A typical small merchant vessel of the early seventheenth century, the Susan Constant's claim to fame is that she was the flagship of the company that established the first permanent English colony in the New World, at Jamestown in 1607 - thirteen years before the more famous Mayflower landed the Pilgrim Fathers at Cape Cod.

Unlike previous volumes in this series, which rely firmly on surviving documentation, Susan Constant is a reconstruction incorporating what little firm information is known about the ship, but is primarily based on the author's understanding of the ship design and construction practice of the period.
He was commissioned by the State of Virginia to undertake research in preparation for a replica which they are building as a tribute to the State's earliest settlers.