My first introduction to William Zuill's historical dramas was in the candle light setting of an 18th Century house. The charming presentation was for me the highlight of the National Trust's Christmas Walkabout. And in subsequent years I looked forward to new insights into Bermuda's past.

I was therefore delighted to learn that the scripts have been collated, preserved and made available to a wider audience in a volume entitled 'Footsteps in the Sand' published by the Bermuda National Trust.

Mr. Zuill's generous invitation to "feel free to use the readings with appropriate acknowledgements" means schools and other organisations will be able to put on performances for various purposes and occasions. The easy-to-read typeface and the size of the slim paperback make the volume very user friendly.

An introduction by the author explains how the scripts came about: for fun and instruction – a bit of knowledge about the past presented in a lively way. The introduction also gives a gloss of each of the scripts, which are arranged in chronological order.

The scripts are brief – 20 to 30 minutes in length – and require only three voices and virtually no set and so can be performed just about anywhere. But because the dialogue is drawn from original documents, the cadence and vocabulary – and occasionally eccentric spelling – of earlier speech are captured, creating a sense of authenticity.

The scripts are collected into "Acts", roughly according to time period, with each Act prefaced by a further introduction to the period and the plays. There are the "early days" of Sir George Somers, Christopher Carter and Robert Rich. We experience some of the terror of being at sea in a small vessel in the middle of a hurricane and the challenges of establishing a home on an uninhabited island – where a Governor's temper could make a hurricane seem a mild inconvenience.

Act Two tells the tales of Governors Day, Bennet and Hope, and their "few barefooted people". The lack of provisions included a paucity of gunpowder and flags – the latter replaced by a palmetto leaf at the castle! And as to the lack of gunpowder, a subsequent visit by the Surveyor of his Majesty's Customs in America noted that Governor Day himself had squandered the supply with unnecessary salutes.

Pirates sail in and out of a number of the Acts, as do a variety of sailors, salt rakers and pilots. One pilot in particular is singled out, and Jemmy Darrell has a play all to himself. Mary Prince tells her harrowing tale, while the play 'Horsewhips in High Places' is subtitled "white men misbehaving" and includes a confrontation between "a rather stupid Governor Lumley" and Mayor of St. George's, John Till, which led to a siege of the town. Two plays cover the period known as the American Civil War, and provide two very different perspectives – that of a white southerner and a free black man fleeing from forced labour in Charleston. Though Mrs. Walker may be an unsympathetic figure, her comments on Bermudian society are quite insightful. One observation is particularly striking: "Many of the Negro women have married white men, and it is a common sight to see the two races walking, driving and associating in perfect equality." Mr. Rainey's sojourn in Bermuda is described as preparation for his congressional career when he battled for the cause of civil rights – a significant achievement worth recalling in this year of change.

The collection concludes – like fireworks at the end of an enjoyable evening – with accounts of several spectacular gunpowder explosions – and this play is a suitably explosive one. Brought right up to date, it ends with the implosion of Club Med earlier this year.

The text is illustrated throughout with a number of contemporary images ranging from an engraving of the Earl of Warwick to Edward James' watercolours and photographs of Mrs. Walker and Mr. Rainey.

The plays are a delightful way to get a tasting of Bermuda's history, and now easily accessible, will provide an evening's amusement whether read silently or performed.

A great stocking-stuffer, the volume will provide some delightful after dinner entertainment if three animated readers can be persuaded to take on a role. And so it might be advisable to buy three copies – one for each reader.