Follow the River

Follow the River (1981) is a historical novel by James Alexander Thom. Thom wrote a number of historical novels set on the early American frontier, including From Sea to Shining Sea, about the Lewis and Clark expedition, and Panther in the Sky, about the Shawnee chief and warrior Tecumseh. In Follow the River, like his many other books, Thom relies on extensive historical and immersive research to relate the historical events of an ordinary woman, Mary Draper Ingles, surviving difficult circumstances to return to her beloved husband, Will, after being kidnapped by Shawnee warriors in 1755. The story, told from a third-person limited perspective, deals with themes of Human Fragility in the Wilderness, Relationships Between Settlers and Indigenous Americans, and Love and Faith as a Source of Strength.

This guide refers to the 1981 Ballantine Books paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide include discussions of anti-Indigenous racism, suicidal ideation, torture, potential sexual assault, wartime atrocities, and physical and psychological suffering. The source material’s use of outdated, racist language for Indigenous Americans is replicated in this guide only in direct quotations.