The Firekeeper: A Narrative of the New York Frontier

Robert Moss

Mar 2010 · State University of New York Press

About this ebook

An epic adventure based on the extraordinary historical story of Sir William Johnson and the author's dreams of a Mohawk "woman of power" who lived three centuries ago.

"Robert Moss is a writer of considerable skill. In The Firekeeper, he shows a talent for accurate historical detail and an ability to recreate the past, both as it was and as it might have been. To read The Firekeeper is to be transported to another time and place, and leave it measurably enlightened." — James A. Michener

"The Firekeeper depicts with accurate and exciting detail the time of the French and Indian Wars. Through the fictionalized lives of historical individuals, Sir William Johnson and Catherine Weissenberg, and memorable, almost mythical characters such as the Iroquois shaman, Island Woman, and Ade, a former slave, the narrative springs to life. The characters, even the minor ones, are clearly-drawn in this fast-paced tale, and the pages keep turning as we learn about the lives of the original inhabitants of this land, and of the early European settlers. This fascinating historical novel offers just the right mix: an involving story which imparts a deeper undersanding." — Jean M. Auel, author of The Clan of the Cave Bear

"Some rare novels defy labels. The Firekeeper is such a book. An intricately detailed historical novel....a mystical journey, a breathtaking adventure tale, and a passionate exploration of the human heart. This is a book to savor when you truly want to lose yourself in another world." —Morgan Llywelyn, author of Lion of Ireland

"In Moss's vibrant docu-novel, the American colonial frontier is aflame during the 1700s as imperial rivalry pits colonists against British and French armies and their Indian allies. ... Moss backs his vigorous adventure story with detailed research, summarized in extensive source notes." — Publishers Weekly

"I admire Robert Moss's skill in weaving an elaborate web around his larger-than-life characters. In The Firekeeper, readers are swept back into the eighteenth century to the veritable fusion of our country's diversity. An epic adventure of William Johnson and the Mohawks. I found the story so good it was hard to do much until I had read all of it." — Anna Lee Waldo, author of Sacajawea

Robert Moss is a novelist, journalist, historian, and lifelong dream explorer. His fascination with the dreamworlds springs from his early childhood in Australia, where he survived a series of near-death experiences and first encountered the ways of a Dreaming people through his friendship with Aborigines. For many years he has taught and practiced Active Dreaming, an original synthesis of dreamwork and shamanic techniques. His many books include Conscious Dreaming, Dreamgates, Dreamways of the Iroquois, and The Secret History of Dreaming. His novels include the three-volume cycle of the Iroquois, The Firekeeper, The Interpreter, and Fire Along the Sky.