Pierre¡¦s Journey to Florida

About the Book

This historical fiction book is about the life adventures of Pierre de Bré, a young French Huguenot, at the time when European and Native Americans first came into contact with each other. His family and community were massacred by the Spanish and, as a consequence, he lived among the Timucuan Indians of Florida for several years before returning to France. It is a story of harsh times in Europe - a time with divisive, indeed tumultuous religious and political problems, and a time when exploration of the unknown parts of the world was so exciting, romantic, and adventurous. The book should be of interest to anyone fascinated by the original Native American culture or with a curiosity of the historic events leading to the settling of North America. The author’s motivation for writing this book came from four distinct sources: a visit to St. Augustine, Florida, where he became captivated with the early contribution of the French Huguenots to the founding of the United States; knowledge that Huguenot ancestors on his mother’s side came to the United States from France in the late 17th century; visiting most of the places in France and Florida mentioned in the book; and going to elementary and high school with numerous Native Americans.

About the Author

The author, Thomas N. Tozer, was born in San Diego, California, and raised in Julian, a small, historic, gold-mining town in the mountains of San Diego County, where his father owned the one and only pharmacy, actually a drug store, for miles around. This led to his becoming a pharmacist and further pursuing a career in academia within the Pharmaceutical Sciences. Being raised in a community surrounded by several Indian Reservations and growing up with Native American friends he developed a fascination with the cultures of the North American Indians. He knew his own family history for 200 years or so and, on learning that he may have Huguenot ancestry, he acquired a strong desire to write a novel about his family history. A visit to St. Augustine, Florida, was the trigger that led to writing this novel. He now was able to combine his interest in Indian culture, his Huguenot ancestry and some of the historical events that resulted in the formation of the United States of America.