Duffels

In these pages the reader steps into an assorted pack of stories, each like a small cargo carried by the early Dutch traders and later by the Adirondack guides of the New York frontier. The term ‘duffel’ becomes a metaphor for the miscellany of lives, objects and ambitions that drift through the forests, rivers and towns of eighteenth‑ and nineteenth‑century America. From a canoe‑bound youth paddling toward distant tribal camps to a homestead that grows into a bustling sportsmen’s lodge, the tales capture the quiet courage and restless curiosity of people on the edge of the known world.

The collection spans both coasts and the interior, touching on themes of love, ambition, superstition and the unforgiving wilderness. Written with a voice that shifts from the spirited optimism of a younger era to the measured reflection of an older hand, each vignette offers a glimpse into a different facet of human nature. Though the stories cannot be neatly grouped, together they form a vivid quilt of American history, inviting listeners to explore the varied textures of a bygone age.