The Lawless

Kent Family Chronicles #7

by John Jakes

The Kent Family Chronicles continue as Jeremiah Kent becomes an infamous shootist in the Wild West-bringing him closer to a destiny that will end in bloodshed.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, American History, Westerns, Drama, Adult

704 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

John William Jakes, the author of more than a dozen novels, is regarded as one of today’s most distinguished writers of historical fiction. His work includes the highly acclaimed Kent Family Chronicles series and the North and South Trilogy. Jakes’s commitment to historical accuracy and evocative storytelling earned him the title of “the godfather of historical novelists” from the Los Angeles Times and led to a streak of sixteen consecutive New York Times bestsellers. Jakes has received several awards for his work and is a member of the Authors Guild and the PEN American Center. He and his wife, Rachel, live on the west coast of Florida.

Also writes under pseudonyms Jay Scotland, Alan Payne, Rachel Ann Payne, Robert Hart Davis, Darius John Granger, John Lee Gray. Has ghost written as William Ard.

Reviews

[Alexw · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Jakes never disappoints but of all his books that I have read, North and South, The Bastard, The Rebel and California Gold and Love and War- this was my least favorite but still deserves 4 stars. I might have expected too much as I assumed it would be about the Wild West when the book was not about that at all. I also expected more about Custer getting massacred and the Centennial of the US but that was just messed in passing.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to jump back into the Kent Family Saga before too-long, didn't want to take a super-lengthy break after reading half the series back-to-back!

The Civil War is over, and America is starting to expand! But the Kent family still continues to have it's struggles.

Louis Kent (Amanda Kent's ruthless and hot-headed son) has died in ruin, Jephtha Kent has passed away of natural causes, so now the fate of the Kent Family rests in the hands of Jephtha's oldest son Gideon Kent. Gideon's marriage to his wife Margaret has now taken an awful turn, Margaret has become increasingly bitter and hostile towards Gideon, who is spending the majority of his time away from home working to revive the family business and the Kent name, leaving Margaret to raise their 2 children Eleanor and Will, making her the more bitter and hateful.

Gideon meets up with Julia, (the ex-wife and now-widower of Louis Kent), and with her own son to raise Carter, and realizing his marriage to Margaret is only worsening Gideon and Julia slowly begin to fall in love, where Margaret slowly hatches a scheme to turn her own children against Gideon.

In the first part of the story we are introduced to the middle child of Jephtha, Matthew Kent, who has been living in Paris, moving there after losing faith in America during the final days of the Civil War, and hasn't returned to America or had any contact with the Kent Family since. Matthew's dream is to be an artist, whilst part of this entry revolves around the impressionist movement. Matthew falls in love with Dolly Stubbs, but as time goes on, he must choose between his love for Dolly, or his dreams of becoming a painter.

The 3rd half revolves around Jerimiah Kent, who the rest of the family believes died in the war. Jerimiah, with not many places to turn, becomes a disgruntled Gunslinger in the Old West under the name Jason Kane.

P.S. In the final quarter of the book, the story revolves around Eleanor Kent and her dreams of becoming a stage actress!

A great addition to this Historical Soap-Opera, John Jakes really makes History come alive!

Now only one book left in the Kent Family series for me to read ! Makes me kind of sad because I've really been loving this family saga, every book and page of it, but I guess all series have to end eventually.

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this series the summer before my 8th grade year. And I remember I really liked them. On the pre-test for American History I aced it, got the highest in the whole school, and I credit it all to these books. They are a great way to learn American History. I found the whole series at a yard sale this summer, and bought them, excited to read them again. But they weren't as good the second time. In fact, I didn't even finish the series. Maybe you have to know nothing about American History to really get into these books...I don't know.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5***

[Tim Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might be a 3.5 star book for me but I am going to leave it at 3. It's overly long and Jakes hauls out some of the more troublesome tropes he's used in this series (yet another child is raped). The beginning third of the books follows Matt Kent in Europe and I found it completely uninteresting. Jeremiah's brief interludes were alright but mostly uninspired. But I enjoyed Gideon's story and found him to be one of the better protagonists in this series.

