Thirteen Moons

Thirteen Moons (2006), a historical novel by Charles Frazier, tells the story of an orphan who finds love and acceptance with the Cherokee people after he is sent on a journey through their territory. It is roughly based on a Confederate Army officer who is the only white man to ever serve as an Indian Chief. A bestselling, award-winning author, Frazier is best known for his debut novel, Cold Mountain. Before writing full-time, Frazier taught English at North Carolina State University and the University of Colorado Boulder. Thirteen Moons is his second novel.

Will Cooper is an elderly man who once served as a frontiersman with the Cherokee Nation. Knowing that he will die soon, he reminisces about the past. As the novel opens, Will receives an unexpected telephone call from Claire. Claire meant everything to him when he was a young man, but he let her slip away and he has regretted it ever since. This may be his last chance to speak with her before he dies.

Will’s conversation with Claire triggers strong memories of the past when he found his sense of self-worth living with the Cherokee people. Having met Claire while he lived on Cherokee land, Will thinks back to how he ended up on Cherokee land in the first place. It is a long story and the memories comprise much of the novel.



The narrative jumps back in time to when Will, only twelve, is sold into indentured servitude. This means that he must work for the same employer for a set period. There is no escaping the contract, no matter how much his employer treats him like a slave. When Will’s employer orders him to manage a trading post in the middle of Cherokee land, Will has no choice but to follow orders and find his way to the trading post.

It is unsafe for a boy like Will to spend too long wandering the land. To traverse the wilderness quickly, he takes his favorite horse, Waverley. However, one night, a thief steals the horse, leaving Will stranded. Unable to make it to the trading post without transport, Will heads off to look for his horse.

Will finds Waverley with Featherstone, a notorious horse thief who doesn’t plan to return Waverley. He challenges Will to a game of chance. If Will wins the game, Featherstone will give him enough money to buy a new horse. If he loses, he must leave empty-handed and never come back.



Will plays the game and somehow beats Featherstone. Featherstone claims that Will cheated, and he won’t accept the result. The argument draws attention from the rest of the tribe, which includes Claire. Will thinks Claire is the most beautiful girl he has seen. She distracts him from Featherstone’s wrath. Featherstone, however, sees that Will fancies Claire; enraged, he chases Will from the group without settling the game of chance.

Eventually finding the trading post, Will settles in quickly, impressing everyone with his aptitude for sales and business management. The trading post owner leaves him the business when he dies and, for the first time, Will has money. He buys his way out of servitude and uses the rest of the money to build a community library.

One day, Bear, a Cherokee chief, visits the trading post. He wants to adopt Will, and he invites him to live with the tribe. Will thrives with the tribe, remembering what it is like to have a family. It is only a matter of time before he sees Claire again, and he discovers that she is Featherstone’s daughter. She isn’t allowed to talk to him until Featherstone agrees to forgive Will for beating him at his own game. He even gives Will back his horse.



Everything is going well for Will until Claire drops a bombshell on him. She isn’t Featherstone’s daughter; she’s his wife. Will can never marry Claire because it is impossible for her to leave Featherstone. Knowing that he won’t marry anyone else, Will resigns himself to the bachelor life.

Life deteriorates when the army invades and the Cherokee people scatter. Claire disappears and Will assumes that he won’t ever see her again. The army pushes the tribe further back until they are forced to live on land miles away from their original settlement. Although many Indians leave, others rally around Bear. Will stays with Bear and helps him rebuild what is left of the scattered tribe.

One day, Will sees Claire again. A mother now, she doesn’t care about Will anymore. She admits that she loved him once, but it doesn’t matter now. Accepting that it is over between him and Claire, Will leaves the tribal lands for good. He doesn’t know where he’s going—only that he can’t stay anywhere near Claire.



Fate throws Claire and Will together again many years later. Featherstone is dead and Will finally plucks up the courage to propose to Claire. She rejects his proposal because she doesn’t love him anymore and it’s too late to change the past. Will vows to stay in touch with her and moves away again. When the novel ends, Will reflects on how his life never turned out the way he hoped, and he never found love.