The Reb and the Redcoats (Living History Library)

We really enjoyed this book by an already favorite author. While not as action packed as her 'Enemy Brothers'(highly recommended!), we found this book very entertaining, and an excellant look at the American Revolution from the British side.The whole storyline begins with the arrival of a 'captured' American doll in a British household. Enthralled by the toy's lifelike clay features, the eldest daughter of the family adopts it into her family of English dolls. But what about the Face in the Window? Why is it so familiar?The plot thickens when the children must move with their mother to Uncle Laurence's house, where he has been given unwilling custody of a Rebel prisoner. The children want terribly to meet 'The Reb', but their uncle is adamant. How can they learn to know him...and win the prize Uncle Laurence offers to anyone who can discover his name? And what happened to their jolly young uncle in the war to change him so completely?The story is entertaining and believable; the children are cute without being 'too cute' and no sassy or modern behavior. The treatment of the Rebel as a prisoner is dealt with frankly, but not with a harshness that would bother young or sensitive children. Although the author writes from an obviously British point of view, both sides are given a generous impartiality. Well done!

This book was wonderful, came in perfect condition and on time. The sellers added a personal note, which was a very nice touch! Thanks for the great product and service.

It was great 👍 full of exciting twists and turns! Hope you write lots more books like the reb and the redcoats. If you do I will rate than one hundred.

One of my favorite books as a child. Something about the characters just draws you into the story. I was so happy to see it on Amazon and immediately purchased it!

This was purchased for a school subject for my daughter which was required reading. This book is not very well written, and the story itself is implausible. While I understand the desire to communicate history through stories, I'd rather require my daughter to read something that is good literature at the same time.

Wish more modern authors would write like this!

I love this book! I read it many years ago, and it is one of my favorite books of all time. The Reb (which happens to be his initials) is a young, captured American soldier in England during the Revolutionary War. He makes many ingenious attempts to escape, but is continually foiled by his accident-prone friend whom he refuses to leave behind. Meanwhile, he becomes friends with the children (the Redcoats) and family where he is held prisoner. Reconciliation, forgiveness, loyalty, and friendship are themes of the story. The book is funny at times, entertaining, and touching.

I stumbled across a brief description of this book and was interested enough to order a copy. I am very glad that I did.The perspective of the book - it was written by a British author and is about an American prisoner of war in England during the American Revolution - is very unusual; I can't think of any other books like it. Most books for children set during that period take place in America, and even sympathetic British characters appear in the role of invaders and at least temporary conquerors (the example that springs to mind is Ann Finlayson's REBECCA'S WAR, which I recommend). The war itself is usually very central to those books, whereas in this one, while it has an effect on the British family because their father is away fighting it, their uncle was wounded in it, and so on, it is far away and pretty much peripheral. I appreciated the fact that the author did not try to make one side evil personified. In fact she seemed more sympathetic to the American cause than to the British.The characters were well-drawn, and if the Reb is a tad too spectacularly competent and wise for a fifteen-year-old, he's still very believable, and the children are refreshingly childlike and not smart-alecky.On the strength of this book I also ordered Savery's ENEMY BROTHERS, which if anything is even better than this one. EMERALDS FOR THE KING is also well worth reading, if you can find a copy.