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Redcoat Kindle Edition

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 3,353 ratings

It is autumn 1777, and the cradle of liberty, Philadelphia, has fallen to the British. Yet the true battle has only just begun.

On both sides, loyalties are tested and families torn asunder. The young Redcoat Sam Gilpin has seen his brother die. Now he must choose between duty to a distant king and the call of his own conscience. And for the men and women of the prosperous Becket family, the Revolution brings bitter conflict between those loyal to the crown and those with dreams of liberty.

Soon, across the fields of ice and blood in a place called Valley Forge, history will be rewritten, changing the lives and fortunes of these men and women forever.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The British occupation of Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War brings together two unlikely comrades, redcoat Sam Gilpin and rebel Jonathon Becket. The story of these two young men evocatively illustrates the divided loyalties that characterized this war. Though both men love the same woman, the true heroine of the novel is Becket's patriot sister, Martha Crowl. She commands the attention of the reader with every appearance. The grim and gory reality of war is skillfully played out against the gaiety of Loyalist society. Cornwell's fictional characters mingle well with the historical figures of the time. A worthwhile effort by Cornwell, known for his historical adventures, the Richard Sharpe series. Recommended. Lydia Burruel Johnson, Mesa P.L., Ariz.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Arousing adventure yarn. . . [The] battle scenes are excellent." -- Washington Post Book World

"Electrifying . . . [Cornwell] is a master at describing battles as observed by the participants." --
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Cornwell's command of historical detail is one of the great strengths of his writing..." --
Washington Times

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07RDKJJV9
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (July 30, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 30, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 6397 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 506 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 3,353 ratings

About the author

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Bernard Cornwell
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Bernard Cornwell was born in London and worked in television until he met his American wife and moved to the US. Denied a work permit, he wrote a novel and has been writing ever since.

A master storyteller with a passion for history, his current bestselling series, THE LAST KINGDOM, is centred around the creation of England. It is also a major TV series on Netflix, with Bernard playing a cameo role in season three. The fourth season is currently being filmed.

He is also the author of THE GRAIL QUEST series, set in the Hundred Years’ War, THE WARLORD chronicles, set in Arthurian Britain, a number of standalone novels, one non-fiction work on Waterloo and the series with which he began, the SHARPE series.

For exciting news, tour and publication details, and exclusive content from Bernard visit www.bernardcornwell.net and like his author page on Facebook/Bernard.Cornwell

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
3,353 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book an enjoyable and gripping read. They praise the story quality as great and excellent, with real historical details thrown in. The book captures the turmoil of the Revolutionary War without being overly patriotic.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

58 customers mention "Readability"53 positive5 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable and engaging. They appreciate the British perspective and happy ending. The story is described as an exciting adventure novel with plenty of intrigue, strong characters, and a happy ending. Readers praise the author's writing style as well-written and enjoyable.

"...addressing a fascinating period of history, there is also plenty of intrigue to it and it is just an all-around great story, avoiding predictability..." Read more

"An exciting adventure that captures the turmoil of the war of independence without all the patriotic ferver claptrap that so often accompanies this..." Read more

"...His two main female characters are strong and clever, which is refreshing in a novel about war...." Read more

"...However, I learned a lot from reading this book as well as enjoying the story behind it. The attitude of the Britsh toward the war was interesting...." Read more

19 customers mention "Story quality"19 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the story quality. They find it engaging and easy to read. The book is described as an excellent historical novel by Cornwell, who is considered one of the best writers of historical fiction. Readers mention that the story is gripping and easy to believe.

"...just an all-around great story, avoiding predictability and just pleasant to read. I found myself wondering why it hasn't been made into a movie...." Read more

"...The attitude of the Britsh toward the war was interesting. Easy to believe. I'm sure the colonies didn't seem like much at that time...." Read more

"...This is one of his earlier works, but it's still historical fiction at it's best." Read more

"The master storyteller again takes the reader into the past to see life as a soldier The British soldier is the hero of many of his tales, from..." Read more

14 customers mention "Historical accuracy"14 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the historical accuracy of the book. They find it an excellent Revolutionary story that captures the turmoil of the war without all the patriotic overtones. The information is rich about the Revolutionary War, which is helpful for writers. The characters and plot show a more complex and nuanced version of the American Revolution. The book fulfills its promise as a great tale and is thoroughly enjoyable.

