While our focus at A World Adventure by Book is on global literature, we can't always resist great historical fiction so in honor of the 4th of July, we compiled a list of the best Revolutionary War novels.
Today on July 4th, celebrate America's day of independence with one of the ten historical fiction books below for adults or either of the four bonus historical fiction novels for younger audiences.
Happy reading!
“Ethan Saunders, once among General Washington’s most valued spies, now lives in disgrace. An accusation of treason has long since cost him his reputation and his beloved fiancée, Cynthia Pearson, but at his most desperate moment he is recruited for an unlikely task–finding Cynthia’s missing husband. To help her, Saunders must serve his old enemy, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, who is engaged in a bitter power struggle with political rival Thomas Jefferson over the fragile young nation’s first real financial institution: the Bank of the United States.
Meanwhile, Joan Maycott is married to another Revolutionary War veteran. With the new states unable to support their ex-soldiers, the Maycotts make a desperate gamble: trade the chance of future payment for the hope of a better life on the western Pennsylvania frontier. There, amid hardship and deprivation, they find unlikely friendship and a chance for prosperity with a new method of distilling whiskey. But on an isolated frontier, whiskey is more than a drink; it is currency and power, and the Maycotts’ success attracts the brutal attention of men in Hamilton’s orbit, men who threaten to destroy all Joan holds dear.
As their causes intertwine, Joan and Saunders find themselves on opposing sides of a daring scheme that will forever change their lives and their new country.”
“Arousing adventure yarn. . . [The] battle scenes are excellent.” —Washington Post
“Electrifying!” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch
From NY Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell, Redcoat is the story of the Valley Forge winter during the American Revolution—told from the redcoat’s point of view.
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.
Foreword by Diana Gabaldon
”When newlyweds Gilbert and Lana Martin settle in the Mohawk Valley in 1776, they work tirelessly against the elements to build a new life. But even as they clear land and till soil to establish their farm, the shots of the Revolutionary War become a rallying cry for both the loyalists and the patriots. Soon, Gil and Lana see their neighbors choose sides against each other—as British and Iroquois forces storm the valley, targeting anyone who supports the revolution.
Originally published in 1936, this classic novel was a bestseller for two years—second only to Gone with the Wind—and was adapted into a motion picture in 1939. Now, some three-quarters of a century later, Drums Along the Mohawk stands as a brilliant account of the majesty of the New York frontier, the timeless rhythms that shape a marriage, and the battles of a revolution that would change the world.”
“A novel about George Washington’s trip across the Delaware River and the Battle of Trenton by a #1 New Times Times–bestselling author…told with an absorbing style which gives a fresh look at the personalities on the American side.
Immortalized on canvas by Emanuel Leutze, Washington’s journey across the Delaware River is one of the most celebrated moments in American history. But the true story of the crossing, and of what came after, is often lost in the legend.
In The Crossing, Howard Fast writes with striking historical detail and relentless narrative drive about Washington’s surprise attack, leading the Continental Army to its Revolutionary War victory against the one thousand Hessian mercenaries in Trenton, New Jersey—a momentous occasion in American history.”
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“Stewart Jameson, a Scottish portrait painter fleeing his debtors in Edinburgh, has washed up on the British Empire's far shores—in the city of Boston, lately seized with the spirit of liberty. Eager to begin anew, he advertises for an apprentice, but the lad who comes knocking is no lad at all.
Fanny Easton is a fallen woman from Boston's most prominent family who has disguised herself as a boy to become Jameson's defiant and seductive apprentice.
Written with wit and exuberance by accomplished historians, Blindspot is an affectionate send-up of the best of eighteenth-century fiction. It celebrates the art of the Enlightenment and the passion of the American Revolution by telling stories of ordinary people caught up in an extraordinary time.”
“A very smart book . . . Blindspot captures Colonial America's wit and vulgarity, its sensibility, sensuality and snobbery.” —San Diego Union-Tribune
“In 1770, the fuse of revolution is lit by a fateful command 'Fire!' as England's peacekeeping mission ignites into the Boston Massacre. The senseless killing of civilians leads to a tumultuous trial in which lawyer John Adams must defend the very enemy who has assaulted and abused the laws he holds sacred.
The taut courtroom drama soon broadens into a stunning epic of war as King George III leads a reckless and corrupt government in London toward the escalating abuse of his colonies. Outraged by the increasing loss of their liberties, an extraordinary gathering of America's most inspiring characters confronts the British presence with the ideals that will change history.
