When it comes to the homes, kitchens, clothing, and other aspects of daily life, historical accuracy has been sought after and attained in most of the story.
At one point, Edward remarks about the affairs of George Washington, noting that he had been fixing up the troops and helping very much in pulling the army together. It was stated that Washington would be coming to the camp where Edward and Abigail were and that he very much looked forward to this because it meant their army—or their particular branch of it—would be in better shape after Washington's training.
By most accounts, it would seem that Washington trained the entire army at once and that there were not really well-defined divisions. However, seeing as historical fiction is, after all, fiction, it suited the story much better to describe the scene upon entering as a disorganized and disheveled group of individuals who drank too much but had a fighting spirit.
This part, in fact, is true. The Continental Army—before the official name was given—was actually in a bit of disarray, and it so happened that they went through almost a gallon of rum per person per day—a mighty high amount for anyone. It is also true that before Washington took control, the American army was in quite a state of upheaval and had no real leadership.
However, Washington did not train his army in divisions or sections but rather as one group. By the time Washington took power as General Washington, the number of true soldiers had dwindled by quite a bit, as many of those who would flock to the battlefield in such events as the Battle at Bunker (Breed's) Hill had gone home, and some had been killed.
Regardless, while some things were changed to make the story flow more efficiently, this also goes to show the state of the American army at its inception and speaks to the remarkable fact that it ever got anywhere or defeated anyone, much less the British.
It is also worth noting that many of the events described in the context of the novel have either been sped up or rearranged. This is, for the most part, why many battles are not named.
For instance, Joseph Warren, Abigail's father, dies in the Battle of Bunker Hill, and Abigail later becomes injured in another battle. While the context of the story makes it appear as though those events were only a few months apart, history professors and those very familiar with the events of the Revolutionary War will tell you that these events actually took place years apart. The Revolutionary War took place over eight years, but the love story between Abigail and Edward would have become extremely arduous and tasking if it had taken that long to develop.
Were this a historical fiction novel strictly about war, many exciting events could easily have been examined in greater detail over eight years—but not for a romance. For this reason, the speed of events was changed and the timeline is nowhere near accurate.
However, when it comes to things like the clothing the characters wear, descriptions of uniforms—or the lack thereof—and descriptions of individuals such as George Washington, who actually did exist, of course, every effort has been made to be as historically accurate as possible.
Essentially, the Revolutionary War is a background in which the story of Abigail and Edward is set, and the greater points of the novel involving their love story and the messages of forgiveness, revolution as change and not merely war, and other messages, are far more important than a play-by-play of the Revolutionary War.
Also, the fact that someone like Edward would even consider changing sides is really not that much of a stretch. There are many accounts of people who sailed back to England after the war with missing limbs, famished bodies, and other ailments, and many in England had stated publically that the American colonies were not just a bunch of rebels, or "rabble" as they were called, but had a viable cause for fighting and should not be gone to war with.
Even so, as stated, the backdrop of the Revolutionary War is only used so that the extremes can be illustrated. In other words, Edward's switch from one side of the Revolutionary War to the complete opposite side illustrates a gigantic change in mindset, attitude, beliefs, and viewpoint. The fact that change is possible, that people do change, and that Abigail's father may have wanted more than just war when he spoke of change is well illustrated in this concept and the event that illustrates it.
The reader should walk away feeling as though they have read a feel-good story about two people who came together against all odds; they should not necessarily be looking for historically plausible outcomes.
MORE BOOKS BY NATHANIEL BURNS
THE SECRET OF WILLOW CASTLE
A Historical Gothic Novel
When Rebecca Lennox receives a proposal from Sir Montague Chastain, she welcomes the chance to escape from poverty - but her new home is a maze of dark secrets, and temptation beckons in the form of her husband’s cousin Mervyn.
As she battles against her forbidden passion and Sir Montague’s strange machinations, Rebecca realises that her only hope for survival is to unlock the secrets of Willow Castle…
THE MUMMIFIER'S DAUGHTER
A Mystery set in Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt, 1233 BC
This is Young Neti-Kerty‘s dream: To follow in her father’s footsteps and become the first female mummifier in Thebes.
Shabaka, the secretive Prefect, the Pharaoh’s special envoy charged with combating crime in the capital of the Pharaoh’s empire, also often makes use of Neti Kerty’s special talents. With her powers of deduction and knowledge of the dead, she has already helped solve many crimes.
But then the unimaginable happens. Her parents are cruelly murdered, and Neti-Kerty’s small, idyllic world shatters. Together with Shabaka the Prefect, she embarks on the search for her parents‘ murderer. Surviving many shared adventures, they stumble upon a monstrous conspiracy...
The Mummifier's Daughter carries us back to a land steeped in gods, god-kings, ritual and magic. It paints for the reader a detailed picture of Pharaonic Egypt in all its shadowed glory. Faithfully recreating one of the most remarkable eras in Egypt’s history, bestselling author Nathaniel Burns weaves a shudderingly ominous tale of ancient Egypt’s mysteries with a cast of characters the modern reader will recognize even though millenia have passed.
So light up the incense, sit close to the light and draw back the curtains on the shadowed past with this
gripping tale of love and intrigue among the living and the dead in one of history’s most intriguing civilizations.
PRINCESS OF EGYPT
A Novel Set in Ancient Egypt
Neti-Kerty’s reputation as Egypt’s first female mummifier has apparently reached all the way to the Pharaoh. Neti-Kerty and Shabaka, Special Investigator and Prefect of Thebes, are astonished to be summoned to the palace of Ramses II to investigate the sudden death of the Vizier Khay. Thanks to her powers of deduction and knowledge of the dead, Neti soon determines that something is amiss.
As more people disappear during the investigation, the situation increasingly gets out of handl and before long Neti and Shabaka find themselves peering into the deepest recesses of the human soul....
PRIDE AND HONOUR
The Battle For Saxony
Europe, in the year of the Lord 772
Like a bloody storm, Charlemagne’s armies ravage early medieval Europe, leaving devastation and misery in their wake. They have subdued the kingdom of the Langobards, defeated the duchy of Bavaria; they threaten the Moors in the west and, in the south, the pope in Rome.
Yet Charlemagne has even more ambitious plans: he covets the Saxon territories in the north. The Saxons put up an unexpectedly fierce resistance. When Charlemagne’s troops destroy the Irminsul shrine, the Saxon holy of holies, there ensues a struggle to the death. Led by the legendary Duke Widukind, for decades the Saxons fight savagely for their beliefs and their independence. And they will have their revenge...
The extraordinary novel, Pride and Honour, is a completely revised and rewritten version of the surprise initial success of Honor and Glory by Nathaniel Burns. The author took many of his readers
‘ tips, reviews and advice to heart to make his fascinating tale about Charlemagne and the Saxon King Widukind an even better read. Take this suspenseful, captivating and exciting journey back into Europe’s Dark Ages to meet the pivotal figure of Charlemagne and one of his greatest adversaries.
Pride and Honour will transport the reader right into the heart of this legend-shrouded part of the Early Middle Ages. With his story, Nathaniel Burns has woven a a rich, dark tapestry of one of the pivotal periods in medieval European history. His historically accurate descriptions rich in authentic detail bring this remote, strife-ridden world to life again before your very eyes.
Go ahead, stoke the fire in the hearth, draw your armchair closer and dive into this wonderful historical novel full of royal intrigue, warriors, and battles of a bygone Europe…
Storm of Love - A Historical Romance Set during the American Revolutionary War Page 15
