Customer Reviews

SERGEANT LAMB'S AMERICA

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1914, while serving as an officer of the Royal Welch Fusiliers during WWI, Robert Graves was instructing his men in regimental history when he came across the name of a Sergeant Roger Lamb, who had served in the Fusiliers during the American War of Independence. Later, while living in Princeton, NJ, he was struck by the pride residents took in the local connection to Revolutionary War history, specifically, Washington's triumph over the Hessians. The result of these two happy coincidences is this terrific historical novel.

The subtitle of the book is: "A novel of the American Revolution told in the stirring words of an enemy who was also a good soldier." I doubt that description can be improved upon. Drawing on actual events and characters, Graves' Sergeant Lamb narrates the Fusiliers role in events up to the British defeat and the capture of his unit at Saratoga. Lamb is a wise and witty observer, as well as a professional soldier. His running critique of the Colonists and the obstacles they faced, particularly the difficulties presented by the rag tag nature of the Continental Army, only serve to deepen our sense of wonder at what they accomplished. And Lamb serves to remind us of the fundamental decency and professionalism of the British soldiers.

GRADE: B+

Sgt Lamb is an awsome character! Robert Graves bases this novel on the actual life of a British soldier in the American War of Independence. Sgt. Roger Lamb wrote his memoirs of the war that serve as the basis for this book which is a good read on its own. The novel has the added elements that keep those who dislike dry historical works excited and interested in the story. There are some minor historical errors but overall it is a great novel. I found the book so great that I searched all over the east coast for a used copy of the sequal "Proceed Sgt. Lamb" which tells the remaining story of Roger Lamb. I eventually found a copy and eagerly read it. This book is out of print but is a must read if you read the first book because the ending of "America" leaves the reader hanging. I highly recommend this novel and the sequal.

This is an historical novel mainly about the early years of the American Revolution, based on an actual account of the real Lamb's experiences. Graves writes authentically of the period, giving a British slant, of course (Lamb was a British soldier), and is always interesting. The Founding Fathers, the mob mentality of Boston's colonists, and Yankee fighting techniques all are severely questioned. The book ends at Saratoga. I am not usually a big fan of historical fiction, preferring my history straight and factual, but this book is definitely one of the better works in that genre. I really enjoyed it.

Continuing his life-long work writing some of the best historical fiction ever, Graves turned his attention to the American Revolutionary War. He follows the adventures of Roger Lamb as he enlists for the British army in Ireland and ends up on the losing end of the Battle of Saratoga.

Along the way, Graves fascinatingly describes the world of the British colonies -- both Canadian and future American -- as well as the life of the Indians, although the beginning is a bit bogged down with Lamb's theories regarding the war itself. Except for the beginning, Graves keeps the book at a fairly brisk pace as we witness the often moving adventures that Lamb experiences, both in battle and out.

Interestingly enough, Sergeant Lamb was a real person, and his regiment -- the Welsh Fusiliers -- was the same as Graves' was in WWI.

There is a sequel to this book, the publication of which I am anxiously awaiting.

Originally published in England under the title "Sergeant Lamb of the Ninth", this is the first half of Graves' retelling of the life of a British soldier fighting against the American revolutionaries. As regimental historian in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, he had come across the real Sgt. Lamb's record of service. Twenty years later, while living in America, Graves was near broke and casting about for an idea for a popular book when he remembered Sgt. Lamb. He then duly immersed himself in Revolutionary War history to create order to create this faux memoir. This first volume starts by recounting the childhood of the protagonist, an Irish boy raised near Dublin's docks and given to dreams of adventure. Seemingly destined for a life at sea, his hopes are derailed by his father, who has already lost one son in naval battle and refuses to lose the other.

But the boy Lamb finds his way into the military nonetheless, and ends up a redcoat infantryman. The first third or so of the book outlines his path to the army and then training. This is followed by a lengthy background on the American Revolution, from the perspective of a British citizen of the time. For Americans, this is probably the most interesting part of the book -- a quite different perspective on events than one generally receives as a youth. Highlights include the venality of the "Founding Fathers" and the nastiness of the Boston mobs. Once Lamb actually gets to North America, the book started to lose my attention. His picaresque adventures aren't that enthralling, and while some of the detail of daily life in Canada is kind of interesting, it's not enough to grip one. One episode has him sent off to learn the ways of the Indians so that he may return to impart them to the redcoats, who were fairly hapless against the revolutionaries' guerilla tactics. Another plotline is his rivalry with a fellow soldier, revolving around a woman they both wooed in Ireland and the other married. This descends into melodrama of the Thomas Hardy type.

Written in the stilted, formal style of a semi-educated 18th-century Englishman, the prose does a better job of mimicry than of actually being readable. While Lamb's fair-minded assessments of the Continental Army and its success make for a novel perspective, one would have to be greatly interested in Revolutionary War history to make reading this worthwhile. The bits and pieces about British vs. American tactics are decent, but scant. This first book ends with the capture of Lamb and his comrades at the Battle of Saratoga. His escape from prison camp and subsequent adventures are described in "Proceed, Sergeant Lamb", which I will not be reading. There are also editions available which combine the two books.

This account of the northern campaign at the start of the War of Independence makes a pleasant and rather idiosyncratic novel. It contains far more analysis and description than action; Graves all too obviously did a lot of research in period sources, and it sometimes sounds like he's repeating it verbatim. Nonetheless, in putting these reflections in the mouth of one Sergeant Roger Lamb, native of Dublin, Graves gives them color and unity. Perhaps it's understandable that Lamb has a tendency to informative lectures, being a schoolmaster by profession! The best part of it, of course, is the small incidents and character anecdotes (all taken from real life, says the author in his introduction). The only incidents invented are those relating to Lamb's private and romantic life, and those alone have a certain melodrama to them. (It breaks off with several plot threads unresolved, and vague promises of a sequel, but I suppose Graves must have gotten tired of it, because he never wrote a continuation.) The novel is written in smooth, clear language with a moderate eighteenth-century flavor; certainly many writers could take lessons in clarity from it.

This is a made-up memoir based on what might have been the actual expereinces of a British soldier in the American Revolution. The idea is certainly novel and a good one. Anything that sheds light on the British perspective of the Rev War is something worthwhile. Unfortunately Peter Graves, known for his historical fiction, seems off the mark here. His narrative of the mythical Sarjeant Lamb of the 9th Foot (Norfolk) seems often drawn out and tedious. The author tries to write in the style of the time which is good, but the story that the character relates is too drawn out and tedious. Too much time is wasted on small incidental events. An entire section goes on about the Sarjeant roughing it with the Indians and learning their ways! Finally when we get to the Saratoga campaign of 1777 towards the end of the book the narrative wings right through hardly giving us any detail. Apparently there is a second volume which continues the Sarjeant's adventures with the 23rd (Royal Welch Fusiliers) but after getting through this slow epic I am not inclined to read it. The author should have combined the action of both novels into one, faster, more exciting work. What we have here is a stylized work which is frankly a bore to read at times. Better historical fiction seems to be coming out today to replace old works like this one. Pass it by.