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212th out of 2,624 books
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Follow the River
Mary Ingles was twenty-three, married, and pregnant, when Shawnee Indians invaded her peaceful Virginia settlement, killed the men and women, then took her captive. For months, she lived with them, unbroken, until she escaped, and followed a thousand mile trail to freedom--an extraordinary story of a pioneer woman who risked her life to return to her people.
From the Paperb...more
From the Paperb...more
Mass Market Paperback, 406 pages
Published
August 11th 2010
by Ballantine Books
(first published 1981)
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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It's gruesome at times, but such a powerful, realistic retelling of an incredible, true story. It really moved me and I'm sure I will read it again. Mary Ingles is one of my heroes now!
3 1/2 stars, really
The most amazing thing about this story is that it really happened. In 1755, Mary Ingles was captured by the Shawnee and taken to Ohio or thereabouts. After a couple of months, she escaped along with an old Dutch woman. With winter coming on and virtually no food/clothing/shoes, they made their way over very difficult terrain back to Virginia, where Mary was reunited with her husband. They traveled about 1,000 miles.
The only thing I couldn't figure out was...more
The most amazing thing about this story is that it really happened. In 1755, Mary Ingles was captured by the Shawnee and taken to Ohio or thereabouts. After a couple of months, she escaped along with an old Dutch woman. With winter coming on and virtually no food/clothing/shoes, they made their way over very difficult terrain back to Virginia, where Mary was reunited with her husband. They traveled about 1,000 miles.
The only thing I couldn't figure out was...more
I happened upon this book through the band in which I play. One of the songs we perform (written by one of my bandmates) was inspired by this book, which tells of the story of Mary Ingles (no relation to Laura Ingalls Wilder), who was kidnapped, along with her children, in a Shawnee indian raid on her village in Virginia in the late 1700's. She was taken to an area of Kentucky near Cincinatti, and, along with a Dutch woman named Gretel, escaped the Indian encampment (leaving her son and newly ...more
I didn't finish this book. When I finally decided to put it down I just bawled like a baby. The author, in the first chapter, writes a descriptive scene of a baby being tossed around while an Indian in the middle tries to chop it with his ax, in the end, the Indian succeeds. If that wasn't bad enough, The main character lets her three children, including three week old baby be taken in by the culture of the Indians. As a mother who has lost a child, I found this extremely unrealistic and ups...more
I read this book from a recommendation of a book club and friend. Mary is a mother and is kidnapped
by Native Americans when whites were settling the West. It is a true story of a woman that truly survived what no human should ever have to survive. I wish I would have passed on this book because it seriously gave me nightmares. It was an amazing story of survival, I am pretty sure I would have died if put in that situation. I still get scary feelings (those of you have read it will un...more
by Native Americans when whites were settling the West. It is a true story of a woman that truly survived what no human should ever have to survive. I wish I would have passed on this book because it seriously gave me nightmares. It was an amazing story of survival, I am pretty sure I would have died if put in that situation. I still get scary feelings (those of you have read it will un...more
Maybe one star is a bit harsh. But I would not read this book again, unless I was abducted by Indians and they were threatening to burn me at the stake. Mary Ingles' story is compelling - knowing that it was based on a true story made it hard to put down, but I kept hoping Mary would get a moment of peace somewhere along the way. She didn't. It was suffering, suffering, and yet more gruesome suffering. I think I need three or four straight happy novels to get over it. It does have a happy ending...more
This is one of the best books I've ever read. I read it once when I was a young teen, and again last year as an adult. The book stayed with me all these years. It's a true story about a young woman during the French and Indian War who witnesses much of her family and village massacred and then is taken by Indians. Her husband, who is working in the fields, witnesses everything but is unable to stop it. With her two young sons, who were spared, and a baby due any day, she travels hundreds of mile...more
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Read this for book club, so I plowed through it so I could have it finished by tomorrow night. Well, all I can say is WOW! I am exhausted from reading it. I couldn't put it down, but I also didn't want to pick it up. It is a very detailed description to a horrible nightmare. Once you get started on her journey home, you don't want to put the book down because you want her to get home so badly. I just hope we can read something uplifting and fun for book club soon!
Based on the true story of Mary Draper Ingles from a early Virginia settlement in 1755. The settlement she lives in is attacked by Indians and she is taken hostage along with her two sons and sister in law.
