Mercy Leroux

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Mercy Leroux

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Stubborn Things and Stubborn Memes

Abijah and Matthew (ignoring the irony of which one actually celebrates Christmas):

Life to Matthew after Eliza dumps him:

The 29th, every time Matthew is sad:

William Warren:

Alternatively:

John Hancock when the Liberty is seized:

The author, researching all these names:

Also the author, realizing how interconnected everyone is in revolutionary Boston:

When the generals depart:

Abijah contemplating life decisions with his fellow clerks:

Abijah the day after winning the drinking game:

Abijah, autumn of 1769:

Matthew, after six months of Abijah:

Patrick Walker, in the eyes of Mary Walker:

Warren at the ropewalk:

Hugh White to Edward Garrick:

Edward Garrick and his fellow apprentices vs. Hugh White:

Thirteen-year-olds trolling the regulars the night of March 5th:

Capt. Preston, Cpl. Wemys, and the six grenadiers in the guardhouse:

Meanwhile, Lt. Basset:

The soldiers, spiritually, prior to the Massacre:

Captain Preston when his act of compassion for Lt. Basset leads to him getting blamed:

Captain Preston, according to artist William Champney: draw me like one of your French girls.

(he wasn’t even knocked down. Montgomery was. but as we’ve established, artistic renderings don’t tend to prioritize accuracy.)

The eight soldiers to Captain Preston: you said fire! You’re the reason we are here!
Captain Preston: why are my men lying about me??
The men: why is our captain lying about us??
Meanwhile, Montgomery:

Matthew in prison:

Everyone else in gaol watching Mattijah flirt:

When the Short Narrative is published:

Parliament repealing the most of the Townshend Acts the same month as the Massacre:

A summary of prominent 1770 Boston trials, considering some of the customs officers couldn’t even GET representation:

Bostonians trying to gather evidence against the customs officials:

Abijah (I’m sorry):

Abraham and Dr. Warren after they find out about Abijah’s virginity being a mere technicality now:

Abijah to Abraham:

Abraham flashing back to his courtship with Absalom:

Eliza, the crazy ex-girlfriend you DO want:

Joseph Brown claiming he has damning evidence against Matthew Kilroy and James Hartigan only to skip town:

Matthew to the Bostonians:

John Adams delivering the nastiest expression his clerks ever received from him when they talk during court:

Montgomery when everyone says Matthew is the villain:

John Adams when Matthew accidentally pleads for death, which yes, did really happen:

Mattijah wedding:

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Responses to “Stubborn Things and Stubborn Memes”

  1. Defective_Avian

    Tbf to Hancock, the British barely enforced the ban on smuggling before the French and Indian War. It was just something you did as a colonist. 😂

    Reply
    1. Mercy Leroux

      Precisely, Mr. Hancock. Precisely.

      Reply
  2. maeglin

    i read stubborn things again last week, and i just wanted to say thank you. i laughed, i cried- it was such an incredible (and gut-wrenching!!) journey.

    the whole time i wanted to grab matthew by the shoulders and shake him and say, you! are! loved! and you deserve every bit of that love!! watching him oscillate between hope and soul-crushing despair in jail was heartbreaking. in the end i’m so glad he finally let himself accept that love and then pass it on by giving his kids the kind of childhood he never quite had. he’s so tender and sweet with his children and it was lovely to see!

    and abijah! i loved his tenacity. i think anyone else could’ve easily become embittered after all the shaming and that assault and witnessing multiple miscarriages of justice and yet he never succumbs to that bitterness. i think his determination to continue practising law and aid othersonly speaks to how formidable this “little omega” is. abijah, still smiling, still willing to lend a helping hand despite everything- i love him.

    i’m seriously awed by how you were able to juggle such a large cast of characters (so so many williams and johns- thank you again for the detailed glossary!) and the story was wonderfully paced too. even though i already knew the outcomes of those meandering trials i was still riveted! i loved the clerks essentially sneaking notes to each other and i thought that was such a clever touch. the massacre itself was incredibly well done too. you captured the soldiers’ pov so well and it truly felt like some kind of claustrophobic nightmare sequence. i def did the mental equivalent of nibbling my nails then 🥲

    i’m sad we’ll be leaving boston behind (i’ve become very fond of it, warts and all) but i can’t wait for what’s next!!

    Reply
    1. Mercy Leroux

      Thank you so much! Made my day. I’m so glad you liked it.
      Next we shall have fun in New York, but we might go back to Boston from time to time.

      Reply
  3. maeglin

    oh and rawdon’s joy at reading matthew wilcox’s letter and all his weariness melting away! so much time has passed and so many terrible things have happened since and he only knew them for the briefest of time and yet rawdon still remembers both him and josiah! 😭

    “it says he’s not judged.” 😭

    and matthew’s beautiful handwriting! that was such a lovely touch. josiah must be proud; he *is* a good teacher after all

    and the guard who let mccauley and carroll escape… william fanthorp??

    Reply
    1. Mercy Leroux

      Okay I cackled, Fanthorp WOULD! But we shall find out soon.
      Yes, Josiah is the best teacher and very proud of his first student.

      Reply
  4. maeglin

    and thank you for the memes, definitely needed a laugh after All That (looking at you, chapters 9 and 10!). i especially love sad cat!matthew 😂

    also frederick enslin mention! he’s so intriguing to me! when i first read about him i went, oh wow, what an interesting person, only to be quickly disappointed when i found out there’s so little information about him. did he really end up in boston after his dismissal? either way, i’m very excited for your take on him!

    Reply
    1. Mercy Leroux

      Enslin did move to Boston! I er may have a paper coming out soon tracing his whole life. 🙂

      Reply

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