Introduction

(Lovely but tough as nails, Lael Click is the daughter of a celebrated frontiersman. Haunted by her father's former captivity with the Shawnee Indians, as well as the secret sins of her family's past, Lael comes of age in the fragile Kentucky settlement her father founded. Though she faces the loss of a childhood love, a dangerous family feud, and the affection of a Shawnee warrior, Lael draws strength from the rugged land she calls home, and from Ma Horn, a distant relative who shows her the healing ways of herbs and roots found in the hills. But the arrival of an outlander doctor threatens her view of the world, God, and herself--and the power of grace and redemption. This epic novel gives readers a glimpse into the simple yet daring lives of the pioneers who first crossed the Appalachians, all through the courageous eyes of a determined young woman. Laura Frantz's debut novel offers a feast for readers of historical fiction and romance lovers alike.

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Excerpt

In the fading lavender twilight at the edge of the clearing stood half a dozen Shawnee warriors. They looked to the small cabin with the sagging front porch, the bushel of earth-encrusted turnips to one side, the vacant rocking chair still astir from the hurried vacancy of a moment before. Six brown bodies gleamed with bear grease, each perfectly still, their only movement that of sharp dark eyes and feathered heads.

Inside the cabin, Ezekial Click handed a rifle to a grim-faced boy before opening the door and setting foot on the porch. His wife, Sara, took up a second gun just inside. A sudden breath of wind sent the spent blossoms of a lone dogwood tree scurrying across the clearing like frightened mice. From the porch, he began speaking in the Shawnee tongue. Slowly. Respectfully. A smattering of Shawnee followed, at first forceful, then amused.

The woman and boy darted a glance out the door, grieved by every baffling word…. At last, silence came. And then, in plain King's English, one brave shouted, “Click! Show us your pretty daughter!”

Within the cabin, all eyes fastened on the girl hovering on the loft steps….

She put one cautious foot to the floor and then tread the worn pine boards till she stood in her father's shadow. She dared not look at her mother. It was easier to look across the sweep of grass to the waiting redmen. Without further prompting she stepped forward into a dying shaft of sunlight. A sudden breeze caught the hem of her thin indigo shift and it ballooned, exposing two bare brown feet.

Boldly, the same brave shouted, “Let down your hair!” view abbreviated excerpt only...

Discussion Questions

1. Life in the eighteenth century was difficult and dangerous. How would you have responded to the hardships of that time? Grudgingly, like Sara Click? With the cheerful tenacity of Ma Horn? Or with the courageous spirit of Ezekial Click? Would you have been among those who left the more civilized East to cross the mountains into Kentucky?

2. What perceptions does your reading group have about Kentucky or Appalachia in general? Are any of the novel's characters stereotypical of that region? How do you feel about the Indians being displaced by settlers during that turbulent time? Did you understand Ezekial Click's unusual, even ambivalent, relationship with the Shawnee? Were you sympathetic to Sara's relationship with Ned Click? What would you have done in similar circumstances?

3. Lael is at home in the woods, and becoming an herbalist is second nature for her. How does this skill fit her personality? What traits made her unsuccessful as a teacher? Which of these traits, if any, do you see in yourself?

4. Ezekial's treatment of Lael is not always that of a loving father, such as when he surprises her in the woods with the Shawnee. Later he sends her to finishing school in Virginia. Do you feel he was right in doing so? What do you think his reasons were for sending her away? How might he have handled that differently?

5. Ian tells Lael he feels God called him to Kentucky. Have you ever felt that God led you to a particular place or situation? How did you respond?

6. One of the novel's themes is forgiveness. Lael has an unforgiving spirit, and Ian is quick to discern that. How does unforgiveness bind us and place us in danger? How does it hurt us more than the person we choose not to forgive?

7. Proverbs 27:6 tells us, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.” Ian becomes the truth teller in Lael's life as he both befriends and confronts her. Is there a truth teller in your life? Have you responded with hard-heartedness, like Lael, or with humility? Do you think Ian was right to confront Lael? How might he have better related to her without angering her as he sometimes did?

8. Ma Horn says that heartache sometimes comes from “getting what you want and finding out it ain't what you thought it would be.” Do you agree? What might life have been like for Lael with Simon or Captain Jack? When have you ever wanted something badly and then later been relieved or even grateful that things didn't turn out as you'd hoped?

9. At first Ian is intrigued with Lael, and then he falls in love with her. What did you find attractive or endearing about Lael? What did you find displeasing? Which attributes of Ian's do you think won Lael over? Do you think they're a good match? Why or why not?

10. What expectations did you have as you began reading The Frontiersman's Daughter? What hopes did you have for Lael by the book's end? What surprised you? Pleased you? Troubled you?

11. Author E.L. Doctorow said, “Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader. Not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.” Were you able to get a feel for the sights, sounds, and tastes of eighteenth-century Kentucky? Did that world come alive for you as you were reading? What stood out to you?

12. Lael's name is of Hebrew origin and means “belonging to God.” God intervened in Lael's life in many ways throughout the novel. Can you name them? In your own life, how has God guided you, protected you, and blessed you, perhaps even before you knew Him?

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