Mysterious nineteenth-century letters found in the attic of her city brownstone lead Anna and her restless granddaughter, Emma, on a search to discover family secrets in the town of Griffin. To their surprise, the elusive town has all but vanished, reclaimed by the Adirondack forest. What was initially a larky jaunt becomes a puzzle. Anna and Emma's chance encounter with Miles, a lone fisherman on the bans of the East Branch near Griffin, quickly cascades into a series of unanticipated events. Who could have guessed that the mild bump of their worlds would knock Anna and Miles' lives off course? The letters set in motion an unforeseen journey along the green verdant paths and rushing lucid streams sequestered in the backwoods of the Adirondacks. Some trails lead them further into the past; others beckon to a still-occluded future; and then there are promising byways leading nowhere-or, like mistaken deer trails, only divined by the silent furry creatures that live hidden in the forest. Anna's comfortable life as an Albany florist and Miles' simple lifestyle as an Adirondack woodsman are knocked askew by seemly innocent revelations. Can Anna and Miles escape from their time-hardened cocoons? What will Anna and Miles ultimately find in Griffin? "In Finding Griffin, the past and present overlap with intriguing congruencies. Like photographic transparencies, sepia-toned suffragists are layered-over by color images of 1970s-era war protestors, the love-struck Luke of 19th-century Griffin foreshadows his 21st-century Vietnam Vet counterpart; a Victorian-era painter and a contemporary photographer are mesmerized by the same kaleidoscope of butterflies. Delaney shows us that throughout the changes in history there exist the constants that bind one generation to the next and lend meaning to each era's events." -Persis Granger, author of Adirondack Gold

Finding Griffin

Barbara Delaney

The Troy Book Makers

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

Follansbee Pond Secrets

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Barbara Delaney. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Barbara Delaney

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Barbara Delaney. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Finding Griffin

Follansbee Pond Secrets