It wasn't the worst of the Kent Family Chronicles but wasn't the strongest. Overall it was enjoyable enough, though overly long.

[Julia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Like the rest of the books in this series, it's a cliched, trashy, shallow mess. Every member of the Kent family meets every famous historical figure of the time period. Bad sex scenes abound, both consensual and non-consensual. But this book has a special plotline. It's not gratuitous and tasteless, like Book 3's pedophilic rape scene. But it's special in the sense that Jakes didn't know what he wrote. It could have been great satire--except it wasn't written as satire. It could have been a perfect parody of rich, white do-gooders--but Jakes didn't write it as a parody. It features a pair of irritating, shallow, selfish people that, with a more self-aware author, could have been great antagonists. Unfortunately, Jakes meant them to be protagonists.

Gideon Kent, former Confederate soldier, has settled in New York and is fighting for the rights of the working people. He runs a newspaper that publishes socialist articles and goes to union meetings. His pro-worker activity earns him the hatred of a prominent industrialist, who periodically sends thugs to threaten him. But Gideon, being a former soldier and a Jakes protagonist, is able to beat them up every time, and he goes right on fighting. Life is great when you don't have to worry about being fired, huh?

Unfortunately, his home life is miserable. Gideon's wife, Margaret, is mentally ill. But she isn't just mentally ill. She disapproves of her husband's political activities--she's afraid for him, and afraid for her family. Sounds reasonable, right? But Jakes REALLY wants us to hate Margaret. So she also abuses her and Gideon's children. And she's an alcoholic. And despite her mental illness, she's an expert manipulator, playing off her husband and children against each other. Yes, really. She even sits and writes down how much she hates her husband, as well as her evil plans, in a diary. Yes, really.

You see, Jakes has to make her as evil and repulsive as possible, in order to hook Gideon up with his new love interest, Julia Kent.

Julia Kent is an unconventional rebel. She's a suffragist, naturally. She's comfortable with her sexuality (plenty of women were in the 19th century, right?), and she Needs No Man to Define Her. We know she's unconventional because she greets Gideon at the door wearing a dressing gown and smoking a cheroot. If Jakes were a more nuanced writer, he might have portrayed her as taking a narrow, privileged, rich white woman's view of women's rights (she thinks it might be "fascinating" to attend a union meeting, and she even says, no joke, that women are worse off than blacks were during slavery, because at least the blacks had abolitionists fighting for them). Unfortunately, Jakes is not a nuanced writer, so we're supposed to take Julia's 19th-century version of a tumblr post at face value and be as enchanted with her as Gideon is.

Naturally, Gideon and Julia display Jakes' version of perfect chemistry, meaning that Gideon starts to get erections whenever he thinks of her, and accidentally brushes against her breasts, and Julia practically creams herself when Gideon beats up and threatens his enemies. They first have sex during the Great Chicago Fire. I know nothing gets me hotter (ha, ha) than rampant death and destruction in my home city.

Yes, I know some people get a sexual high from adrenaline, and Gideon and Julia just escaped from danger. It doesn't make the scene any less stupid.

Gideon does feel guilty for committing adultery afterwards. But it's okay, because Margaret is an evil, demented, abusive hag. I swear, I felt like I was reading bad Harry Potter fanfiction, where the authors make Ron and Ginny as evil and horrible as possible to hook up Harry and Hermione.

Now, as stupid and cliched and puerile as this whole plotline is, it doesn't become offensive until the end. Gideon's industrialist enemy finally decides to get revenge on Gideon for his pro-union and socialist political activities and sends a mob of thugs to break into his house. They gang-rape his daughter, Eleanor (Jakes does love his rape scenes).* Gideon feels guilty about leaving his children alone with his mentally-ill wife, and never seeing them. Julia and his stepmother have to reassure him that it's not his fault...

