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The Scarlet Coat A Tale of the Siege of Yorktown (1896) by Clinton Ross ⭐⭐⭐⭐
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id … pg=GBS.PA1
My book has a name on the front page: Margaret H. Forsythe. The above link is to the google books copy which you can read online. The logo and the name of the publisher is in red ink, though it is not in the scan.
This is an exciting story full of action and even a touch of the Love Bug in the times of the American Revolutionary war. The core characters, Captain Kenneth and Charlotte Jervon (as well as a few other names) were fictional (as was the entire Jervon family, as far as I could tell) but there are tons of real people in the story, too, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Lord Cornwallis and many more generals that they couldn’t fictionalize without making this a lot less historical than it is.
The book follows the happenings of Captain Kenneth in the months that led up to and concluded with the Siege of Yorktown. It revolves around the characters’ experiences during and involving the war. It’s very interesting! It made the viewing of Hamilton so much more enjoyable, because I had just finished reading The Scarlet Coat two days before. I enjoyed the play so much more since the names of the generals and war situation/battle of Yorktown that I just learned about were fresh in my mind. It’s pure coincidence that I had just finished reading the book a few days before.
The thought that it was about the American Revolutionary War, and the unfortunate fact that I know hardly anything about the war besides very famous names, was a little daunting at first, and I thought this one would be over my head. But it worked out just fine! The story is easy to follow, and the war details really don’t matter to the passerby. I suppose one who knows lots about this war might enjoy The Scarlet Cloak more than one who knows nothing, but, that being said, I really liked this book. I think this was the perfect combination of fiction and non-fiction, and you like Kenneth from the start. I liked the way the author wrote, and it was easy to get through.
Oh, by the way, there was a film by this name made in 1955, but, looking at the characters’ names, it looks like it has barely anything to do with the book.
(review originally written July 2, 2020)
