In Thurgood Meddlethorp's classic play, the blissful romance of Puritan New England comes to life as some of the most God-fearing men in history find themselves face-to-face with the greatest test of faith and loyalty ever encountered in the New World. Can they trust Native American Princess Charity Littlecreek, even though she is both a foreigner and a woman? In "A Grey Cloud", Meddlethorp transcends the pious melancholy of traditional Puritan literature to truly capture what we know today to be the American Spirit. Its story of perseverance and understanding even in the midst of a strange and menacing foreign people is what makes AGCHFOWGT such a extraordinary piece of early American literature that continues to ring true even 400 years later.
About the Author: THURGOOD MEDDLETHORP A vision of masculinity On March 10th, 1595, the 7th of 9 children (including females) Thurgood Meddlethorp was born. His beloved parents, Anthony and Lettice Meddlethorp, named him after a one eyed vagrant that would often visit to use the family outhouse. To many, this namesake would seem an insult, but the "vagrant" Thurgood was more than met the eye. He was, in fact, a social philosopher who would lay the foundation for the principals that became fundamental to Puritan Christendom. The man's latrine-side teachings filled the young Thurgood with awe and wonderment. Anthony Meddlethorp was a tailor, and took his son as an apprentice one year later; however, Thurgood detested the fashions of the times and pined to become a religious leader. Thurgood soon got his wish when one day he stumbled upon a surplus of black and white fabric. The idea soon dawned on the young man to create a new line of modest and pure clothing for the everyday, God-fearing man. Business was so successful that he was invited to market his wares at Cambridge, where several young gentlemen accepted him into their elite social circle. Thurgood was famous for his blistering masculinity, which was due largely in part to the strong relationships he developed with his male contemporaries. He was also known for being the campus tease, pinching the various buttocks of the young men who frolicked there. This 'golden era' of his life soon drew to a close one afternoon when he was visiting his dear friend named Adam Worth. They had just finished a fierce match of "bed-wrestling" when Meddlethorp happened upon a newspaper whose headline screamed, "Wretched Puritans to Set Foot in the New World". He had finally found his calling. Meddlethorp did not immediately set foot in the New World. He instead turned his attention to studying the "native heathens" that lived there and write a play chronicling the lives of the first colonists. After all, what difference would it really make whether he was there or not? With the earnings from the first edition of "A Grey Cloud", Meddlethorp was finally able to set sail for the New World. Upon his arrival, he saw the need to publish a second edition. The natives had in fact no tentacles and Jesus was nowhere to be found. Determined to get things right, Meddlethorp immediately began work on the revised piece, which would become the theatrical masterpiece literary scholars know today. Zebulon McCoy