Writing a Revolution:
Exploring the Literature
of New Jersey’s Revolutionary Past

History books seek to detail and explain events in times past; historical novels move beyond certitude into the realm of imaginative “could have been.” In this exhibition you will find both types of historical work, but with an emphasis on the historical novel. Most of these works, the bulk between fifty and a hundred years old, were aimed at a younger, juvenile audience. The subject matter of modern youth-oriented fiction is absent—angels, vampires, and werewolves. In its place are heroes, both historic and fictional, drawn from New Jersey’s revolutionary past.

Exhibition Poster

The books in this exhibition were generously loaned by David C. Munn, former librarian of New Jersey materials, who has spent uncounted hours searching for works of literature that pertain to New Jersey, and especially South Jersey. Mr. Munn has opened his collection and offered his expertise, for which we are deeply grateful. This exhibition was developed, researched, and written by Stephanie Allen, Volha Autukhovich, Ryan Ballard, Phillip Bennett, Danielle Bond, Alyssa Flynn, James Pomar, and Tom Kinsella.