Shadow Patriots
Lucia St Clair Robson has written an excellent novel of the American Revolution, Shadow Patriots. It's filled with wonderful, well-researched history, some love stories and intrigue. Shadow Patriots is about the spy network set up by George Washington. The insight she shows about the interaction between the two combatant groups is eye-opening. For example, I had not thought about the fact that the people of the revolution and the British lived together in the towns and cities. Ms. Robson also describes the circumstances for both sides in vivid detail.
““The general and I will be billeting here should we find the house suitable.” Andre looked over Kate’s shoulder, taking in the walls laid in yellow milk paint, the plaster ceiling with its frescoes of fruit and flowers, the large paintings of landscapes in heavy guilt frames, the broad marble stairs. “I venture to say the general will find the accommodations quite to his liking.””
He winked at her. Kate feared that between Captain Andre’s charm and General Grey’s menace she would swoon and fill the spot that Lizzie had warmed on the floor.”
The novel deals with the politics and clashes between the two warring groups. The depiction of the way they had to live, the conditions in the jails and the food and clothing that they had to contend with is so well done that you will be glad you were not there, but you will be transported to the time and place in your mind’s eye. Siblings, Kate and Seth Darby are caught up in the fight for independence in spite of their Quaker upbringing. They become “intelligencers” or spies for the Americans, but both have conflicting loyalties to specific individuals from both sides. The interesting side story is the use of a woman as a spy in a time when women were not expected to understand the intricacies of war. The intrigue and danger were real and Ms. Robson tells it in all its pathos. Kate and Seth meet and marry their respective spouses during the conflict and intrigue. The romances are a strategy used to tell the story of a fascinating part of the American Revolution.
Lucia St. Clair Robson was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida. She has been a Peace Corps Volunteer in Venezuela, a teacher in New York City, and a librarian in Annapolis, Maryland. She has also lived in Japan, South Carolina, and Arizona. She now resides near Annapolis, Maryland.
She is the author of Ride the Wind, which made the New York Times best sellers list. It also won the Western Writers of America's Golden Spur Award for Best Historical Novel of the year and was included in the top 100 westerns of the 20th century. Several of her other historical novels have won top awards.
““The general and I will be billeting here should we find the house suitable.” Andre looked over Kate’s shoulder, taking in the walls laid in yellow milk paint, the plaster ceiling with its frescoes of fruit and flowers, the large paintings of landscapes in heavy guilt frames, the broad marble stairs. “I venture to say the general will find the accommodations quite to his liking.””
He winked at her. Kate feared that between Captain Andre’s charm and General Grey’s menace she would swoon and fill the spot that Lizzie had warmed on the floor.”
The novel deals with the politics and clashes between the two warring groups. The depiction of the way they had to live, the conditions in the jails and the food and clothing that they had to contend with is so well done that you will be glad you were not there, but you will be transported to the time and place in your mind’s eye. Siblings, Kate and Seth Darby are caught up in the fight for independence in spite of their Quaker upbringing. They become “intelligencers” or spies for the Americans, but both have conflicting loyalties to specific individuals from both sides. The interesting side story is the use of a woman as a spy in a time when women were not expected to understand the intricacies of war. The intrigue and danger were real and Ms. Robson tells it in all its pathos. Kate and Seth meet and marry their respective spouses during the conflict and intrigue. The romances are a strategy used to tell the story of a fascinating part of the American Revolution.
Lucia St. Clair Robson was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida. She has been a Peace Corps Volunteer in Venezuela, a teacher in New York City, and a librarian in Annapolis, Maryland. She has also lived in Japan, South Carolina, and Arizona. She now resides near Annapolis, Maryland.
She is the author of Ride the Wind, which made the New York Times best sellers list. It also won the Western Writers of America's Golden Spur Award for Best Historical Novel of the year and was included in the top 100 westerns of the 20th century. Several of her other historical novels have won top awards.