...except, in this case, IT IS. He knew what his enemies were threatening to do. He was consciously neglecting his children, leaving them alone with a woman who clearly wasn't fit to be a mother to them. The book tries to play it off as Margaret's fault, saying that she manipulated him and the children and drove them apart, and she did do some of it. But Gideon didn't do anything about getting his children away from her. HE KNEW she wasn't fit to be a mother. HE KNEW his children were miserable around her. HE KNEW that they were in danger, if not from Margaret, then from his enemy.

And he ignored all that to be a social justice warrior and have sex with Julia. And yet Jakes expects his readers to agree that the situation was not his fault. Sorry, Jakes, but I'm not biting.

Even better? We're supposed to hate Margaret for being afraid for her family and trying to get Gideon to stop his pro-union work. BUT SHE WAS RIGHT ALL THE TIME!

It takes a special kind of blindness to write a book where the protagonist has a romance with a fiery, sassy suffragist and blithely ignores his wife's mental problems and his daughter's gang-rape.** But Jakes did it. He did it without irony, without meaning it to be a satire of SJWs. He still expects us to root for Gideon and Julia at the end. For me, it had the opposite effect. This book made me understand, for the first time, why conservatives hate liberals. For the first time, I can understand why poor white people voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump.

I'm not sure that's a good thing. But hey: it's good to look at things from other points of view, right? I suppose that's one positive thing I got from this awful series.

*Margaret dies, naturally. From stumbling drunk out of a second-story window. What, you expected Jakes to leave that horrible, drunk, aging madwoman some DIGNITY? Don't make me laugh.

**To be fair, Gideon doesn't learn that Eleanor was raped. She hides it from him, in both this book and the next book. In fact, he never learns about it. And from reading the next book, there is no reason why he doesn't learn it, except that he's Jakes' Designated Protagonist, and his learning it would mean Jakes acknowledging that Gideon put his own children in danger. In fact, Eleanor's plotline in the next book not only involves sexism, but anti-Semitism, lots of it. But that's the subject of another review.

[Thom Swennes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Civil War is over and a country once again united tries to heal the wounds of war and recover. Westward migration and expansion is helped by the improved means of transportation through both roads and railways. The industrial revolution is gathering steam and the changing economical and social situation brings new problems hitherto unknown. The Kent family splits, one heading west to new and yet untame territories. Another Kent returns to where it all began bringing the epoch full circle. One stays and continues as the family had begun and fulfilling the family motto. The three sons of Jephtha Kent have chosen their ways and don’t look back. The Lawless is volume VII of the Kent Family Chronicles and continues this epic tale of America. The rich and powerful, poor and destitute all make their mark in a country destined for greatness. This is a great book in even greater series depicting a country’s struggle from independence, through expansion and finally greatness. I am both impressed and pleased how John Jakes manages to place small tidbits and trivia of seemingly unrelated subjects and events into his manuscripts. It makes the reading of his works both a learning and enjoyable experience. I recommend this book to everyone as it also has all the elements of greatness.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 7 of 8 of the Kent Family Chronicles brings us full force into the labor union issues of the 1870's. Lots of horrors of those days we can't even begin to imagine. Gideon Kent, oldest son of Jephtha, great grandson of the original Philip Kent, has moved from a one sheet union rag to reporter/publisher of the family New York Union newspaper, in the hopes that he can make his mark in helping American labormen with wage/compensation issues. In reporting on union issues he always sends himself to do the reporting on strikes and current matters. On one of these trips to Chicago he tangles with the W&B Railroad President/founder. The man is simply evil...disguised in the wolves clothing of religion (disgusting beyond all comprehension). Because of the tangle, Courtleigh has vowed to destroy Gideon, his family, and his mistress. Because of pressing railroad business, strikes, and just life in general Courtleigh's efforts come and go...allowing Gideon time to ease off...and then not be watchful...which is never a good thing.
A good book. I enjoyed it. It had some horrors, but nothing like book #3.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe this book (#7 in the series) is the best one yet. It exposes the reader to the strain of Gideon's family life, his unrequited love for Julia, and his struggle to become a "self-made" man. Gideon wasn't much of a student in his childhood and he finds he must work harder in his adult life to obtain the skills necessary to join the family publishing company. A reader can feel the pain of his wife's alcohol addiction along with the emotional withdrawal of his children. A hateful foe stalks his family. He has left the love of his life (Julia). And he's wracked by self-doubt. A gritty and all-too-human tale...

