To Have and to Hold

by Mary Johnston

"To Have and to Hold" by Mary Johnston is a novel published in 1899. Set in colonial Jamestown, it follows English soldier Ralph Percy, who purchases a bride named Jocelyn Leigh, unaware she is fleeing the King of England and a forced marriage to Lord Carnal. As her pursuer tracks them down, Ralph and Jocelyn face kidnapping attempts, pirates, shipwrecks, and an Indian uprising. Through danger and adventure, their arranged marriage transforms into something neither expected in this bestselling tale of early Virginia.