I am always on the lookout for books that would be great as book club books. That special kind of book that will please the target audience while also challenging them. A book that is easy to want to read even if it isn’t always easy to read. A book that is well-written and thought-provoking. Even better if it has unexpected twists or makes me think about things from a perspective I wasn’t naturally bent towards. But most of all, it must be a book worthy of my time and energy. The Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery may be just such a book.
“When asked in 1997 how she came to write The Reb and the Redcoats, Miss Savery wrote, ‘I do recall, shortly before writing The Reb and the Redcoats, that I had been reading an account of Major Andre’s death and also an account of the fate of some American prisoners of war in England. They escaped from the prison quarters, but could find no way of getting back to the United States. Destitute and starving, they were captured by a kind-hearted sergeant and his party. He was so sorry for them that he took them all to the nearest inn and gave them a good dinner before returning them to their prison quarters. This is all I can tell you about the origin of the book. The next thing I knew I was in the schoolroom with Charlotte, who was writing her copy before George burst in to call her down to see Old Harry and the rebel doll.’” – from About the Author at the end of the book
As an American, when I think of children’s books about the Revolutionary War, I think of things like Johnny Tremain, books about Paul Revere’s ride, or books about the Founding Fathers. I would never have thought of a book about English children living on an estate in England where American rebel prisoners of war were being held. And I wasn’t expecting to be rooting for the Redcoats in a book about the American Revolution. But there it is.
In Enemy Brothers, Savery wrote about a German character who learned to love being English. In The Reb and the Redcoats, she writes about an American character who learns to love his English captors while the English characters learn to love their American rebel. I love how Savery’s books help us to consider things from an entirely different point of view.
This 203-page story is followed by a historical note and a little bit about the author. Bethlehem Books rates the reading level as being appropriate for children aged 10 and up, and I would concur. The story is exciting, wholesome, and fun to read. And it forces us to consider a completely different point of view about the American Revolution without damaging our patriotic sensibilities. This very human story is a joy to read and would be excellent for a meaty book club discussion.
It has always been the sacred duty of a captured American soldier to escape if he can. Opposing forces often offer American soldiers (officers in particular) “parole,” which the American soldier is duty-bound to refuse. Parole is a promise from the soldier that he will not attempt to escape in exchange for limited freedoms and luxuries during confinement. In The Reb and the Redcoats, Randal Baltimore, a fifteen-year-old junior officer of the American Colonial Rebels, is captured at sea and imprisoned by the English Redcoats. Intelligent, a natural-born leader, and creative, Baltimore makes many escape attempts and keeps the English on their toes.
“This fellow, young as he is, has given more trouble than the rest of them put together. It is known now that he contrived to secrete the important dispatches that the leader of their party was taking to France. What’s more, within a day or two of their imprisonment in the discussed militia barracks near Gatwick Hall, he escaped, released his leader and three others, and put them in touch with French smugglers. Those treasonable dispatches got safely to France with no more delay than they might have had if the original French ship had run into bad weather….”
During each of his three escape attempts, Randal Baltimore is able to release some of the rebels and get them to the Dutch and French smugglers. Each time, however, he is held back out of loyalty to his feeble and clumsy friend Tim Wingate. After his third escape attempt, the English separated Wingate and Baltimore by transferring Randal to the oversight of Captain Templeton at the White Priory. Captain Templeton was wounded in America and is convalescing at his parent’s home in England, where his sister, Mrs. Darrington, and her four children are visiting. Mrs. Darrington’s husband is in America fighting the Rebels, and many of the house staff have brothers and sons also in the war.
The English sense of fair play and noble conduct bids them to treat officer prisoners of war with significant respect and a fair bit of luxury and comfort. Because of his repeated escape attempts, however, Uncle Laurence (Captain Templeton) retains the Reb in a room that is much like a prison cell. And the house staff are mostly unconcerned with Randal’s needs. When he makes yet another escape attempt and is injured in the process, things change. Randal becomes ill and is in need of medical attention. It is at this point that Mrs. Darrington takes charge of his care and treats him like a beloved son.
Throughout the twists and turns of the novel, the Reb and the Redcoats (the family of the White Priory) become quite close. Everyone knows the Reb will try to escape again, but in the days they are together, a lifelong bond is formed.
This story is very well-crafted, and it is a joy to read. It is fast-moving and pretty un-put-down-able. Boys and girls alike will enjoy the intrigue and the story. The audio is narrated by Karen Savage and fun to listen to. You can learn more about the book at Biblioguides.