[Tara Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read books 2-7 of this series in the last weeks of Feb 2013. While I liked the continuation of the family name through each generation, I could have done without every single important female of the Kent family being raped, sometimes repeatedly. They no sooner got power and money than they lost it, and family members ran the gamut from good to brilliant to corrupt to sleazy to fierce to insane to bloodthirsty. Lots of historical info, also, which made the story more real and interesting. But I would not recommend this series, save book #4

[Ice Bear · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Kent family chronicle storyline seemingly running out of original plots as the author tries to run us through US history and people. As I have said on earlier books of this series, lacks the depths of North & South.

[Marina Shinderuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't get enough of John Jakes. It got to the point where I just bought all his books and am reading them one after another.

The Kent Family series is well-written and historically accurate. I think I'll make my kids read these when they're in high school.

[Holly Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Own paperback 7 of 8.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

After having read the first six books in the series, I found myself disappointed in this, the seventh. Jakes's writing is still compelling and easily read, and the historical aspects of the story were still interesting, but the plot of this one just doesn't seem as well thought out as in some of the other books. It's almost like the author had a deadline to meet and wasn't able to fully realize the story. For example, Margaret's descent into madness and villainy after being one of the most positive characters in the previous book seemed contrived and unbelievable. Similarly, Elenor comes across as more a caricature rather than a real person. Her willingness to believe her mother in spite of all her flaws is hard to swallow. In addition, the resolution of Jeremiah's story arc is completely unsatisfying. Jakes took an interesting character and made him shallow. I would have loved to have seen less effort expended in the extensive treatment of labor strive and more in finding a more satisfying end for Jeremiah, Will, and even Matthew, who is given extensive treatment at the start of the novel, but is then almost an after thought as the story progresses.

I've really enjoyed this series, and this is the first time I've been disappointed. As is the case in many long series of books, the author seems stuck in some consistent themes and character tropes. Hopefully that will resolve in the final book.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Post-Civil War the Kent family is finding their way. Gideon and Matt have taken very different paths of a railroad man and a painter. Jeremiah has “disappeared” and is feared to have been a casualty during the war by his family; in reality he has survived, taken a different name and is wandering the West making a living by hunting and gambling. On the other side of the Kent family, Louis has died leaving only Carter and his ex-wife, Julia. Julia is a strong independent woman who has gotten involved in the women’s movement and is touring giving lectures about suffrage. Meanwhile, Michael Boyle is building the first coast-to-coast railroad and finding his way. Each member of the family offers insight into a historic part of American history, including all the difficulties and beautiful successes.

The 7th book in this series, this novel covers a wide variety of historic topics from unionism, railroads, big bosses, and the Impressionist movement. It is probably one of my favorite books within this series – it covers such an interesting time period with such a varied grouping of characters. Well-written and developed it is a pleasure to read and the pages go by very quickly! I can’t wait to pick up the next in the series and find out what happens!

[Kathryn Bashaar · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am done trying to re-read this series. The first two were great, the next three decent, but this one never gets going. The first 100 pages are bogged down with too much retrospective of what happened in the previous book. And Matt is thoroughly unlikeable. He doesn't want his pregnant lover to have an abortion, but he doesn't want to marry her, either, because that might interfere with his dream of becoming a great painter. He wants her to have the baby and endure the stigma and insecurity of raising his child by herself. He changes his mind, but meantime the author wasted several dozen pages on this dumb conflict that is quickly, randomly resolved and therefore inconsequential. He makes you hate one of his main characters for no good reason.

And Gideon's wife, who was a great character is earlier books has randomly turned into a harridan. Absolutely no reason is given for this dramatic change.

