The Fort: A Novel of the Revolutionary War

From New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell—one of the greatest yet little-known skirmishes of the Revolution: the Penobscot Expedition, a battle that would reveal the true character of a legendary Revolutionary hero.

This new novel takes place during the very early days of the rebellion, or the War of Independence, in 18th century Massachusetts before Washington and before the organization of a colonial army. A small British fleet with a few soldiers on board had sailed in to be met, to their surprise, with an overwhelming strength of local militia.

Cornwell tells the story on both sides of the conflict, based largely on real figures, including of course Paul Revere (famous from the much later poem).

In the summer of 1779, as the major fighting of the Revolutionary War moves to the South, a British force consisting of fewer than a thousand Scottish infantry and backed by three sloops-of-war sails to the fogbound coast of New England. Establishing a garrison and naval base at Penobscot Bay, in the eastern province of Massachusetts, the Scots harry rebel privateers and shelter American loyalists. In response, the Americans send more than forty vessels and some one thousand infantrymen to “captivate, kill, or destroy” the foreign invaders. But ineptitude and irresolution lead to a mortifying defeat that will have stunning repercussions for two men on opposite sides of the conflict: an untested young Scottish lieutenant named John Moore, at the beginning of an illustrious military career . . . and a Boston silversmith and patriot named Paul Revere, who will face court-martial for disobedience and cowardice.

“Nobody in the world does this stuff better than Cornwell—action set six hundred years ago is as fresh and vital as six days ago, with rough, tough men at war, proving once again that nothing changes... least of all great storytelling.” - Lee Child

“In The Fort, Bernard Cornwell, author of some 45 scrupulously researched and well-received fictional accounts of battles Arthurian and Napoleonic, takes a little-known event-but in a place that many readers know-and gives it the same on-the-ground treatment, backed up by a detailed historical note. As always in Cornwell’s military epics, there are nice human touches.” - Michael Kenney, Boston Globe

“Bernard Cornwell doesn’t know how to be dull. . . . He holds his audience with a seemingly effortless command of historical detail that’s actually the product of painstaking research.” - Lee Randall, The Scotsman

“Cornwell captures the men’s characters and dramatizes the whole thing perfectly.” - Toby Clements, Daily Telegraph (London)

“An outstanding effort by a master of the genre.” - Curtis Edmonds, Bookreporter.com

“Historical novels stand or fall on detail, and Mr. Cornwell writes as if he has been to ninth-century Wessex and back.” - Tom Shippey, Wall Street Journal

“Cornwell’s historical accuracy is excellent.” - Diana Gabaldon, Washington Post

“Cornwell turns his key historical eye on the Penobscot Expedition. . . . Illuminating the battle from all angles and telling the story from both sides, Cornwell once again offers a fresh perspective on a stirring episode in martial history.” - Margaret Flanagan, Booklist

“Is a rousing yarn of clashing personalities, crashing cannons, and lively musket and bayonet work, along with spies, cowardice, and moments of incredible bravery. Cornwell presents a fascinating, accurate, and exciting history lesson enlivened with a generous blast of gun smoke and grapeshot.” - Publishers Weekly

“A readable and thoroughly researched.” - Library Journal

“Cornwell at his best is a fine storyteller with a flair for describing battles and individual combat in a way that’s exciting and easy to follow. He weaves the fictional and the factual together so you can hardly tell where the novel stops and the history lesson begins. In The Fort, he has stuck closely to the events and characters history dealt him, and the result is one of his most successful books. . . . The novel is both an exciting account of a mostly forgotten event and a thoughtful exploration of the absurdity and futility of war. . . . This book succeeds as both fiction and history.” - Steve Drummond, NPR