To Have and to Hold

To Have and to Hold is a novel by American author, Mary Johnston. The book was twice adapted to the screen. The first silent film in 1916 was made by Jesse L. Lasky's Famous Players company. It was directed by George Melford and starred Wallace Reid and Mae Murray. In 1922, Lasky did a remake, this time starring Bert Lytell and Betty Compson. To Have and to Hold is the story of an English soldier turned Virginian explorer in colonial Jamestown. He buys a wife for himself - a girl named Jocelyn Leigh - little knowing that she is the escaping ward of King James I, fleeing a forced marriage to Lord Carnal. Jocelyn hardly loves Ralph - indeed, she seems to abhor him. Her husband-to-be eventually comes to Jamestown, not knowing that Ralph Percy and Jocelyn Leigh are man and wife.