Brave Enemies: A Novel of the American Revolution (Shannon Ravenel Books) [Hardcover]

Robert Morgan (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1565123565 | ISBN-13: 978-1565123564 | Publication Date: October 25, 2003 | Edition: 1

In the 1780s, unrest ruled the Carolinas. Settlers were arriving to clear forest glades and ridges as the Cherokees withdrew; British forces were pillaging as the patriots mustered for battle. Robert Morgan's stunning new novel tells a story of two young people caught in the chaos and war raging in the wilderness.

Only sixteen years old, Josie Summers murders her abusive stepfather and, wearing his clothes to disguise herself as a man, flees the family farm. Almost immediately lost in the snowy woods, she accepts a young Methodist preacher's invitation to assist in his itinerant ministry. When Joseph's true identity is revealed, the Reverend John Trethman is racked with guilt at having shared his home with a young woman and then falling in love with her. His solution is to marry Josie, performing as both minister and bridegroom. Not long after their wedding, John is kidnapped by British soldiers and forced to minister to their wounded and bury their dead. Josie again disguises herself as a man and joins the North Carolina militia to avoid being taken for a spy. On January 17, 1781, in a wooded pasture called the Cowpens, Josie is gravely wounded in the patriots' victorious battle and despairs of ever seeing John again. Robert Morgan's description of the battle of Cowpens is as vivid and intense as any in Revolutionary War literature.

Brave Enemies is a story of romance and enduring love, of the struggle to build a homeland as one era is dying and another age of freedom and discovery is being born.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With tremendous narrative pace, a meticulous eye for colorful detail and a tight grasp of historical setting and military action, poet and novelist Morgan (Gap Creek) delivers a rousing and affecting tale of the American Revolution. This gripping story of love and desperation is set in the brutal rebel-versus-loyalist bloodbath of 1780-1781 in North and South Carolina. Sixteen-year-old Josie Summers, a barefoot mountain girl, runs away from home after killing the stepfather who raped her. Alone, scared and hungry, having witnessed all kinds of violence, Josie disguises herself as a boy and is given shelter by an itinerant preacher, Rev. John Trethman. The preacher soon discovers her deception, but they become devoted to one another, and John marries her in a solitary ceremony. The two continue the deception to fool his congregation and the British authorities who are ruthlessly hunting for spies and seditionists. When John is taken prisoner by the British, who think he is a spy, Josie, now pregnant, believes her husband is dead. Still disguised as the boy Joseph, she joins a South Carolina militia company marching to the fateful battle at Cowpens in January 1781. Josie endures hunger, cold, grief, fear of discovery and the dangerous attentions of a cruel sergeant who guesses her secret. Meanwhile, John is forced to become a chaplain for the murderous dragoon legion commanded by sadistic Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton. Tarleton and his Tories are also marching to Cowpens, to a battle which will become known as the American Cannae. Morgan's portrayal of the savagery of the Southern war is graphic and shocking, making the love between Josie and John all the more tender and passionate.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Morgan has fashioned an absorbing Revolutionary War novel featuring an unusually resourceful heroine. Disguised as a man, 16-year-old Josie Summers escapes from a life of madness and exploitation after murdering her sexually and emotionally abusive stepfather. Traveling the Carolina backcountry, she crosses paths with John Trethman, an evangelical preacher who befriends the boy he knows as "Joseph." When John discovers that his new housemate is really a female, he is torn between anger and love. Hoping to absolve their sins, Josie and John privately marry, still keeping her identity a secret. Shortly thereafter, John is kidnapped by British troops and forced to serve as their minister. After Josie sets out after John, she is forced into service as a member of the North Carolina militia, where she attempts to keep both her gender and her pregnancy concealed. Sustained by love and faith, Josie and John survive their respective ordeals, eventually reuniting on the heels of a horrific battle. The homespun dialogue and understated narrative authenticate this heartrending period peace. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: A Shannon Ravenel Book; 1 edition (October 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565123565
• ISBN-13: 978-1565123564
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,031,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great readed, October 6, 2003

By 

christian E Eckert - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brave Enemies: A Novel of the American Revolution (Shannon Ravenel Books) (Hardcover)

I just picked this book out as one of the books I was going to read on vaction. The problem is that it never made withme on my trip to the Gulf. I finished the book in two days. Because I could not put it down. I am not one who would read a love story. I got the book because of the Battle of Cowpens. I found the love story between Josie and John was my favoir part of the book. I do not what to give anything away. This book gives us many gifts. Robert Morgan gives us poetly, history, and gripping story of love. As well as a taste of the South during the Revolution. I hope Mr. Morgan will write his next book with Joise and John picking up where we last see them. A
great book that you well be glad you read. It will warm your heart to the very end.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lean Prose + Rich Characters=A Masterpiece of History, October 14, 2003

By 

Eric Wilson "novelist" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Brave Enemies: A Novel of the American Revolution (Shannon Ravenel Books) (Hardcover)

You may disagree, but I'll say it anyway...Robert Morgan's writing reminds me of Van Gogh's paintings. From me, this is a huge compliment. Van Gogh had an almost simple way with color and form; he attacked his subjects with raw energy; a child's exaggerated grace leapt from his canvas. In much the same manner, Morgan's words are lean and raw, yet full of life and color and grace.

"Brave Enemies" follows young Josie Summers as she escapes a horrible situation at home, disguises herself as a man--in part, to avoid punishment for a crime committed--and finds herself walking through the Carolinas as the Revolutionary War takes its toll on everyone around her. She marries, becomes pregnant, and goes to war at the famed battle of Cowpens. Surprises lurk, and lessons are learned, and a vivid history lesson courses through the narrative.

With "Gap Creek," Morgan made his way into the public eye. He followed that book with "This Rock," a powerful book, but one lacking sympathetic or central female characters. For this reason, he seemed to lose some of his Oprah-generated audience. Well, "Brave Enemies" races ahead with all the elements that made "Gap Creek" a success. Strong female lead. Obstacles overcome. Tragedy endured. Be warned, some scenes are horrifying in their depictions of war and abuse of women. Yet Morgan imbues even these with his usual grace and his views that try to balance a world gone astray.

If you, like me, find Morgan's writing elementary at first, keep reading and discover the economic poetry that runs through every word he pens. Morgan, like Van Gogh, creates masterpieces.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GRITTY, REALISTIC, POWERFUL, June 27, 2004

By 

Michael W. Kennedy "insane book lover" (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brave Enemies: A Novel of the American Revolution (Shannon Ravenel Books) (Hardcover)

Comparisons to COLD MOUNTAIN are in order. BRAVE ENEMIES, too, is a love story set during the brutality and misfortune of a civil war. Here it is the American Revolutionary War with patriots and loyalists hanging each other and burning down each other's homes as well as the militia and redcoats doing battle. But while CM is burdened and slowed by literary pretensions, BRAVE ENEMIES is a fast-moving and entertaining tale, without heavy-handed symbolism or repeated flashbacks, of sixteen year old Josie Summers and John Trethman, a young itinerant Methodist minister, who fall in love and then are separated by the war. Being a history buff, I liked the realistic feel of the novel. The descriptions of the time and place, the clothes, food, weapons, homes, all seemed well-researched. And the battle of Cowpens was presented brilliantly. I feel like I was there. My only complaint is that the description of John's religious services went on too long in a couple places but that is a minor quibble. This is a gritty, realistic book, well-written, full of action and with a couple powerful sex scenes from the woman's point of view. Robert Morgan scores a double with BRAVE ENEMIES in that this is a novel I think both men and women will enjoy. Five cannonballs out of five.