An amazing story of true love, courage and sheer determination. She escapes the Indians and walks over 600 miles back to "her people" in early winter.
Some of the scenes where the Indians are attacking are horrific and almost make you sick. If you can get pas...more
An amazing story of true love, courage and sheer determination. She escapes the Indians and walks over 600 miles back to "her people" in early winter.
Some of the scenes where the Indians are attacking are horrific and almost make you sick. If you can get pas...more
Although this book is not new (published in 1981) it was highly recommended to me by my brother and mom. It is based on the true ordeal of Mary Ingles, and within the first twenty pages, I was nearly in shock from the description of the violence inflicted upon her family by the Shawnee Indians. At times I had very conflicted feelings about the way the main character dealt with her plight, and I wonder about the liberties the author took in retelling her story. In any event, it was definitely a p...more
Mary Draper Ingles was pregnant with her third child when Shawnee Indians attacked the small village where she lived, taking several hostages and killing the rest. Based on historical accounts of Mary's kidnapping and her trek to return to her husband, Follow the River is filled with descriptions of the lands as they likely appeared in those days and the people who lived there. The book begins Sunday, July 8, 1755, with Mary and her family going about their normal Sunday afternoon chores. The In...more
I though that follow the river was just an ok book. It lacked something that would have made it much better. I only rated this book 3 stars because of this reason, also it just didn’t really keep you interested; it kept switching the voice too. I honestly felt that this book could have been much better, but I’m glad I read it because it helped me decide I don’t like this genre as much as I thought I did. I will probably give it another try down the road, but not any time soon. I think another re...more
This book is haunting and intense, often gruesome. It made me cringe through much of it and admire frontier women through all of it. This book is a docu/drama, where the story is based on truth, but much of the individual moments are fictionalized and filled in. Mary Ingles (do not confuse this book with the Ingall in Little House on the Prairie) was a pregnant pioneer woman settling Virginia with her husband and family. Her settlement was brutally attacked by members of the Shawnee tribe an...more
This is the second time this book has been selected for our book discussion group. I didn't like it the first time, and I didn't find it any better this second time except for the fact that this time I was reading it on an e-reader which made reading it a new experience.
Our group first read the book over 10 years ago, and I found I had not remembered much from the book other than the fact that there were two women who walked for a long time in an attempt to get home after be...more
Our group first read the book over 10 years ago, and I found I had not remembered much from the book other than the fact that there were two women who walked for a long time in an attempt to get home after be...more
Wow. What can I say that won't diminish the impact of this story? Anything I write will just come out trite. I am so glad to have read the account of such a heroic, admirable woman.
As I read, I reflected on the instinct of survival that tends to emerge in some when they are faced with horrific challenges. The Holocaust came to mind. Why do some fight death and some give in or aquiesce? Mary Ingles dug deeper within herself than can be imagined. I would not have dreamed up this...more
As I read, I reflected on the instinct of survival that tends to emerge in some when they are faced with horrific challenges. The Holocaust came to mind. Why do some fight death and some give in or aquiesce? Mary Ingles dug deeper within herself than can be imagined. I would not have dreamed up this...more
Based on a true story ,the novel is an amazing story about a woman's love and courage. In addition to reading historical accounts from the period and family papers, Thom apparently meticulously studied the terrain that Mary Ingles had to travel for months with her Indian abductors both on the way to their village and then back as she escaped without food or weapons, so we learn about the many challenges to be faced in walking through the wilderness, trying to follow the river as winter approac...more
This book frustrated me- Although it is based on a true story, it is clearly written by a man. ..... There was and extreme lack of womanly/motherly emotion described in events that would more than evoke such feelings from the main character, and it left her(in my eyes) less realistic and relateable(despite the fact this really did happen)........My mother made me read this one, and although it got off to a decent start, I lost interest and desire to continue reading by about page 175, and felt a...more
This book was recommended by a friend and have since found another friend who has read it and really liked it. It was extremely hard to read at places but I felt compelled to stick with it - if Mary could live through it, I could certainly read it. I'm so glad that I did finish it - staying up until 3:00 a.m. because I could NOT put it down until the end. Then I sobbed and am still crying. Not only from sadness, grief for the ones who didn't survive, but for the unbelievable hardships and trials...more
I wish I had been warned about the first chapter. As a mother with children about the same age as Mary's, it was one of the most difficult things to read. I give this book four stars, because page after page of hunger, cold, and physical pain, became a bit tedious, so I skimmed through the last part. I wish that the author had spent more time on her adjustment back into her community and with her husband. Mary's story is remarkable, however, and definitely worth reading!
