Mariana’s Knight: The Revenge of Henry Fountain
In the first days of February 1896, well-known litigator Albert Fountain and his eight-year-old son, Henry, disappeared. They had traveled from their home along the Tularosa Basin in New Mexico so Albert could attend a grand jury meeting. He took his son along at the urging of his wife, Mariana. After the grand jury meeting, Albert and Henry started the long wagon-ride back home, but history lost track of the Fountains at that point. They never returned home, and no one has ever uncovered the truth about what happened to them. Their bodies were never found.
Michael Farmer’s novel risks one theory about their final days. It’s not entirely implausible, though likelihood is low that this is how it played out. Ultimately it does not matter, as Farmer’s writing encourages readers to find a connection to the characters and want to read through to the end to see how the story unfolds. Recommended for readers who enjoy stories of the Wild West in late 19th-century America as well as for readers who appreciate a good theory surrounding historical events.
