The Furies (novel)
| Author | John Jakes |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Kent Family Chronicles |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
|
Publication date
|
1976 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 480 |
| ISBN | |
| Preceded by | The Seekers |
| Followed by | The Titans |
The Furies is a historical novel written by John Jakes and originally published in 1976. It is book four in a series known as the Kent Family Chronicles or the American Bicentennial Series. The novel mixes fictional characters with historical events and figures, to tell the story of the United States of America from 1836 to 1852.
The story begins in March 1836, during the Battle of the Alamo, twenty-two years after the event depicted at the end of The Seekers, book three of the series. Amanda Kent, daughter of Gilbert Kent and Harriet Lebow, was among the women and children who survived the ensuing massacre.
After the massacre, she was taken before Santa Anna, who led the Mexican forces against the Texans, and he was willing to grant her clemency, an offer she declined, putting her life in danger. She was saved by Major Luis Cordoba, one of Santa Anna’s officers, who did not fully support him. Cordoba put Amanda to work as his servant and they eventually fell in love. She remained a camp follower with the Mexican army until April 21, when she witnessed the Battle of San Jacinto, during which Cordoba was killed. Amanda gave birth to his son in January 1837, and named him Louis in his honor.
After the Texas rebellion, Amanda left Texas and settled in San Francisco, which at the time was called Yerba Buena. There she founded a small, but profitable tavern. She fell in love with Barton McGill, a sea captain, who made regular trips from California to New York City, and through him she discovered that a publishing firm called Kent and Son still operated. The firm was once owned by her father, but had been lost in a game of cards by her stepfather to Hamilton Stovall. McGill told her that Stovall still owned it and from that moment on, Amanda became obsessed with buying it back from him. The California Gold Rush, in part, provided her the means. She also learnt through McGill that Walpole, one of Stovall's managers that her cousin believed to be dead, was in fact still alive.
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