The Rose and the Lion

By: Charles J. Musser

Narrated by: Viola Jones

It’s 1776 in the American colonies, and revolution is in the air. Richard Pierpoint, torn from his home in Africa as a young boy and sent across the sea as a slave, hears the word “freedom” repeatedly, and yearns for a better life.

When the British offer freedom to any slave who joins the British Army, Richard, and the beautiful and mysterious Shenandoah who has stolen his heart, escape from their masters and begin a quest in the pristine forests of the Mohawk Valley to join the British guerilla unit, Butler’s Rangers.

Their story, and the story of the other escaped slaves who join them on their bid for freedom, has never been told in the history books. It’s a tale of adventure, struggle, hardship, love, courage and, ultimately, triumph.

©2020 Charles J. Musser (P)2020 Charles J. Musser

Good story about a not well known figure

I will start off by saying that I am a history teacher and historian who specializes in America in the revolutionary era. Although I am interested in the more famous folks - Washington, Cornwallis, Knox, etc, I am also drawn toward the lesser known figures. Even then, I was not aware of Richard Pierpoint. But I do enjoy stories of enslaved people gaining their freedom, which is why I picked up this book. It wasn't until after I finished this book that I learned that Captain Dick was a real person. I enjoyed the story of Captain Dick's small band of formerly enslaved fighters who joined Butler's Rangers to fight to free other enslaved people on the New York frontier. You don't often find many American books where the hero is fighting with the British against the Americans, so it is a nice change.

While there are a few historical quibbles I noticed, they would not likely be noticed by the regular reader, and they don't detract from the plot or the narrative. My only real criticism with the book is that I wished it were longer. I would have like to have read more of their adventures. But that might just be a result of the limits of the source material. The narrator was very good, but I occasionally had trouble with telling apart the characters Lou and Blue when she said their names. Overall, I recommend this book.

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for any honest review.

Heartbreaking but beautiful forgotten history

There are no doubt many people in the world who know about Richard Pierpoint and Butler's Rangers who fought valiantly during the American Revolution, but I'm confident that your average person-on-the-street (myself, sadly included), remain totally unaware of how hard these brave men and women fought to claim independence for themselves by siding with the crown. This was a beautiful book, very hard to listen to at times, but breathtakingly descriptive and engrossing. I felt like I was there with them - from the streets of Connecticut towns to the icy cold water through which Captain Dick made his final push toward freedom. I am so grateful to have experienced this novel and am enormously indebted to the author who gifted me a copy of the audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving this review, but I am doing so with overwhelming respect and awe.