The Red Heart: A Novel

This book is wonderful from start to finish. I read Follow The River 20 years ago and this book was just as satifying. It was enlightening to be inside the mind of a white girl raised as a Native American during the turn of the 19th century, and to begin to understand the tragic outcome of the federal government's policies during that period.

This is one great book. It is based on the true story of Francis Slocum, a 4 year old Quaker girl who was kidnapped by Delaware Indians in the 1770s on the Pennsylvania frontier near Wilkes-Barre. (There are recreation areas named for her in both Pennsylvania and Indiana) It is also the story of her family's 60 year search for her across the Midwest and even into Canada. It is also the story of the relentless American westward movement and how the Indians dealt with it. The reader also gets a fantastic lesson on daily life among the Delaware and Miami Indians. If you're a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan you'll remember the epidsode in which Picard is "attacked" by the alien probe from the long-dead world that makes him live an entire lifetime among their people in his mind in just a few seconds so that their way of life will never be forgotten. (It's the one where he learns to play the little flute-type instrument). Well, this book reminds me of that - you are drawn into this woman's life and initiated into Indian culture as she is. you learn along with her. You grow up with her, feel her disappointments and joys and her confusions as she learns that her white family is searching for her (should she seek them? should she run? Would it be best to take advantage of her white skin and abandon her Indian family as the times get harder and harder?) I have a few quibbles with the book but those are dwarfed by Thom's overall accomplishment. Honestly, at the end of the book, when Francis Slocum dies, I felt as though a longtime friend who'd lived a wonderful and fulfilling life had died - and that is the greatest compliment I think I can give it. Bravo!

I really enjoyed reading this novel. It not only inspired me to read other books by James Alexander Thom, but also made me want to find out more about Frances Slocum. It was in doing this research that I discovered that Thom had played a little loose with the facts of Slocum's abduction. I believe he did this simply to place her Indian abductors in a better light. Yes, it was a little disconcerting; but this discovery did not ruin my overall enjoyment of the book.The novel attempts to view the history of Old Northwest from a very pro-Native perspective. Thom wants the reader to be fully aware that what happened to the Indians of the Old Northwest was a tragedy and a blot on the history of the U.S. And I think he is absolutely correct in that viewpoint. However, I felt that occassionally he went a little overboard in attempting to illustrate this point. His portrayal of the differences between whites and Indians sometimes came across as simplistic and condenscending. It can be annoying since I've read children's books on the subject of Indian captivities that presented a more even handed and realistic look at racial relations- Sally Keehn's "I Am Regina" is an excellent example that shows that cruelty could be found on both sides.However, "The Red Heart's" political correctness is a quibble that really does not deter from its effectiveness as a terrific novel. It's really well-written, and is about one of the most poignant and fascinating stories in American history. If you love historical fiction set in early America and have enjoyed James Alexander Thom's work then you will surely enjoy this book.

I finished this 533 page novel in four days, and I read from page 264 to the ending in one sitting. I think that pretty much sums it up that I really, really enjoyed reading this book. It is on such a fascinating subject which is not too often found in adult literature. Most historical fiction novels on white children taken captive by the Indians are written for juvenile or young adult readers.This novel is based on the true story of Frances Slocum who at age 5 was carried off by Delaware Indians right in front of her family in 1778. Her family searched for nearly sixty years until they finally found her- the widow of a Miami chief who could not speak any English or even remember her given name except for Slocum. Thom details what occured in the sixty years before that reunion. Mostly, it is a story of young Frances adapting to her new life, her growth into womanhood, and her experiences with the tragedies that occur to her Indian people as the Americans take their lands and destroy the entire fabric of their lives. Thom also details the Slocums' attempts to find their lost child during that same period. Thom does a great job of capturing what must have been the emotions when that lost sister met her Slocum siblings for the first time in six decades. Truly poignant.My only complaint about this book is Thom's rather simplistic portrayals of the Indians and whites. With the exception of the Quaker Slocum family, every white in this book is a brutish lout; and with the exception of a couple drunken brutes, the Indians are all portrayed as wonderful people. The historical reality was a little more complex, and even most children's books on the subject of Indian captivities present a more even-handed picture. For instance, historically the Indians, who carried off little Frances, also carried off two other children who they later killed for crying too much, and that they had killed a "boy" on the Slocum farm. Thom doesn't ignore that the Indians also took other captives with Frances or that they had killed someone at her family's farm, but he has the other captive being ransomed back to the whites, and he has turned that killed "boy" into a soldier. I think that is being a little dishonest for sake of "political correctness," which is annoying.

I am a Slocum decendent. My gggrandmother's name was also Frances Slocum. (not the Frances in the book) I found this book by accident while searching for books on the Slocum's and truely enjoyed reading about a very distant cousin. This book also helped to change my thoughts about Native Americans, although not negative, it gave me a new understanding of the Native American's due to the fact that all I knew of them came from old cowboy movies. Thank you Mr. Thom for helping me to understand and for helping me to see "to be an Indian wasn't cowboys and indians". You also helped me to know some history behind one branch of the "Slocum" family tree. Deborah Jones