John Adams, the idealistic attorney devoted to the law, who rises to greatness by the power of his words . . . Ben Franklin, one of the most celebrated men of his time, the elderly and audacious inventor. . . George Washington, the dashing Virginian whose battle experience in the French and Indian War brings him the recognition that elevates him to command of a colonial army . . . and many other immortal names from the colonial struggle captured as never before in their full flesh-and-blood humanity.
More than a powerful portrait of the people and purpose of the revolution, Rise to Rebellion is a vivid account of history's most pivotal events all recreated with the kind of breathtaking detail only a master like Shaara can muster. Rise to Rebellion reveals with new immediacy how philosophers became fighters, ideas their ammunition, and how a scattered group of colonies became the United States of America.”
The first work of fiction by a President of the United States—a sweeping novel of the American South and the War of Independence.
In his ambitious and deeply rewarding novel, Jimmy Carter brings to life the Revolutionary War as it was fought in the Deep South; it is a saga that will change the way we think about the conflict. He reminds us that much of the fight for independence took place in that region and that it was a struggle of both great and small battles and of terrible brutality, with neighbor turned against neighbor, the Indians’ support sought by both sides, and no quarter asked or given. The Hornet’s Nest follows a cast of characters and their loved ones on both sides of this violent conflict—including some who are based on the author’s ancestors.
At the heart of the story is Ethan Pratt, who in 1766 moves with his wife, Epsey, from Philadelphia to North Carolina and then to Georgia in 1771, in the company of Quakers. On their homesteads in Georgia, Ethan and his wife form a friendship with neighbors Kindred Morris and his wife, Mavis. Through Kindred and his young Indian friend Newota, Ethan learns about the frontier and the Native American tribes who are being continually pressed farther inland by settlers. As the eight-year war develops, Ethan and Kindred find themselves in life-and-death combat with opposing forces.
With its moving love story, vivid action, and the suspense of a war fought with increasing ferocity and stealth, The Hornet’s Nest is historical fiction at its best, in the tradition of such major classics as The Last of the Mohicans.
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“'Howard Fast is fiercely American, he is one of ours, one of our very best.' -The Los Angeles Times
One battle will determine the fate of Boston.
Three thousand soldiers from the world's greatest army are cornered in Boston, surrounded by farmers and doctors turned rebel soldiers and generals. For a week both sides are at an impasse, until June 17, 1775, when the standstill comes to a violent, bloody end on Breed's and Bunker hills.
In Bunker Hill, master storyteller Howard Fast recounts the unlikely battle that changed the course of the Revolutionary War forever. Tensions rise among both the British and Colonial soldiers as political and tactical frustrations, dissent, confusion, and fear threaten to tear both sides apart before the fighting even begins.”
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“From the New York Times bestselling authors of America’s First Daughter (view on Amazon) comes the epic story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton—a revolutionary woman who, like her new nation, struggled to define herself in the wake of war, betrayal, and tragedy. Haunting, moving, and beautifully written, Dray and Kamoie used thousands of letters and original sources to tell Eliza’s story as it’s never been told before—not just as the wronged wife at the center of a political sex scandal—but also as a founding mother who shaped an American legacy in her own right.
A general’s daughter…
Coming of age on the perilous frontier of revolutionary New York, Elizabeth Schuyler champions the fight for independence. And when she meets Alexander Hamilton, Washington’s penniless but passionate aide-de-camp, she’s captivated by the young officer’s charisma and brilliance. They fall in love, despite Hamilton’s bastard birth and the uncertainties of war.
A founding father’s wife...
But the union they create—in their marriage and the new nation—is far from perfect. From glittering inaugural balls to bloody street riots, the Hamiltons are at the center of it all—including the political treachery of America’s first sex scandal, which forces Eliza to struggle through heartbreak and betrayal to find forgiveness.
The last surviving light of the Revolution…
When a duel destroys Eliza’s hard-won peace, the grieving widow fights her husband’s enemies to preserve Alexander’s legacy. But long-buried secrets threaten everything Eliza believes about her marriage and her own legacy. Questioning her tireless devotion to the man and country that have broken her heart, she’s left with one last battle—to understand the flawed man she married and imperfect union he could never have created without her.”
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Winner of the American Library Association's Notable Book Award.
”Based upon a true story, The Hessian tells the story of the capture, trial, and execution of a Hessian drummer boy by Americans during the Revolution.
