton knows that the Algonquians were once led by Passaconaway, a chief reputed to have remarkable powers. But his descendants, having fled north to Canada, were crushed by Robert Rogers and his Rangers in 1759. Norton’s correspondent, Rev. Daniel Cotton, knows of a survivor of that attack on the St. Francis Indians of Canada, a man named Abel Crawford, a drunken pauper who lives in Portsmouth, NH. He says that he will talk to him when he has a chance to see what he recalls about the attack.

Abel Crawford, meanwhile, in Portsmouth, recalls the old days, when he and other Rogers’ Rangers attacked the village of the St. Francis Indians; Crawford had taken away silver and a bronze amulet. He and a few others fled to the White Mountains, where vengeful spirits killed all save him, who fled the mountains to Portsmouth, where he was never the same. He has itched to return to find the treasure, and finally finds a man, called only the Captain, in whom he confides his hopes; the Captain, however, kills him.

Daniel Cotton writes Norton of the news of Abel Crawford’s death, which the two minister/scientists think is suspicious, and they decide to act as sleuths and investigate, Norton travels to Portsmouth. Upon arriving they interview various people who say that Crawford seemed to have had a connection with a recluse who lives at the Isles of Shoals, Matthew Randolph. The two men decide to sail to the Isles to see if they can interview Randolph. There they meet with Randolph, and see Etsy and Tuck.

Meanwhile Tuck has gotten to know Randolph, and has had the time to investigate his “museum,” where he has found an ancient manuscript, written in Greek (which Tuck can read), in which a forlorn Greek, Polybius Marcellinus, traveling with Romans, is holed up in a small rocky hideout on an island; he realizes that he is going to die. All that remains of the Romans is himself and a bronze amulet, which he knows the Indians want. He ends the manuscript calling upon his gods, to no avail. The manuscript shocks Tuck, who realizes that his dreams have a connection with the distant past of these islands. The dreams about Baal and an amulet cause him to question his faith in Christ.

At this point Etsy happens upon Tuck. She can tell that he is frightened. She assumes it is the “curse” and flees; she takes to her rowboat, and is soon out to sea. Tuck waits, and falls asleep as night falls. Etsy, who is adept at rowing on the sea, makes her way to the mouth of the Piscataqua River, and Portsmouth. There she finds a hidden cove she often stays at; unfortunately, there is a man next to a fire, who sees her, and grabs her. It is the Captain. He takes her as a hostage, his intent unclear. She rows him up the Piscataqua. Daniel Cotton, who is pastor at Kittery Point, happens to see her row by; he knows who she is. He calls, she ignores him. He knows something is wrong. Quickly he goes to his friend Norton’s lodging in Portsmouth, and they decide they must do something. They send a letter to Randolph, who upon receiving it decides that she is in trouble. He and Tuck go in pursuit, sailing to the Piscataqua, where they join Cotton and Norton, then proceed up the river to Dover, where they learn that the man and girl have disembarked and are heading north–to the White Mountains! Clearly, the Captain has learned from Crawford where he thinks the treasure might be in the mountains.

They go in pursuit, following the path north to the Ellis River, which leads to the Great Mountain [Mt. Washington], which they ascend. Randolph assumes the lead, now letting everyone know that he has been here before. They separate. Randolph and Tuck make their way, eventually, to a cave. When they arrive, they find Etsy tied up, a captive. Tuck goes to help, but is hit from behind. He enters a dream-world. The Captain also attacks Randolph, and takes from him the amulet, which Randolph has had in his possession all along.

The Captain escapes, Tuck and Randolph (recovered), and Etsy in pursuit. Thunder surrounds the mountains. They reach the Western Notch, on the western side of the Great Mountain. There they see the Captain, on a ledge, surrounded by wolves. The amulet is around his neck. The wolves attack; the Captain falls from the ledge to a river (the Saco) below. Just then a flash flood rages through the Notch, destroying everything in its path. Randolph helps Etsy and Tuck to safety but is swept away. Tuck and Etsy, with the help of a Penacook Indian, Indian Jack, pass through the Notch, following the Saco downstream, looking for bodies, a sign: nothing. They assume Randolph died along with the Captain. The amulet is lost.

Tuck and Etsy return to Isles and his parish. He is no longer haunted by dreams. A freak wave has destroyed Randolph’s hut on White Island. Tuck and Etsy over the course of the journey have fallen in love; their future is known.

The book concludes at the Western Notch. Indian Jack leads axe-men and road-builders through the Notch to build a road. Wolves are about. He knows that the spirit of Passaconaway had sent the wolves to destroy the Captain, to keep anyone at bay who threatens the peace of the mountain wilderness.

The paperback book can be purchased on Amazon at this link: The Search for the Bronze Amulet: Lawson, Russell M.: 9798246856833: Amazon.com: Books