Krishna
We have reviewed several books from several series of this author, of whom, we admit, we are fond.
For instance, we have reviewed the excellent Arthurian trilogy ending in Excaliber, Saxon Stories (last book reviewed is War Of The Wolf) and many others. This is a standalone novel, but equally fascinating, with the trademark tension and adventure of Cornwell showing through clearly.
Starts with an attack by red coated soldiers to an enemy and private Sam Gilpin is a part of the army.
Meanwhile Jonathan Pecket, a crippled son of a loyalist, goes to protect his father’s business from being looted as the city is rushing about in a panic upon hearing of the Redcoat attack. He and his father are loyalists and therefore glad that England is at last taking action against the Whigs to take back its rightful colonies. When he wants to leave and join the rebels, his sister asks him to stay and be a spy, and that way he will be of more use to the rebels.
Meanwhile Sam’s brother Nate is pursued relentlessly by an older, married girl and plans to run away. Sam dissuades that idea just in time as the Captain of the army – a mean Captain Scammel – finds out and warns Sam that if Nate steals his whore, he will be whipped – as deserters from the army would anyway be – and to ensure that his brother behaves.
Meanwhile the English army majors find that they are very short of ammunition, and the situation is hopeless. A Captain, Vance, with grave danger to himself, brings in three wagons of ammunition – all that survived when a large convoy was ambushed by the rebels under Washington.
Philadelphia is filled by hopeful Tories who want England to defeat the rebels and rebel supporters. Even in the Becket house, Abe and sister Martha Crowl are Tories whereas nephew Jonathan and his sister are with the rebels who seek independence “under that Washington”
When Abe provides provisions for the British and sends Jonathan, he deserts and goes to Washington’s army and Abe is beside himself with anger at the treachery. His argument that the ragtag rebels are no match for the disciplined British force and that even if the rebels win, they will lose their biggest trading partner – the British – are interesting. He asks, ‘Who will buy our products now? The French?’ with derision.
Meanwhile Sam and Nate are troubled by the atrocities of certain people in the British army.
Nate still plans to run away but they are surprised against their instincts by a sudden attack by Washington’s troops from behind the fog that had settled in. Jonathan is on the other side, fighting in the same battle. Sam is reluctant to run with Nate and tries to persuade him not to go.
But in a surprise attack by the Americans, Nate and Sam are captured and set to work on looking after Jonathan, who is lying wounded in the battle.
Meanwhile the British are facing almost certain defeat in spite of fighting bravely. When the British are about to be vanquished, Nate almost persuades Sam to get him a horse to escape from the British and Jonathan agrees to help him. However, the last minute victory of the British increases Nate’s desperation – he tries to flee and is shot in the back and killed by Scammel who had a grudge in Nate trying to run away with his girl earlier. This breaks Sam who just runs off on the horse, after punching Scammel senseless.
But Scammel gets him and is about to lash him senseless when Vance rescues him and makes him his own assistant. Vance, who is the deputy of Sir Richard Howe, likes Sam.
Sam hears of Howe’s plan to lull the Americans into a false sense of security and attack the forts and blurts it out to Marta. Incidentally Marta plays up to Vance who is fully infatuated with her, in order to learn secrets of the British to pass on to the Americans, and Sam’s inadvertent revealing of the secret proves vital as the British are vanquished by a surprise American attack and a major force that was to form the core of this surprise attack had to surrender.
Now Sam Pecket, Jonathan’s father, is instigated to get Jonathan back – as Jonathan is still his ward until he turns nineteen – and bleed him. This diabolical advise came from the loyalist priest who had visited him. Sam wastes no time and goes with armed escorts to get Jonathan. The idea is to bleed him – he is likely to die in his weakened condition – so that the inheritance he is unable to stop going to Jonathan and thus to support rebel causes of that ‘wretched Washington’. If Jonathan dies, Sam gets to keep all of it.
However, Sam and Jonathan’s girlfriend Caroline decide to save him with Martha’s encouragement. While she is up there with Jonathan, Sam is ambushed by Scammel, his old enemy and a vicious assistant. He barely manages to escape with Caroline.
He learns that Caroline and Jonathan are going to escape, with Sam’s help from Philly where Jonathan will rejoin the rebel army as a clerk.
But Jonthan is betrayed and shipped off to England. He realizes too late that he is trapped in the ship and not wanting to go to England, he jumps off, just makes it to land, but cruelly drowned deliberately by the ship mates who came to look for him in a dinghy. It is a truly heartbreaking scene.
Marta is furious and expresses her disgust at the pure murder of her brother forcefully.
Meanwhile Sir Henry takes over from Howe. He believes in smashing the Americans forcefully, and is of a different character from the measured Howe, who believes in persuading the Yankees to see the benefit of staying in the Empire.
Vane had a hand in betraying and delivering Jonathan to the ship and now he goes behind Howe’s back and lets Sir Henry know that there are traitors in the camp who are revealing attack plans to the rebels. Sir Henry, impressed, plans to make Vane his aid, lifting him up to near the top of the hierarchy.
Meanwhile, having bumped into Caroline once in a stable with Sam – when sam introduces her as a servant maid – he then finds that she is a rebel sympathizer and probably a messenger spy. He starts suspecting Sam. He sends her a message purporting it to be from Sam to meet him in the stables. The message reaches her just as the body of Jonathan is found and cremated and so she decides not to go that day.
However, Sam stumbles into the stable to get a horse to ‘play soldiers’ with a fellow army man and is shocked to see Vance and Scammel together. Vance,after asking Sam to help him trap Caroline and being refused, bluntly tells Scammel that Sam is henceforth his property, and leaves. Sam knows he is facing certain death in the hands of Scammel but in a breathtaking confrontation, uses his skills and a cunning plan to outwit the latter and emerge a victor.
But now he is on the run as no one will protect him, not even Sir Howe. The only course open to him is to cross over to the rebels – even though every fibre of his body wants to simply go back to England – his home, his countryside that he loves.
Another tense period where he is almost captured before he can cross the river to safety – this is pure Cornwell – the build up, the descriptions, the emotions – all come through clearly and beautifully.
In the last forty pages, the story moves so fast that this book demands that you read it all in one sitting.
For Bernard Cornwell fans and others who want a great adventure story that is not too long, this one is a treat.
8/10
== Krishna