At the heart of the story is a Quaker family, who hide the boy after his landing party has been killed in an ambush. Because the captain of the Hessians had ordered the hanging of a local whom he thought might be a spy, the town militia lay in wait, massacred the Hessians, and hunted down the only survivor, Hans Pohl. His capture and trial provide an opportunity to explore the difficult moral position that war presents, complicated by the presence of the Quaker family. The story is told from the point of view of Evan Feversham, a doctor who has seen enough of death, and an outsider in the narrow world of Puritan New England.”
“In this novel, Kenneth Roberts portrays a very different side to the story of the American Revolution, that of the loyalists (those colonists who supported the British monarchy).
Spanning the years from 1775 to 1783, Oliver Wiswell traces the adventures of a Yale student who is deeply loyal to the established government of the colonies. This wonderfully far-ranging novel is packed with battles, sudden flights, escapes, intrigue, massacres, romance, and exile as it follows Wiswell, a spy for Sir William Howell (Commander in Chief of the British Armies) on Long Island, as well as in Paris and London. He captures a sloop single-handedly and joins Benedict Arnold against the American revolutionaries of the southern colonies. Oliver Wiswell did no less than challenge the accepted perceptions of the loyalists. Though branded by history as cowardly traitors, many of them were men of strong convictions and fierce courage, sometimes defeating triple their number of Continental troops and militiamen in battle. With strong historical detail and vivid depictions, Roberts explores the hearts and minds of those men and women who opposed the Revolution.”
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Bonus: 4 revolutionary war books for younger audiences
For ages 10-12
“Johnny Tremain, winner of the 1944 Newbery Medal, is one of the finest historical novels ever written for children. As compelling today as it was fifty years ago, to read this riveting novel is to live through the defining events leading up to the American Revolutionary War.
Fourteen-year old Johnny Tremain, an apprentice silversmith with a bright future ahead of him, injures his hand in a tragic accident, forcing him to look for other work. In his new job as a horse-boy, riding for the patriotic newspaper, the Boston Observer, and as a messenger for the Sons of Liberty, he encounters John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Dr. Joseph Warren. Soon Johnny is involved in the pivotal events shaping the American Revolution from the Boston Tea Party to the first shots fired at Lexington. Powerful illustrations by American artist Michael McCurdy, bring to life Esther Forbes' quintessential novel of the American Revolution.”
For ages 10-14
”Howard Fast’s bestselling coming-of-age novel about one boy’s introduction to the horrors of war amid the brutal first battle of the American Revolution.
On April 19, 1775, musket shots ring out over Lexington, Massachusetts. As the sun rises over the battlefield, fifteen-year-old Adam Cooper stands among the outmatched patriots, facing a line of British troops.
Determined to defend his home and prove his worth to his disapproving father, Cooper is about to embark on the most significant day of his life. The Battle of Lexington and Concord will be the starting point of the American Revolution—and when Cooper becomes a man.
Sweeping in scope and masterful in execution, April Morning is a classic of American literature and an unforgettable story of one community’s fateful struggle for freedom.”
For ages 9-12
Sixteen-year-old Noah Daniels wants nothing more than to fight in George Washington’s Continental Army, but an accident as a child left him maimed and unable to enlist. He is forced to watch the Revolution from his family’s hard-scrabble farm in Upstate New York until a violent raid on his settlement thrusts Noah into one of the war’s bloodiest battles.
Wounded and dying, he finds himself lying side by side with a young Mohawk warrior. As the two enemies face death, they grow to understand each other, and discover they might ultimately be fighting for the same reason.
This gripping coming-of-age story includes an author’s note, biographies of key characters, and a bibliography.
For ages 8-12
The NY Times bestselling graphic novel series!
“I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” These are the famous last words of Nathan Hale, a spy for the American rebels in the Revolutionary War. But who was this Nathan Hale? And how did the rebels defeat an army that was bigger, better, stronger, and more heavily armed than they were? One Dead Spy has answers to these questions, as well as stories of ingenuity, close calls with danger, and acts of heroism in the American War of Independence.
Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales are graphic novels that tell the thrilling, shocking, gruesome, and TRUE stories of American history. Read them all—if you dare!
“An innovative approach to history that will have young people reading with pleasure.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Readers interested in American history will enjoy these graphic novels... Comic panels of varying sizes enhance the real-life events and support the stories’ over-the-top humor... the writing is accessible and entertaining; author Hale’s style gives readers an insider-y, you-are-there-type scoop.” —The Horn Book