1774

The Long Year of Revolution

By: Mary Beth Norton

Narrated by: Kimberly Farr

From one of our most acclaimed and original colonial historians, a groundbreaking book - the first to look at the critical "long year" of 1774 and the revolutionary change that took place from December 1773 to mid-April 1775, from the Boston Tea Party and the First Continental Congress to the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

A Wall Street Journal Best Book of 2020

Mary Beth Norton keenly focuses on the 16 months during which the traditional loyalists to King George III began their discordant "discussions" that led to their acceptance of the inevitability of war against the British Empire and to the clashes at Lexington and Concord in mid-April 1775.

Drawing extensively on pamphlets, newspapers, and personal correspondence, Norton reconstructs colonial political discourse as it happened, showing the vigorous campaign mounted by conservatives criticizing congressional actions. But by then it was too late. In early 1775, governors throughout the colonies informed colonial officials in London that they were unable to thwart the increasing power of the committees and their allied provincial congresses. Although the Declaration of Independence would not be formally adopted until July 1776, Americans, even before the outbreak of war in April 1775, had in effect "declared independence" by obeying the decrees of their new provincial governments rather than colonial officials.

©2020 Mary Beth Norton (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Deeply researched...Norton makes a good case for considering 1774 and not 1776 to be the foundational year of the new republic." (Kirkus)

"Meticulous and persuasive.... Norton brings underappreciated figures such as Pennsylvania lawyer John Dickinson to the fore, and elucidates complex developments in all 13 colonies. This ambitious deep dive will remind readers that America has a long history of building consensus out of fractious disputes." (Publishers Weekly)

250 years later…

Does a great job at demystifying the lead up to the revolutionary war. You quickly learn just how divided opinion was in the colonies and how entrenched people were in their beliefs. 1774 sees the rise of both the patriots and the loyalists as each side struggled to interpret resistance to taxation and the actions of Parliament. It was hardly a unified effort to stand against England and create a pan-American congress in protest, something that’s been lost in the popular narrative. Most importantly, while independence wasn’t the de facto position to take at this moment, I feel the author does a good job of explaining how it was already in the foundations of the patriot cause by early 1775.

Details Details Details

Everyone knows or should know of the Boston Tea Party, at least if your American.

Who knew that it was so important as to sow the seeds of rebellion!!

The author goes into great detail as the causes and ramifications of dumping the EIC tea into the harbor of Boston.

If you want to LEARN the details of this and what she details as the flame that started the revolution 1774 is the read for you.

250th anniversary

This is a really comprehensive work breaking down the complicated lead-up to the American Revolution. I did speed up the narration and would often follow along with written text.

A good narrative

Overall, 1774 offers a good overview of the lead up to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. Norton does well at showing the tensions that rise in 1774 due to the Coercive Acts, and the subsequent events such as the Boston Tea Party and the aftermath. While there is some talk of the Founding Fathers, this narrative focuses more on the people and their reactions to the events as the Nation geared up for war against Great Britain.

Dry and Dramatic

The guts of revolution were recorded in letters, reports, assignments, and newspapers. That makes for dry reading of astounding importance.

interesting historically but not riveting

There was good information and it depicted the views well. For me, this was an on purpose read - not a page turner that you can't put down.

History from Every Point of View

This was an incredibly well researched book, with accounts and records from a fantastically interesting period in American history. I especially loved the way the audience is given the point of view from the other side of the revolution, from within the colonies. It was an aspect I never considered, being fed the idea that loyalists were dishonorable traitors. This book brought to light just how gray things really were back then.

Bad Ass retelling of how it all started

Bravo!
I am a Rev War historian and reenactor, well past over 50 books of the Rev War!
I have read them in every form of presentation. dry to dramatic.

The amount of detail and research that had to go into this is simply insain! How the author found all the obscure sources is beyond my comprehension! And how she put it all together and in cultural context shows her collosal intellect. The way she methodically and deliberately flowed one seamingly irrelevant event into another and then another, adding up to such radical political change unto war is masterful.

As an interpretor and historian, I am awed and humbled by your amazing retelling of the match that lite the fuse!

Bottom Line: We really were forced into it.

WOW! I am unworthy!

Well researched, but too long and boring.

This book reads/listens like an extensive list of primary sources with no apparent narrative tying it together. I couldn't get through the whole thing as it was too long and didn't tie together for me. If you are a researcher looking to dig into the founding of the Republic, this would be a good book for you. If you enjoy history and are looking for a good story, not so much.

Details for the hardcore historian

This was a purposeful listen for me because I am a hardcore historian. So this is not a listen for the casual listener of history. It is packed full of details and anecdotes that may be overwhelming, which it nearly was for me. The research and organization were commendable.