George Alsop

author

George Alsop

b. 1638

Best known for a lively 1666 account of colonial Maryland, this little-known English writer left behind one of the most vivid firsthand portraits of early life in the colony. His work mixes promotion, observation, and personal experience in a way that still feels immediate centuries later.

1 Audiobook

A Character of the Province of Maryland Described in four distinct parts; also a small Treatise on the Wild and Naked Indians (or Susquehanokes) of Maryland, their customs, manners, absurdities, and religion; together with a collection of historical letters.

A Character of the Province of Maryland Described in four distinct parts; also a small Treatise on the Wild and Naked Indians (or Susquehanokes) of Maryland, their customs, manners, absurdities, and religion; together with a collection of historical letters.

by George Alsop

About the author

Very little is known for certain about George Alsop, and even basic details such as his exact birth year are debated. Some reference works place his birth around 1636, while others list 1638; he grew up in or around London and later traveled to colonial Maryland as a young man.

Alsop is remembered for A Character of the Province of Mary-Land (1666), the book that made his name survive. Drawing on his own time in the colony, he described the land, its people, and everyday life with a mix of enthusiasm and sharp detail. The book is often read today as both a promotional tract for Maryland and a rare personal window into seventeenth-century colonial experience.

His later life is obscure, and even the date of his death is uncertain. That mystery has only added to the fascination of his work: although the man himself remains shadowy, his writing preserves a vivid voice from the early history of Maryland.