The only other thing that really happens in the first 100 pages of this book is one after another fist fight that doesn't advance the plot (such as it is) in any way that I could see.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband, his aunt and I read this whole series during the 1970's when they first came out - all three of us would read them in less then a weekend and couldn't wait for the next one to come out. They were so very good you felt like you were right there living the story with them!

"John Jakes The Civil War is over, but the Kent family’s good fortune is suddenly threatened in this novel by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of North and South. The penultimate volume in John Jakes’s stirring Kent Family Chronicles finds America booming in its postwar prosperity. With this newly secured peace comes an opportunity for the Kent family to reconcile and to thrive, both personally and financially. Gideon Kent takes up his father’s vow to reunite the family, but when he brings his father’s widow back into the fold, the repercussions seem insurmountable. Against the backdrop of a recovering nation, the Kents face dramatic challenges and unexpected rifts that could leave the family shattered for years to come"

[Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a long book at 800 pages. I probably would’ve been able to get it done sooner had it not been for so many interruptions. But what a stupendous read it was. It had lots of action, tension, times of frustration with a few of the characters, subterfuge, and an ending that brought me to tears.

I have to admit I got so frustrated with Matt. He just couldn’t get his poop in a group and it was so frustrating. First, he didn’t want to get married, then he wanted to get married, then he didn’t want to get married. I just wanted to shake him. Maybe that’s the life of an artist, but he was so stubborn and obstinate, even if he did have moments of heroism. That isn’t to say I didn’t like him. I did like him. A lot. But he was so anti-American and even wishy-washy. He did what he did much to my dismay, but he is who he is and if he can live with it then I guess I can too. See how easy it is to get wrapped up in a fictional character?

We learned about all three brothers. Gideon, Matt, and Jeremiah. Each other their own story to tell and live very different lives. Jeremiah was a gunslinger for all intents and purposes, and he renounced his identity as a Kent, and never wanted to reunite with his brothers. He wanted them to think he was dead and they thought he was. He adopted different names for obvious reasons. I’m not sure I actually liked him. He was scary and unpredictable, but still a vital part of the story.

Gideon. Oh my goodness, Gideon. He had so much going on. His wife was a nut job, his kids hated him, especially Eleanor, he had a mistress, but what kept him going was his passion for creating labor unions after witnessing one of his friends be killed in a railroad accident. His life was turmoil, but he was a really decent man and always tried to do the right thing no matter what. My heart broke for him a few times. He is the prime example of things don’t always go as planned. But he is about justice. He made a lot of mistakes, but he wasn’t afraid to admit that. I didn’t approve of everything he did and sometimes I thought he was out of his freaking mind, but I wanted him to succeed. I wanted him to find his happiness, and I can only hope he did.

This was a wonderful book without a dull moment. I loved everything about it.

*This book is part of a series and should be read in order

1. The Bastard
2. The Rebels
3. The Seekers
4. The Furies
5. The Titans
6. The Warriors
7. The Lawless
8. The Americans

[Bonnie Staughton · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Lawless" (Kent Family Chronicles, #7) follows the lives of the 3 Kent brothers, Gideon, Matt and Jeremiah. Gideon becomes a labor activist, seeking the organization of unions and a better life for the employees. But this is also the time of the "Bosses" in Chicago and they will do everything in their power to strike down any union activity. Jeremiah goes out West and makes a name for himself as a gunslinger. Actually he has to change his name several times to keep from getting caught by the law. The Kent family believes that Jeremiah was killed in the War. Matt goes to Paris to continue his artist profession. He swears he will never return to America. There is something to be learned in reading the stories of these 3 brothers. John Jakes does immense research while writing these books and you learn about the history of America through the lives of the Kent family. Great books.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The focus on this book is Matthew, Gideon, and Jeremiah Kent. This book I have been reading slowly off and one and shocked at the amount of time it took me to get through it. I'm thinking because I was disappointed in each brother. Matthew couldn't do the one thing Dolly wanted - get married. However, he is obsessed because he loses her. He is following his dream but is not happy. Jeremiah is presumed dead and pretty much a gun for hire. I really wished his story arch had been more of the developing the West as this book was the perfect opportunity. Finally, Gideon. He is a man that will fight for what is right even when it hurts. I was disappointed in the story arch of Margaret. I loved her in the previous book but she become everything young Margaret was against. Julia a previously unlikeable character becomes a favorite.

