by Jay Craven

I’ve spent much of the quarantine period working with fifteen Sarah Lawrence college students, conducting research and writing for our next film project. It will be set during the wild and unsettled time of Vermont’s early settlement – before and during the American Revolution. I’m excited about the project and took a lot away from my collaboration with these students, digging into and debating every element of this earlier world.

We consulted 42 books and many additional online sources. Part of our mission is to explore and compare the myths and realities of Ethan Allen. We started our work by reading Christopher Wren’s recent book, Those Turbulent Sons of Freedom: Ethan Allen’s Green Mountain Boys and The American Revolution. Also, Gretchen Gerzina’s Mr. and Mrs. Prince about freed slaves, Lucy and Abijah Prince who settled during this same time in Guilford, Vermont.

Our film will tell these parallel stories that intersect historically and thematically. Mid-way through the semester, Vermont Historical Society director Stephen Perkins suggested Nicholas Muller and John Duffy’s book, Inventing Ethan Allen, which strips away some the rebel leader’s veneer, to probe deeper history.

Duffy, who was the keeper of Ethan Allen’s letters and papers, sadly died this winter. But he made a huge contribution to understanding this larger-than-life character – and the surrounding history. Duffy’s newest book, with Muller, The Rebel and the Tory: Ethan Allen, Philip Skene, and the Dawn of Vermont – is hot off the press. It promises further revelations. There are mysteries that still hide in the shadows of this story – we’re excited about the film.

We hoped to shoot our film next winter and spring – but the pandemic has pushed that plan to 2022. We’ll provide updates as we proceed.