A history research project goes wild when a cell phone glitch catapults Ella and Seth into a time warp. From an Abenaki village a thousand years in the past to a robot-ruled future, they explore New Hampshire’s only seacoast up close. Portsmouth Time Machine is the first-ever graphic survey of New Hampshire’s only seaport, today a hugely popular heritage destination. Ella and Seth visit the founding English settlement in 1623, join the 1774 “powder raid” at Fort William and Mary, observe a Civil War battle at sea, rescue the crew of the USS Squalus, and help negotiate the Russo-Japanese peace treaty. Along the way they encounter enslaved activist Prince Whipple, poet Celia Thaxter, tycoon Frank Jones, President George Washington, Capt. John Paul Jones and more. The time travelers fight fires, sail ships, discover vaudeville, celebrate the arts, and experience the tragedy of urban renewal. Special sections focus on Black history, literature, famous women, and a two-page historic walking tour map. The adventurous duo and their feline companion bring the 400-year history of a New England seaport to life in this deeply researched and richly illustrated story.

By local historian J. Dennis Robinson and local illustrator Robert Squier. Paperback.