The Seekers

The Seekers is a historical novel written by John Jakes and originally published in 1975. It is book three in a series known as The Kent Family Chronicles or the American Bicentennial Series. The novel mixes fictional characters with historical events and figures, as it narrates the story of the United States of America from 1794 through 1814. The novel was made into a television film by Operation Prime Time and premiered on HBO on July 8, 1979. Plot summary The story begins in 1794, at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, in the Northwest Territory. Abraham Kent, the son of Philip Kent and Anne Ware, leads a cavalry charge in the battle, but misses a chance to kill Tecumseh. Two years later, Abraham marries his stepsister, Elizabeth Fletcher, and they purchase a tract of land on the Great Miami River, near Fort Hamilton, where begins farming corn. They have a son, Jared Adam, born in 1798. Elizabeth does not enjoy their new life and they plan to move to a more populated area. Just before the move, Elizabeth is killed by a Shawnee Indian. Abraham, distraught, sells the farm and makes his way back to Boston with Jared to learn that his father Philip has recently died. Abraham meets his half-brother Gilbert and takes a job in the family business, the Kent and Son printers, but the trauma of Elizabeth's death makes him unsuccessful. Abraham decides to leave, but when he tries to take his son with him, his sister-in-law, Harriet, refuses. Abraham pushes her down the stairs, causing her to go into premature labor. Gilbert expels Abraham from his house without Jared, and Harriet gives birth to a daughter, Amanda. Abraham is never seen again.