The Searchers

Written back in 1954, by author and screenwriter Alan LeMay, following scrupulous research into many of the surviving accounts of Indian abductions of white pioneer women and children along the frontier of the South Western expansion of the United States, this is the fictional account of the epic quest of two driven and determined white men, an uncle and an adopted brother (after his own family have been massacred) to find 9 year old Debbie Edwards who has been abducted following a murder raid on the family ranch by a Comanche war party.The sheer power of the novel was certainly not lost on movie director John Ford, who would make the story the basis of his (belatedly) critically acclaimed film ‘The Searchers’, and this is a power which resonates to the present day. This is not just another dated pulp western novel which belongs to a bye gone age. Rather it is a work of great and enduring quality, which gives the reader a real insight into what it must have been like to have lived along the frontier in those violent and dangerous times, whether they were optimistic white settlers intent on building a better future for their families, and prepared to live with the risks, or angry and threatened Indian tribes, faced with the progressive annexation of their ancestral homelands and the mass slaughter of the buffalo herds, on which so much of their livelihood depended.Today’s reader is likely to come to LeMay’s book through having discovered and enjoyed Ford’s film, most likely on television, and having noted that this wasn’t ‘just another Western’, and that Wayne’s character, the very disturbed Ethan Edwards, is possibly Wayne’s most accomplished and nuanced role in his long cinematic career.So how does it differ from the film? Well, part of the power of Ford’s film was that he cleverly chose not to show the violence, leaving the cinemagoer to imagine it for himself. LeMay tells you in exacting detail, based on the historical record, the atrocities committed both by the Indians, and by the white men.The quest takes place over a period of 5 years, so there is much more in LeMay than makes it through to the film, and the ending is also different, but just as valid as the one chosen by Ford.John Ford could always spot a good line of dialogue, and, for those familiar with the film, it is these words of LeMays’ that leap out of the printed page, time and again, as the reader progresses through the book, because they are also spoken in the film, word for word, though not necessarily by the same characters as in the original novel.This is a book well worthy not only of being discovered by today’s readers, but also of being re-made as a film, not to eclipse the ‘Fordian interpretation’ that is John Ford’s masterpiece, but to set in modern cinematic terms the sweep, depth and interpretation of the original novel. Clint Eastwood or Kevin Costner take note!

Having been a fan of the John Wayne film it has taken while before I got to read the original story. Obviously there are many variations between the book and film but both stand alone in their brilliance. Le May captures the real West feel in his portrayal of frontier life. The story centres on Martin rather than the John Wayne character, here called Amos rather than E than. The saga of the the search to find Debbie is anguishing and protracted involving many hardships and setbacks before a rather surprising ending. Quite honestly this is one of the best Western novels I have read and one I would definitely recommend.

I have just finished reading this book. It was so good. The film The Searchers is one of my favourites. However the book is better as it can go into so much more detail and would be very long for a film. The plot is slightly different to the film as is so often the case. I can recommend this book. Loved it.

As someone who takes an interest in western literature and in First Nations history, I found this book rewarding. No doubt I have seen the film at some time, but I can't remember it. The book, to my mind stood up well as a story, and as an insight into life on the frontier around 1870s, offering views from both the settlers' and the First nations' viewppoints, with all the misunderstanding involved. Let at captures to harshness of the landscape and attitudes of the time. Along with Dances with Wolves, The Holy Road and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, it makes a contribution to helping to visualise life on the frontier at that time. Now reading Nathaniel Philbrick's The Last Stand, about Custer and Sitting Bull, along with Life Among the Indians by George Catlin. They all seem to fit together somehow to give a wider view of the West.

Brilliant. I have loved the film since I saw it after sitting my 11+ exam in 1957! However, it is rather different (Amos not Ethan, very different ending but I won't spoil it). Very well written, great insight into the minds of both the settlers and Comanche, you have to accept that both their worlds are very different from our own and not make judgements. I cannot praise it highly enough. He has written another book (Unforgiven) also filmed (Burt Lancaster, Audrey Hepburn) with the exact opposite situation (Comanche child adopted by whites: the Comanche want her back). The film is great: I expect to enjoy the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The historical research on which it is based gives it authenticity but it is the relationship between Mart and Amos that holds all together. We feel as if we travel every mile in their relentless journey and are ever more deeply drawn into their few words and eloquent silences. A compelling read. Strongly recommended. Harry Carey Jnr.'s introduction is a welcome bonus but as so often probably better read after the novel than in advance of it.

Heard about this book when listening to Ray Winston on Desert Island Discs who said it was his favourite. Thought it was superbly written and covered many facets of human endurance and determination. Gripping read from the first page to the last. Noticed that the film version is shown as the 10th best Hollywood movie of all time.

I recently watched the film The Searchers,with John Wayne and thought it very dated and poorly acted. So I decided to read the book and found it very entertaining and also gave a lot of factual advice about the North American Indians and their way of life. The book allows a slower and more detailed account of the hunt for the little girl who is taken from her home by the Indians. The only thing I found confusing is that in the film the main character is Ethan but Ethan is another character in book!