March to the Volga

It is the year 1764 in a land far different from the Germany today, a land ruled by feudal princes and religious zealots. The terrible Seven Years’ War is done, but the tales of religious atrocities from the long past Thirty Years’ War are still fresh in the minds of all. No tolerance at this time; the Catholics and Protestants openly hate each other. A young Lutheran country couple, along with a strange new city friend, slowly travels from village Heilbronn north to Lübeck, one step at a time towards the “Promised Land.” Sailing on to Russia, and walking across much of it, the couple is there to build the Volga Colony of Balzer. Over the next 130 years, they and their many descendants triumph over evils and carve out a bountiful life, before again moving on to the new “Promised Land” of America, making their new homes in the San Joaquin Valley near Fresno. 'March to the Volga' is the first in a series of historical fiction novels based on a Deutsche family as they leave for the Volga Colonies in the 1760’s.