Helpful Score: 4
The author continues the story of THE TORY WIDOW in this novel set during the American Revolution in 1777. Anne, the widow of a British Loyalist living in New York town, has now become part of the rebel network of spies for the colonies' "just cause". She becomes embedded in the caravan following General Burgoyne's army, passing snippets of information to the colonial rebel she has come to love. Through Jack Hampton, a colonial sharpshooter/scout we learn many interesting facts about how the militia fought (bullet blocks, priming horns, guerrilla warfare). Chapters carry us alternately through British encampments and the less refined workings of the Continental army. Impeccable research allows us to experience the individual hardships and losses caused by the politics of the day. With meticulous detail, Blevins recreates the activities of an army on the move along the Hudson and the gritty realism of battles and skirmishes from the perspective of both sides. There are moments of dangerous intrigue in an occupied Philadelphia and the ravages of the infamous Valley Forge winter.
I came to care deeply for the main characters as I followed their fateful struggle for liberty and their hope of a shared life after independence.
I love reading historical fiction because of writers like Ms Blevins, where battlefields and the names of historical figures I only knew in passing, become real and unforgettable.
I came to care deeply for the main characters as I followed their fateful struggle for liberty and their hope of a shared life after independence.
I love reading historical fiction because of writers like Ms Blevins, where battlefields and the names of historical figures I only knew in passing, become real and unforgettable.
