Sergeant Lamb Of The Ninth

The life of Sergeant Roger Lamb, a young Dubliner who had served the Royal Welsh Fusiliers during the American War of Independence was the subject of a novelistic enterprise originally published in two parts because of war time paper shortages. The final result is a pair of picaresque novels concerned with the passions and frustrations of a distant war which mirrored many of Graves' own feelings for World War II which was happening around him. As an account of the struggle for independence, the horrors and excitements of war, the two novels were well reviewed and popular when published in the early 1940s. This chance to have both parts of what Graves considered to be a single project in one volume offers the opportunity of access to a literary and historical creation which both opens up the world of the American War of Independence, and the creative life and mind of a great writer of the 20th century.

The author of I, Claudius “recounts, in faithful and nicely atmospheric detail” the story of a British soldier during the American Revolution (The Philadelphia Inquirer). The first in a two-book series, Sergeant Lamb’s America tells the story of Sgt. Roger Lamb, an Irish soldier who served on the British side during the American War of Independence. Based on real historical events and people, Sergeant Lamb recounts the British defeat and the capture of his unit at the Battle of Saratoga in a voice that’s both funny, insightful, and wise. This fictionalized account is based on the journals of the historical Sergeant Roger Lamb, and is largely faithful to the true eyewitness account of the American Revolution told from the loser’s perspective. With his engaging, personable voice and basic decency of character, Sergeant Lamb reminds us that regardless of how history casts the British side, there were good men on both sides of this important conflict. “It is a historical novel for which one has a very real respect.” —The New York Times

Historical novel of the American revolution as seen by a sergeant in the British army.

The author of Sergeant Lamb’s America continues the fictionalized account of an Irish soldier fighting for the British during the Revolutionary War. This is the second in a two-book series telling the story of Sgt. Roger Lamb, a non-commissioned officer in the British Army, who served in America during the American War of Independence. Captured with Gen. Johnny Burgoyne after the Battle of Saratoga, he made a daring escape and later served under General Cornwallis. Following closely to Sergeant Lamb’s personal memoirs, renowned poet, classicist, and novelist Robert Graves traces the sergeant’s harrowing time in the service, providing a compelling, only barely fictionalized eyewitness account of a crucial point in American history.

The author of I, Claudius reimagines the Trojan War for the young reader. “The writing is clear, straightforward, and, in places, poetic” (Kirkus Reviews). The Iliad has it all: war, corruption, greed, power, and the passions of both gods and men. In this detailed retelling, Robert Graves draws the major characters of this timeless classic in broad, gritty strokes, making Agamemnon, Paris, Odysseus, and others accessible for young readers. Written with a younger audience in mind, The Siege and Fall of Troy is nevertheless exhaustively researched and compelling enough to be of interest to both students of history and adult readers. With humor, wit, and energy, Graves is expert at weaving a story based on exhaustive scholarly research and deep imaginative prowess.

In order to reclaim his father's kingdom, Jason has been sent on an impossible mission - to take the golden ram's fleece that lies far away, guarded by a dragon. Jason, who is so attractive that women fall instantly in love with him, sets sail in the Argo, along with the greatest heroes of ancient Greece, including the surly (and often drunk) Hercules, the enchanting musician Orpheus and the battling twins Castor and Pollux. As they battle clashing rocks, monsters and seductresses, watched over by pitiless gods, they will learn that victory comes at a price. In The Golden Fleece Robert Graves transforms Greek myth into a thrilling and richly imagined story, bringing the ancient world vividly alive.