Flight from Natchez

by Frank G. Slaughter

Revenge...War...Love!In 1781, Doctor John Powers came to Natchez looking for a young woman named Stella Wright. He planned to use her to obtain harrowing revenge on the man who had betrayed him.Dr. Powers had with him Faith Gordon, a bewitching girl he had won in a dice game. She had agreed to pose as his bride and hoped to make the pose come true.Suddenly Natchez was caught up in the bloody fighting of the American Revolution, and the doctor found himself leading a band of men, women and children--including both Faith and Stella--through five hundred miles of forest fires, raging floods, treachery and Indian attacks.In love with both Stella and Faith, passionately tempted by each, Dr. Powers leads his charges up the Natchez Trace to safety in Georgia. And at the journey's end he makes the right choice.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adventure

Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Frank Gill Slaughter , pen-name Frank G. Slaughter, pseudonym C.V. Terry, was an American novelist and physician whose books sold more than 60 million copies. His novels drew on his own experience as a doctor and his interest in history and the Bible. Through his novels, he often introduced readers to new findings in medical research and new medical technologies.

Slaughter was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Stephen Lucious Slaughter and Sarah "Sallie" Nicholson Gill. When he was about five years old, his family moved to a farm near Berea, North Carolina, which is west of Oxford, North Carolina. He earned a bachelor's degree from Trinity College (now Duke University) at 17 and went to medical school at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He began writing fiction in 1935 while a physician at Riverside Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.

Books by Slaughter include The Purple Quest, Surgeon, U.S.A., Epidemic! , Tomorrow's Miracle and The Scarlet Cord. Slaughter died May 17, 2001 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Reviews

[Jon Hollihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

How is this book not a movie, already?
A fantastic and true story of escape & adventure. Forced by circumstance into leading a company of escaping Loyalists from Natchez to Augusta, across the wilderness. Starting with a court-martial, British soldiers in Western Florida, Spanish soldiers in New Orleans, and friendly & hostile Indians in the Mississippi-Alabama wilderness. A riverboat trip begins disgraced Surgeon Captain John Powers journey, dealing with treachery, a forest fire, river crossings, and smallpox, stands a man divided between two women, one married to a ailing doctor, to whom he admires.
Having just watched Leonardo DeCaprio's "Hostiles" movie, I can't help but think how this is a much better story and would make an amazing movie, down to the last page.
Frank G. Slaughter brought this true story from Pickett's "History of Alabama" to life in a slim novel in a dust jacket with colorful artwork, from 1955.

[Nicholas Beck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Horribly outdated and a product of it's time unfortunately of course, especially with regard to attitudes and behavior towards local First Nations peoples, it does contain one fascinating set piece (Slaughter writes with a definite formula in his swashbuckling tales) where the party of Loyalist settlers fleeing towards a hopeful sanctuary take refuge in a deserted "Indian" village. Turns out the village has been abandoned due to a smallpox epidemic and our hero is forced to inoculate the settlers but first he has to persuade them that his methods will protect them from the full blown effects of the disease. Slaughter was a doctor after all.
Shades of Covid 19 anyone?

Adventure, romance and not so subtle racism, fill your boots!

[Wayne Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is 1781, and the American colonies are in rebellion against King George III. Dr. John Powell, originally from a Loyalist family of Philadelphia, PA, and now a surgeon in the British army stationed in Pensacola, West Florida, is cashiered out of the service because of a false charge of stealing. He is then invited by the visiting Stella Wright to join the practice of her ailing doctor husband, Evan, at the English colony of Natchez. John decides to go because he has fallen in love with Stella. On his way there, he stops in Mobile and wins a round of poker from a stranger. Later that evening, after his opponent has disappeared, he learns that among his winnings is the stranger’s niece, Faith Gordon. They travel to Natchez together, pretending to be husband and wife for her protection.

