The Pilgrim Conspiracy
In his bestselling thriller The Pilgrim Conspiracy Jeroen Windmeijer tells the story of the English Pilgrims who fled England in 1609. They lived in Leiden, the Netherlands, for around 11-12 years before sailing off to America on the ship The Mayflower. From Leiden the Pilgrims took a lot of ideas with them such as the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, the freedom of press, the seperation of church and state, civil marriage and so on.
Maarten ’t Hart: “Incredibly good. Pure narrative pleasure combined with great craftsmanship”.
This Leiden-part of the Pilgrim-history is generally rather underexposed. Through a document that had been lost for almost 400 years – and recently had been discovered in the municipal archives of Leiden – Windmeijer reveals the hidden history of the Pilgrims. Part of the story takes place in Leiden, part of it in Boston and Plymouth (and Plimouth Plantation) and another part in the Egyptian Sinai-desert.
The authoritative Dutch journal Vrij Nederland wrote about his work: “it is more subtle than Dan Brown and Windmeijer shows more respect for religion”. Maarten ’t Hart: “Incredibly good. Pure narrative pleasure combined with great craftsmanship”.
Perfect for fans of Dan Brown, Robert Harris and Scott Mariani
Some of history’s most well-kept secrets are about to be uncovered… The normally quiet Dutch town of Leiden is horrified when the chairman of the local Masonic lodge is brutally killed. Almost simultaneously, an old manuscript is discovered in which an anonymous author tells the hidden history of the Pilgrims – the Founding Fathers of the United States. From 1609 to 1620 they lived in Leiden, after which some of them left for America.
University teacher Peter de Haan is drawn into the mystery. Why did so many of the Pilgrims stay behind in Leiden? What involvement do the Freemasons have? And what relationship did Peter’s girlfriend have with the murdered chairman?
At breakneck speed, this story sweeps you away to the narrow alleys of Leiden to the vast waters of Cape Cod to the scorching hot Sinai desert in Egypt. And every step of the way, you’ll discover that history is never the way the books want us to believe…
Jeroen Windmeijer (1969) is a Dutch writer, social anthropologist and a former high school teacher in Religious Education in Leiden, the Netherlands. He has written six thrillers so far, most of which have been translated – into English, German, Portuguese, Chech and Italian. His work is published by HarperCollins. Both St Paul’s Labyrinth and The Pilgrim Conspiracy figured at #1 on Amazon international (Religious Historical Fiction). He is married to Hamide Dogan and they have a 14-year old daughter Dünya.
You can purchase or order the book in your local bookstore of buy it online: HERE
Link to an interview: HERE
By Jeroen Windmeijer
October 25, 2020
For the NLCLUB.NYC