The Gold-Laced Coat

I was given a copy of The Gold-Laced Coat by Helen Fuller Orton for Christmas by my neighbors. The wrote on the inside "This book was required reading when we were in the third grade (1959)! Local history and all!" I deeply enjoy the company of my neighbors, so I was deeply excited to read this book.

The Gold-Laced Coat is set the Niagara Frontier while the French were running the fur trade from what we now call Old Fort Niagara. If you ever visit Niagara Falls, I would recommend visiting the fort, about 15 miles away too, especially if you have read this book. The story begins with Phillipe, a young French boy, arriving to stay with his father, a soldier, at Fort Niagara.

The plot of the story moves forward and provides us with explanations of how the Indians traded with the French, how the people of the frontier traveled through the region, relationships between the French, Indians, and the English. The story moves forward through history from there (I don't want to give too much away to those who are not history buffs).

I enjoyed this reading because of the people who gave it to me and because it was a great and accurate piece of historical fiction. I'm not sure that I would give it to a third grader to read; I thought the level might be a bit higher. However, I intend to pass it along to my mother who visited me in Niagara Falls this summer and went to the fort with me.