Furs and Fevers

Don’t mistake this for dry history! Lynn MacKaben Brown’s Furs and Fevers offers the reader a view into a long lost and mostly forgotten world―a world where Indigenous tribes interact with French-Canadian trappers and traders, while their way of life is unravelling under the pressure of American expansion into Indiana.

The characters are historical, and their interactions follow the historical records available thanks to Brown’s exhaustive research. The author has a gift for placing believable and compelling words in the mouths of those long dead and weaving it all into a story that keeps the reader entranced. Along the way, without noticing, that reader receives an education into the systems and politics of Indiana and the frontier in the early part of the 19th century. There is plenty within these pages to challenge you, and controversial actions that leap out of their hoary context and force you to contend with your contemporary judgements and worldview.

The past has dilemmas that can still cause debate today. “Furs and Fevers is a compelling, enjoyable, and highly enlightening read that I envy you the initial discovery experience that is now, sadly in my rear-view mirror. Savor it!” Brian Hogan, direct descendent of Dominique Rousseau.

“Lynn enthusiastically embraces the concept of history as a story. She combines bulldog determination to unearth truth with her interpretation of events. Then she re-creates the multicultural, time-honored role of tribal historian/storyteller. And who doesn’t love a good story?” Sigmund Brouwer, author of The Last Temple.