"...Apart from addressing a fascinating period of history, there is also plenty of intrigue to it and it is just an all-around great story, avoiding..." Read more

"An exciting adventure that captures the turmoil of the war of independence without all the patriotic ferver claptrap that so often accompanies this..." Read more

"...The book takes some unexpected twists, which will definitely get your heart racing. I wish he had written more books on the Revolution...." Read more

"Born and raised in Pennsylvania but this book brought the trials of the War for Independence and the fighting around Philadelphia into clarity...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2019
    What an enjoyable book. I have been a fan of Bernard Cornwell for some time, but this was the first book of his which I have read which wasn't part of the Sharpe series. Apart from addressing a fascinating period of history, there is also plenty of intrigue to it and it is just an all-around great story, avoiding predictability and just pleasant to read. I found myself wondering why it hasn't been made into a movie. It would blow the Patriot out of the water. Thank you, Mr. Cornwall, for once again providing some much-needed reading pleasure!
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2012
    An exciting adventure that captures the turmoil of the war of independence without all the patriotic ferver claptrap that so often accompanies this subject.
    This novel allows us to see the events through the eyes of the youth of the time. It also highlights the absurd mentality of colonialism of the 18th century.
    The novel also illustrates the innocence and idealism that followers have for a cause, which they sometimes follow blindly and without question.
    The charachters also depict the darker side of the human soul through anti heros who only manipulated both sides of the struggle for their own ends, and not the higher causes that the majority believed
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2025
    Came on time and was in good shape. Gently used.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2019
    As a follow up to reading "The Fort", I wanted to see how Cornwell would treat another venue of the American Revolution. He did not disappoint. He doesn't hold back on the horrendous cost of war, which I actually appreciate. His characters will reel you in. His two main female characters are strong and clever, which is refreshing in a novel about war. His descriptions of the landscapes will paint wonderful paintings in your head as you just wish you could go back in a time machine to see them. The book takes some unexpected twists, which will definitely get your heart racing. I wish he had written more books on the Revolution. He does them awfully well!
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2011
    I have loved everything Cornwell has written, and like this book too, but I was a little disappointed with the amount of spelling and typing mistakes. It looks more like it is has been converted from a scanned copy of the original using OCR than a real digital version. I haven't read the physical book to see if those errors exist there too (I am not that anal) but surely eBooks should be coming from the same source as the physical copies.

    Getting a 4 out of 5 as I don't want my score to detract from what is otherwise a good read.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2024
    My daughter got a A on her report so I guess it was a good buy
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2023
    An average read for me, and for me a deceiving title. The story, titled Redcoat, is mostly about British Officers during the Revolutionary war, and their love lives while occupying Philadelphia.

    Redcoats fighting a war, not so much.
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2013
    Bernard Cornwell is always a good read. However, I learned a lot from reading this book as well as enjoying the story behind it. The attitude of the Britsh toward the war was interesting. Easy to believe. I'm sure the colonies didn't seem like much at that time. But also the attitude of the colonists which was also interesting. I had always thought they were all 100% behind the separation from England. I have read several books and taken a class on the American Colonies lately all of which have given me more insight into this pivotal time in our nation's history.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • harad
    5.0 out of 5 stars A bit tok many characters, but they seemed real.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 15, 2024
    I like the way Cornwell creates drama from historical events and brings to life how it feels like during the time, without being a dry textbook. The story has quite a few characters and storylines that sometimes seem jumbled up, but the characters seemed to be consistent.
    Overall an enjoyable read, although I do prefer the other historical fiction that he wrote , Sharpe.
  • Stephen N. Prince
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant story of the American Revolution
    Reviewed in Germany on December 6, 2020
    The first of two books Bernard Cornwell wrote of the American War of Independence, the second being 'The Fort', written much later. It is a pity that he hasn't returned more often to this fascinating era - he obviously knows the history well. I bought the Kindle version although I already have the hard back, because I like the gadgets in Kindle - the only thing I missed are the maps that Mr. Cornwell provided for the printed versions. Brilliant book, a must for all Cornwell fans.
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on April 15, 2018
    Enjoyed the book immensely.
  • Christiane GERRARD
    4.0 out of 5 stars Histoire du passé
    Reviewed in France on October 29, 2018
    Lecture de loisir, bien aimé
  • Cesar Guardamino
    4.0 out of 5 stars simple reading interesting english side
    Reviewed in Spain on November 10, 2014
    Bernard is neutral not favoring neither loyalist nor revolutionaries personal interest prevails in the war course interesting till last line

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