Northwest Passage (novel)

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Northwest Passage

First edition cover
Author	Kenneth Roberts
Language	English
Genre	Historical fiction
Publisher	Doubleday
Publication date	1937
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback)
Pages	734pp
OCLC	48577415
Dewey Decimal	813/.52 21
LC Class	PS3535.O176 N6 2001

Northwest Passage is an historical novel by Kenneth Roberts, published in 1937. Told through the eyes of primary character Langdon Towne, much of the novel follows the exploits and character of Robert Rogers, the leader of Rogers' Rangers, who were a colonial force fighting with the British during the French and Indian War.

Structurally, Northwest Passage is divided into halves. The first half is a carefully researched, day-by-day recreation of the raid by Rogers' Rangers on the Indian village at Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec (or Saint Francis, to the Americans troops), a settlement of the Abenakis, an American Indian tribe. The second half of the novel covers Rogers' later life in London, England, and Fort Michilimackinac, Michigan. Roberts' decision to cover the novel's material in two distinct halves followed the actual trajectory of Rogers' life.

The book later served as the basis for a 1940 film starring Spencer Tracy and a 1958-59 TV show on NBC starring Keith Larsen and Buddy Ebsen.