I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

New Release! Red Clay, Running Waters by Leslie K. Simmons is a biographical novel of John Ridge, a Cherokee leader in the years running up to the Trail of Tears.

John Ridge is a fascinating, complicated character. The son of a wealthy, respected Cherokee man, John was sent to a missionary school in New England for an education. His brilliance was readily evident, as was his pride in his heritage and reluctance to completely embrace Christianity if it meant giving up his own religion. While at school, he fell in love with Sarah Northrup, the daughter of the school’s steward. Despite the public outcry, they were married and returned to the Cherokee nation in Georgia, where John took up his life’s work, defending the rights of his people.

This is a heartbreaking story. The deck was stacked against him from the beginning. Readers know how the story will end for the Cherokee of the time. But this meticulously researched novel takes the reader deep into the process, bringing home the cruelty of the Georgia government and the hypocrisy and indifference of the national government. (Not to mention the nastiness and duplicity of Andrew Jackson.)

The novel is long, and although steadily paced, it isn’t a quick read or an easy one. The issue of injustice against the Native Americans is intertwined with that of slavery. There is not only oppression of the Cherokee by Whites, but also internecine disputes among the Cherokee. The love between John and Sarah gives them both strength to deal with tribulation and disappointment, but also serves as another struggle for John as he fears he has not given Sarah the comfortable life he’d wanted to provide.

Fans of historical fiction, biographical fiction, and Native American fiction should enjoy this impressive debut.