Written by my great-grandaunt, Jane Ludlow Drake Abbott. Her mother's family had lived in Black Rock since 1807, so the book may be based in part on family stories. Her great grandfather, Ethan H. Ludlow, was an 1812 veteran and pioneer of Black Rock, as was her great-great grandfather, Maj. Frederick Miller.

Set along the Niagara Frontier shortly before and during the War of 1812, this historical novel follows the trials and tribulations of the Darby family, who are divided in both their loyalties and in their residence: some on the American side of the border, some on the Canadian. The story is at first told chiefly from the perspective of Quint Darby, scion of an established and affluent family from Connecticut, who was disowned by his Tory father during the American Revolution, fought with Anthony Wayne's Rangers in the Northwest Indian War, during which conflict he lost an arm, and who, when the story opens, is the proprietor of the ferry and Ferry Tavern at Scajaquada Creek, just south of Buffalo. Unhappily married to Rhoda, a former bond girl who is deeply ashamed of her humble beginnings, Quint dreams of founding a shipping empire in the Great Lakes region, putting all of his energy into making that a reality. He considers the Canadians living on the other side of the Niagara River to be his friends and neighbors, and has no time for the growing talk of war. He is surprised when his brother Alec and nephew Richard arrive at the tavern, and more shocked to learn his brother has sold their ancestral home in Connecticut, and is moving to Canada, to the settlement of Newark. No more fond of the arrogant Alec than he was when they were boys, he nevertheless helps him, and, through a surprising turn of events, becomes guardian to his niece, Jennet Darby, who is nothing like her father or brother. The bulk of the novel is then split between Quint and Jennet's perspectives, as the former must deal with the growing tensions between himself and Rhoda, as well as the suspicions of some of his countrymen, given his family background and lack of enthusiasm for war; while the latter is torn between her love for Peter Brant, a half-Mohawk man she meets when he comes to visit the local Seneca village, and red-haired Erron Piers, her uncle's heir and a shipbuilder. The events of the war bring these personal dramas to a head, and choices must be made by all...

Published in 1950, River's Rim is the second novel from Jane Abbott that I have read that explores life on the Niagara Frontier during the War of 1812. The first was Folly Farm, a children's novel published in 1934, and I was able to discern a number of similarities of theme and plot between that earlier book and this title for adults. The first of these is the anti-war sentiment displayed by the main characters in both books. Quint Darby's feelings about the subject mirrored those of Luke Haverhill, the father of Folly Farm heroine Jeremy Haverhill - both considered it madness for Americans and Canadians who lived side by side in peace to be fighting one another because of quarrels between Washington and Britain. The narratives of both books depict the stupidity of the conflict, and both the woeful state of preparation and the arrogance on the American side. There is certainly no bombastic patriotism here! Perhaps this is owing to the fact that Jane Abbott was a lifelong resident of Buffalo, and knew the area well? Perhaps she had kin on both sides of the border? I'm not sure to what this lack of jingoism is owing, to be honest, but I found it refreshing, when reading both books. The second striking similarity between the two books is the character of Peter Brant, who is half Mohawk, half white, and who must choose between his mother's and father's peoples. In both stories the heroine is drawn to this character - in Folly Farm he is more of a brother, whereas here he is a potential love interest - and while his character is more fully explored in Folly Farm, in both books he is treated with sympathy in the narrative, and defended by the protagonist. There is still quite a bit of prejudice here - although she objects to Erron calling Peter a "half-breed," and the Mohawks "savages," Jennet ends up using the latter term herself, when she thinks the invading Mohawks might attack her uncle - and Jennet's love for Peter, although treated sympathetically, is eventually depicted as a childish romantic dream, one to be replaced by a fuller, more mature understanding with Erron. I continue to find Abbott's writing engaging, and her characters astutely drawn, and am glad to read this one, despite its sometimes dated feel. Recommended to readers interested (as I am) in the author, or to those seeking historical fiction about the War of 1812 as it was experienced along the American/Canadian border. ( )