This one had been on my TBR shelves for over 10 years. I had never read this author before and the only reason it sat there was because I just always had higher priorities for my historical fiction reading. But, boy am I glad I finally picked it up! This is the novelization of the true story of the Mary Ingles, and young frontier wife in 1755 who was kidnapped by Shawnee Indians in Virginia. After several months of captivity she escaped and made her way back home (over 1000 miles) by following t...more
I was pleasantly surprised with this book… my hairdresser suggested it and I decided to give it a try. It is the somewhat true story of a woman kidnapped by Indians in 1755 on the colonial frontier. It tells of her journey to the Indian village and her return to her husband. The writing is pretty good and engaging. It is a long book but a very quick read. As I read, I wasn’t sure how much was true and how much was made up… that isn’t really cleared up but according to historical records, it is q...more
A wonderful description of the capture and escape of a white woman by native Americans in pre-revolutionary war America.
I had an opportunity to meet the author and his wife during a train trip from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. We actually dined together during the trip and it was fascinating to talk with him. His wife is a native American. His other books are also fantastic portrayals of life in America during the colonization era.
I had an opportunity to meet the author and his wife during a train trip from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. We actually dined together during the trip and it was fascinating to talk with him. His wife is a native American. His other books are also fantastic portrayals of life in America during the colonization era.
This is the amazing story of Mary Ingles' escape from indian captivity and an almost 1,000 mile journey back to her husband in Virginia. In 1755, Mary, her two sons and sister-in-law were captured by a band of Shawnee indians. Mary's mother, niece and others in the settlement were slaughtered by the indians. During their long trip to the indian village, Mary made mental notes of the rivers and landmarks along the way so she could find her way home. She gives birth to her daughter on the trail an...more
I read this book not too long after it was first published in 1981, so I'll looking back a long way to review it.
The Indian attack and kidnapping was quite harrowing, but her attempt to survive after escaping the Indians by following the river was also pretty harrowing.
After reading the book, I did some research, and found out that it actually is possible for someone's hair to turn white "overnight." And the things that happened to her as she tried to stay aliv...more
The Indian attack and kidnapping was quite harrowing, but her attempt to survive after escaping the Indians by following the river was also pretty harrowing.
After reading the book, I did some research, and found out that it actually is possible for someone's hair to turn white "overnight." And the things that happened to her as she tried to stay aliv...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I have mixed feelings on this one. The beginning is shockingly violent and brutal. The capture of Mary Ingles and her children by Indians is interesting enough. Then I still can't get over the part where she abandoned her three children to escape. Granted, her boys were sold and she didn't have a choice. But she could have been more heart-broken about that, instead of just dreaming of starting a new family with her husband. But, voluntarily leaving her brand new baby to escape is incompreh...more
A fascinating book based on the true ordeal of Mary Ingles, who was taken from her Virginia home by Shawnee Indians during a massacre in 1755. She traveled as a prisoner hundreds of miles to a Shawnee town, along with her 2 and 4 yr old sons, sister-in-law, and a baby girl she gave birth to on the trail. She witnessed the terrible treatment and murders of other prisoners, but her courage and dignity was noted by Wildcat, a Chieftain, and she was given preferential treatment. Separated from t...more
I have mixed feelings about this book. There were times while reading that I really didn't like it and almost quit and then times where I couldn't put it down. I like the story much more now that I have finished it and thought about it a little while...especially after reading the author's notes at the end and finding that it was written about an actual woman (I knew it was based on factual experiences but didn't realize it was the true story of one woman).
Some truly horrific scenes are d...more
Some truly horrific scenes are d...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Follow the River | 5 | 46 | Nov 17, 2011 05:43am | |
| LIVING WHILE THE WEST WAS WON | 5 | 28 | Jul 03, 2011 08:17pm |
James Alexander Thom (born 1933) is an American author, most famous for his works in the Western genre. Born in Gosport, Indiana, he graduated from Butler University and served in the United States Marine Corps. He is a former professor of journalism at Indiana University, and a contributor to the The Saturday Evening Post. His fifth wife, Dark Rain Thom was a member of the Shawnee United Remnant ...more
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Aug 15, 2009 10:08pm