Born to a French trader and a Lenape woman. Reared by Quakers. As the French & Indian War rages, one man strives for peace-between Pennsylvania and its Indian tribes, and between his own heart and mind.
As 1756 dawns, Isaac Lukens leaves the Pennsylvania wilderness after two years with the Lenape people. He’s failed to find the families of his birth parents, a French trader and a Lenape woman. Worse, the tribe he’s lived with, having rejected his peacemaking efforts, now ravages frontier settlements in retaliation. When he arrives in the Quaker community where he was reared, questions taunt him: Who is he-white man or Lenape? And where does he belong?
Elisabeth Alden, Isaac’s dearest childhood friend, is left to tend her young siblings alone upon her father’s death. Despite Isaac’s promise to care for her and the children, she battles resentment toward him for having left, while an unspeakable tragedy and her discordant courtship with a prominent Philadelphian weigh on her as well.
Elisabeth must marry or lose guardianship of her siblings, and her options threaten the life with her and the children that Isaac has come to love. Faced with Elisabeth’s hesitancy to marry, the prospect of finding his family at last, and the opportunity to assist in the peace process between Pennsylvania and its Indian tribes, Isaac must determine where-and to whom-the Almighty has called him.
A Cord of Three Strands weaves fact and fiction into a captivating portrayal of Colonial-era Quaker life, including Friends’ roles in Pennsylvania Indian relations and in refuting slavery.
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Sexual Content - 2/5
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Violence - 2/5
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Language - 0/5
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Drugs and Alcohol - 1/5
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Summary
Take a journey back in time to the early colonial days in Pennsylvania with Christy Distler’s novel A cord of Three Strands. This historical Christian Fiction follows the lives of Isaac and Elisabeth and takes alternating points of view between these two characters. Isaac is half Lenape Indian. When his parents died of an illness, he was taken in by a Quaker family that lived near Elisabeth’s home. They became the best of friends. Then, Isaac left. He went to find his people to do what he could to help maintain the peace between the colonist and Indians. However, tension continued to rise and Isaac was forced to flee for fear of his life. He returned home. Elisabeth is glad to see him, but she isn’t sure she can forgive him. Can they pick up where they left off seven years ago?
Being a big fan of historical fiction, I found this novel intriguing. It was eye opening to get a look into both sides of the conflict between the settlers and the Native Americans. I also learned a lot about the Quakers and their way of life. The accents in the dialogue are heavy, but I didn’t find it confusing or bothersome. This is a Christian Fiction novel and is clean. There is a bit of violence in the story, but is is not too graphic. If you like Christian Romance and/or Historical Fiction, I highly recommend this book for you.