Insubordinate Spirit is a unique exploration into the life of Elizabeth Winthrop and other seventeenthcentury English Puritans who emigrated to the rough virtually untouched wilderness of presentday New England. Excerpts from newly discovered personal diaries and correspondence provide readers with not only fascinating insights into the hardships dangers and losses inherent to English and Dutch settlers in the 1600s but also firsthand descriptions of the local Native Americans family life allegiances and society. Caught between the unendurable expectations of her Puritan relatives and land disputes with the neighboring Dutch Elizabeth Winthrop demonstrated a tremendous strength of resolve to protect her own family and remain true to her heart.