In her new book, Missy Wolfe focuses on the story of one gutsy 17th century Connecticut woman -- Elizabeth Winthrop -- but through this figure she illuminates the early history of Greenwich and Stamford.

And it's not a pretty picture.

Indian massacres, tremendous physical and emotional hardships, and violent conflict between the English and the Dutch are just a few of the previously untold stories Wolfe unearthed in her research for the Globe Pequot Press book.

It's become a cliche to say that a particularly vivid book of history "reads like a novel" but that's the truth in this case.

In a recent interview, Wolfe said newly translated Dutch documents greatly aided her research. For decades, the English side of the Dutch-English conflict has dominated simply because we only had their side of the story.

"In the last 10 years there has been so much new translation (from those) stacks of dusty Dutch documents," Wolfe said.

The new insights into the Munsee Indians who lived in the region have been particularly acute.

"It has been amazing. We have a much clearer picture now of what a beautiful people they were," she said.

As is the case in most conflicts, the victors (the English) dominated the subsequent reports of what went on when New England and New Amsterdam collided with each other in Connecticut.

"We've ridiculed the Dutch -- the Knickerbockers -- because we didn't know the history. Many of the (historical) papers were sent to The Hague and that was all of our early history," Wolfe stressed.

Elizabeth Winthrop was the daughter-in-law of Massachusetts Bay Colony founder John Winthrop. The book takes us through the woman's three marriages. seven children and her struggle to protect her family, her land and her life.

Through Elizabeth's story the cultural conflict between New Amsterdam and New England comes alive and we experience the shameful massacres of the native people, including a mass murder (in what is now Cos Cob) that was the largest Indian massacre in the Northeast.

The first seeds of "Insubordinate Spirit" were planted when Wolfe read a popular 1950s historical novel "The Winthrop Woman" in seventh grade.

"It alerted me to the outlines of the story. It was written 60 years ago. The author had a few facts that she used to create a history. The book was taken as history by many people even though it was housed in the fiction section of libraries," the author said.

While she still sees value in the novel as a page-turning "bodice ripper" Wolfe's research showed her how little of the real story was contained in Anya Seton's book.

"What really happened to (Elizabeth) factually is far more interesting than the fiction," Wolfe said.

As with much of American history, attitudes shifted over time, and the absence of the Dutch documents left a gaping hole in the narrative.

"Everything got layered with different interpretations. (The historians of) the Victorian Age made up things right and left," she said.

Wolfe became really diligent in the years she spent on the project. "Everything I've written is referenced and documented. I went to all of the original source documents."

The book shows that a woman like Elizabeth was far more than an adornment to her three husbands.

Contrary to post-feminist era thinking, women in the 17th century played a very active role in their marriages, and were trained to assume all responsibilities when a husband traveled (or was incapacitated).

"Women (like Elizabeth) functioned as full partners," Wolfe said of the marriage dynamic 400 years ago.

The author didn't stop researching and writing until she "exhausted the archives," a journey that took seven years.

"I had to read a lot of academic material (too) and some of it was so dry. It was like stirring concrete with your eyelashes," the historian said, laughing.; 203-330-6332; or