The Myth and Reality of Slavery in Eastern Connecticut: The Brownes of Salem and Absentee Land Ownership tells the story of absentee landlords and slavery in the region prior to the American Revolution. It also provides detailed research on the importance of tenant farming among free Blacks and whites, which has been largely overlooked by historians. Using an impressive array of primary sources, Stark reinterprets American colonial history based not on hearsay or secondary sources, but on irrefutable, documented facts. This is a masterwork of historical research.