Book Proposal - Young Adult:
Paper Mill Village, NH, 1835 ...

Attached is a photocopy of a ream label depicting the hand paper mill at Paper Mill Village, NH.     

Children represented fully 25% of the work force in most 19th Century paper mills. One of the towns of New Hamphshire grew up around the local paper mill, and this locale would appear ready-made for an action/adventure story about children's life in a New England paper town.

Inspiration for this project comes from no less an author than Hermann Melliville, who wrote a fictional tale about visiting with an early paper mill. A ready-made cast of characters exist within the annuals of the paper industry, and there are numerious accounts of children and their contributions to the industry.

Our fictional story will center around the introduction of the paper machine into a small New England village. Greed drives a neighboring mill owner to use children to steal the secrets of the machine.  . . .

-a