How did this book find me? I've been a fan of Jakes for a long time.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really a 4.5 star rating.

Sad the twists and turns this continuing saga of the Kent family takes. Didn't really like how Margaret descended into alcoholism and the demons that went with it. The reader just wants some positive resolution to her situation. (You get some.). Enjoyed the sad tale of Jeremiah Kent a.k.a. Jason Kane. So sad about his Kola and the terrible prophecy and how he gets redemption in the end. Eleanor and Will after being so unhappy for the majority of the book, finally get some positive news at the very end. This book gives you anxiety and anxious moments for you really worrying about the characters. How long can a person keep a grudge, according to Thomas Courtleigh, a long time. Can't wait for number 8. Then I have completed a long Covid 19 read.

[Dawn Tessman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 7 in the Kent Family Chronicles series, which places the Kents at the start of trade unions and the scene of the Chicago fire. While I feel the story suffered a bit from an overabundance of time spent on the unionization of the railroads that, for all the details, disappointingly lacked a conclusion, Jakes has nonetheless managed to spin another skillfully-constructed tale in which historical fact is balanced perfectly with quality fiction. As in the past, I would recommend this series to those who enjoy epic novels or history, while warning of the violent aspects of the story.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story very much. It picks up after the American Civil War when there was a lot of change in our country. People were moving away from where their families had settled and finding new places to call home, some of them moved into the Western frontier. There was also a lot of innovation and growth going on in the East too. The Kent family was part of that movement and growth. I enjoyed watching the characters learn about injustice around them, cultural differences, and finding your own path. Very good continuation of the series.

[Tanja · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second to last book of the Kent series deals with the labor union issues and woman’s suffrage of the late 19th century and follows the lives of the 3 Kent brothers Gideon, Matt and Jeremiah as well as Amanda Kent’s widowed daughter in law Julia, whose live becomes intertwined with that of the Kent’s once more through her love affair with Gideon.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an avid fan of John Jake’s I have been working to read through the entire Kent family series. Admittedly, this book was one of the most difficult to read. It was hard to watch some of the characters I had loved (such as Margaret Kent) deteriorate over the course of the novel. Despite the depressing story lines, I really enjoyed this book and am excited to finish the series.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not great. Margaret’s transformation from a feisty and loving young woman into an evil, spiteful, despicable person was never explained and remained unbelievable. Also, the prolonged focus on Margaret’s manipulations, Gideon’s angst, and Evelyn’s cluelessness were just too much. Disappointed in this book.

[Allen Witt · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, this is #2 in my list of favorite Kent Family books. But, I have one more to go. BTW, if you are considering reading this book as a stand alone, do not do it. You will get do much more from starting with the first book. Let me repeat that these are not great literature. But they do have fully drawn characters and are an addictive/enjoyable voyage through US history..

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best of the series! Very social and politically conscious and filled to the brim with interesting characters and action, Jakes hit his stride with this seventh part of the series. While it was a long book, it never felt like anything was out of place here and the series could have easily ended here.

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished this book and have started on the 8th one. I'm going to be disappointed when it is over. I can see how Jakes is starting to bring things together a little bit more in this book. I am really like Julia and the change she has made since the previous book. The history still enthralls me.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

The civil war has ended. All three brothers have made it out alive. Their father has passed. Jeramiah has become a gun fighter. Matt is living in Europe and has become a well regarded artist. Gideon is working for the family newspaper. The railroads crisscross the nation making westward expansion easier. Michael Boyle is mentioned as a successful owner of stores at railroad stops.