Follansbee Pond Secrets

On an August day in 1858, Myrna Duffney, hunting guide and schoolmarm, leads an expedition of famous Boston intellectuals to an encampment on Follansbee Pond in the Adirondacks, later dubbed the ‘Philosophers Camp.’ The story follows Myrna’s exploits and adventures from North Elba to Boston.

Along the way, she crosses paths with abolitionists, suffragists and a motley assortment of other characters. There is an explosion of deep discovery, wild intrigue and passionate love relationships in the air, with Myrna in the thick of it.

Barbara’s Delaney’s Follansbee Pond Secrets is a smashing good read, a story chocked with a swirl of well- known historical figures and momentous events affecting the mid-19th century Adirondacks, notably the famous Philosophers’ Camp at Follensby Pond in 1858, seen through the coming of age eyes of a young backcountry woman, a crack shot with a sharp mind. A terrific blend of solid history and a rollicking adventure.’’

—Fred LeBrun, Albany Times Union

Barbara Delaney’s newest tale invites us to share in the moving story of a young woman living in a rugged mountain community at the edge of the Adirondack wilderness. Myrna Duffney’s coming of age takes place in the twilight of America’s sad experience with human slavery.

Delaney’s story is an intriguing story within a story. Her details of the customs and tradition of the hardscrabble lifestyle of the Adirondacks go well beyond just the tale of a bygone generation.

—Jack McEneny, historian, author and former state assemblyman