After settling in at Natchez, they learn that the Spanish governor of New Orleans, who has sided with the American colonists, is planning to attack the English settlers. Powell leads a band of 100 refugees through the wilderness to the English colony at St. Augustine in East Florida. Along the way, they experience Indian attack, drought, fire, flood, and even smallpox. Will they reach their destination? Will they even survive the trek? And will John choose to go with Stella or Faith? Flight from Natchez is a fictionalize retelling of a true story that author Frank G. Slaughter found in Pickett’s History of Alabama. The book is said to be “one of the raciest” novels to come from Slaughter. I guess that it all depends on how one defines racy. It is true that mention is made to a couple of women in Pensacola who bestow their favors on soldiers for certain considerations, and that Powell’s original intent was to “cuckold thoroughly” Dr. Evan Wright.

However, no actual immorality occurs. There are references to drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, gambling, dancing, and swearing. The “d” and “h” words are used a few times, and John seems to say “damnation” a lot. Of course, the action takes place during wartime, so there are scenes of attacking and killing. They are recorded rather graphically but not gruesomely or gratuitously. For these reasons, I would not recommend it for younger children or even a family read aloud. However, it is a very interesting plot that is well-crafted and easy to follow, with a great deal of excitement and suspense, as well as an element of romance. There are also occasions where the Bible is read, prayer is offered, and “the grace of the Almighty” is thanked. I have read and reviewed another of Slaughter’s novels, The Land and the Promise, which is an interesting recounting in a narrative fashion, as if written by a novelist, of the great Bible stories.

[Magda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knew. A human-relatable, unidealised fictional account of a 1796 trek of families through the (what is now) south-eastern American wilderness. Fascinating and thoughtful. I found this book on the street in Queens, NY.

[Will Davis-Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up in a small bookshop in Buenos Aires 13 years ago. I had no expectations and it surprised me. The tale is a little dated now but is fairly well paced and richly told. I would recommend it!

[Jennifer Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on a true account that Slaughter himself notes as being stranger than fiction, this is the story of over a hundred men, women, children, and slaves who undertook a journey of nearly 500 miles in 1781. And although it's not clear what's fact and what's fiction, the journey itself is unbelievable enough, and that's the truth that began Slaughter's novel.

Whether looked at as historical fiction, adventure, or drama -- or all of the above with a shot in the arm of romance -- the novel carries itself with an inertia that makes it hard to put down once the characters are met and engaged with. Although it took me a few chapters to get into the work, once I did, I didn't want to put it down for any length of time, and found myself waiting anxiously to learn what the main character's final course of action would be... which, honestly, I wouldn't have predicted when I first began the book.

All told, this was an enjoyable and fast-moving escape -- enough so that I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another of Slaughter's books if the mood struck me.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

The one I read had a distinctly different cover with a man in buckskin and a gun who is leading a party through the wildernis. Much preferable to the cheesy dime novel romance cover in this listing that tries to write it off as a romance novel. I would never have picked it up with this awful cover.

It’s historical fiction set during the late 1700s in what is today Mississippi. It was pretty good but not my favorite Frank G Slaughter novel. Yes, the native population is not referred to in politer terms of today, but I would expect that in a historical fiction novel that is written from the point of view of a main character from an Anglo-Saxon background—not justifying it, just saying that is realistically how many people thought back then. The character Faith seems to have the typical 1950s Hollywood independence found in many black and white movies from the decade this was written in. I do like the detailed descriptions of surgery from this time period, such as curing a stab wound to the lung with a feather quill and innoculation against smallpox.

[Syd · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only redeeming quality of this novel is the historical backdrop. Of course, one must wade through all the Native American racism to root that out. The novel is based on the true story of 100 settlers traveling 500 miles to escape Spanish rule.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably liked it more than 3, but...
Apparently this is based on an actual incident. It was a good story and I enjoyed it. It was not one to keep you engrossed to the point of ignoring everything else though. I would recommend it.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this author. I like how he writes and I've never read any of his books before. I will definitely seek him out in the future. It was worth reading!

[Deborah Hecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story and I thought it was just a story till I read the last page where Frank Slaughter told that is was true! It is a story from our American History! I love history! Good read!