This evening at 7 p.m., local authors and historians Jim Lampos and Michaelle Pearson will be speaking about their most recent book, “Revolution in the Lymes,” at the Old Lyme-Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library. All are welcome and admission is free to this fascinating presentation.

The Revolutionary War in the Lymes started as a rebellion of ideas. From its origins in the Cromwellian Saybrook Colony, Lyme (today’s Lyme, Old Lyme, East Lyme and Salem) prospered under the free hand of self-governance and spurned King George III’s efforts to rein in the wayward colonies.

In 1765, Reverend Stephen Johnson wrote incendiary missives against the Stamp Act, declaring on Nov. 1, 1765, “My dear distressed country! For you I have wrote; for you I daily mourn, and to save your invaluable Rights and Freedom, I would willingly die.”

A few years later, the town hosted its own Tea Party, burning one hundred pounds of British tea near the town green. When the alarm came from Lexington in 1775, Lyme’s citizens were among the first to answer.

Lampos and Pearson will explore how local Patriots shaped an epic revolt.

Asked what lasting impact she hoped the book will have, Pearson replied, “We hope this book will bring a renewed interest, rediscovery and appreciation of the forgotten patriots of Lyme, such as Major General Samuel Holden Parsons, Governor Matthew Griswold, Reverend Stephen Johnson and John McCurdy. All were figures of wealth and stature before the Revolution, who sacrificed their treasure, and imperiled their lives for the cause of freedom.”

She continued, “They were dedicated patriots from the outset, and their actions and writings helped shape the ideological ground upon which the Revolutionary War was fought.”

Pearson added, “We also hope to initiate and encourage a line of historical inquiry that focuses on tracing the roots of the American Revolution back to the Cromwellian cause in the English Civil War of the 1640’s. The connections between the Cromwellians of 1640 and the Lyme revolutionaries of 1776 were direct, and Lyme’s patriots knowingly used the Cromwellians’ opposition to King Charles I, and Lyme’s subsequent history of self-government, as the basis for their own opposition to King George III.”

Michaelle Pearson and Jim Lampos will give an author talk on their book, “Revolution in the Lymes,” Tuesday evening at the Old Lyme-PGN Library. Photo by Angela Chicoski Photography.

Michaelle Pearson holds a B.A. in Journalism and Photography from Creighton University, and a J.D. from New York Law School. She was Director of Copy at Arnell Group, and continues to work as a freelance writer and editor. Pearson sits on the Old Lyme-Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library Board and is a Trustee of the Old Lyme Historical Society. She has written articles of local and historic interest for newsletters and magazines including River and Sound, Events, and the OLPGN newsletter. Pearson is also a member of the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society and the Connecticut Society of Genealogists.

Jim Lampos received his B.A. in Sociology (Summa Cum Laude) from Brandeis University, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He completed the General Course at the London School of Economics and was awarded a Kaplan Fellowship to attend the New School for Social Research, where he received his M.A. in Urban Affairs and Policy Analysis. Lampos is a published poet and musician who has released eight CDs, toured nationally and has been featured on network television. He and his wife, Michaelle Pearson, have previously co-authored Rumrunners, Governors, Beachcombers and Socialists – A History of Old Lyme Beaches, and Remarkable Women of Old Lyme.

Lampos and Pearson live in Old Lyme.