Rutherford's first cousin?

In the vein of Edward Rutherford, I have to recommend The Children of First Man by James Alexander Thom.



This is also a multi-generational epic, exploring the legend of Prince Madoc, a 12th Century Welsh prince some people believe may have colonized America centuries before Columbus arrived.

Thom vividly imagines the kinds of trouble an expedition of Welsh refugees crashing onto American soil at that time might have caused. His group of pre-Colombian settlers causes almost as much upheaval as their European cousins did later, but there are too few of them to overthrow existing societies. Instead, over several generations, they become assimilated into Native American culture, and eventually become known as the Mandan people - a tribe early sociologists believed had European ancestors.

Whether or not the legend is true, it makes for a fascinating story - and it will leave you wondering if maybe, just maybe, that's how it really happened.