The Humpherys Family

Sparrowhawk Series

Record Added: 10/10/2014
Author Edward Cline
Series Sparrowhawk Series
Setting United States
Topic History: American Revolut
Publisher Publisher, Misc
Year 2001
Age Adult
Description Printed dustjacket
 
1. Jack Frake (ISBN 1931561001)
Book 1 in this new series introduces the reader to life in 18th Century England, where, despite being one of the freest countries in the world there were rumblings of discontent amongst the citizens and Jake Frake is no exception to this endemic restlessness.From an early age he has developed an independent mind and spirit, a trait that is not openly welcomed for someone of his lowly class. Fate and circumstance leads him to join a band of smugglers and he furthers their cause. Jack himself is sentenced to eight years of servitude in the Colonies and he embarks on a sea voyage aboard the Sparrowhawk, destined for Virginia.

2.. Hugh Kenrick (ISBN 1931561206)
The second volume follows precociously brilliant and rebellious English nobleman Hugh Kenrick. Kenrick demonstrates early on that his life in high society will be a contentious one; as a schoolboy, he defies his pompous uncle, the Earl of Danvers and refuses to bow for the Duke of Cumberland during a politically important visit. Fortunately for Kenrick, his talent is equal to his rebellious streak; he excels in academics, but decides to work for a merchant to learn a trade. His general curiosity leads to an involvement with a group of free thinkers called the Society of the Pippins, a small band that meets every week to discuss social inequities under the monarchy. But disaster strikes when a rival of Kenrick's betrays the group, and the Pippins find themselves sentenced for libel after a brief sham trial.

3. Caxton (ISBN 1931561532)
Book Three follows Jack Frake (Book One) and Hugh Kenrick (Book Two) as they meet in Colonial Virginia. Jack is a successful planter who has gained a lifetime of experience since he was brought to Virginia as an indentured felon. Hugh, after completing his education in Philadelphia, decides not to return to England but, instead, to buy a plantation. Both take extraordinary actions to preserve their lives, fortunes, and moral independence in the turbulent period following the French and Indian War.

4. Empire (ISBN 1931561877)
Book four is about the antitax movement that helped shape the American Revolution, specifically the battle to stop the Stamp Act and the subsequent rebellion that started in Virginia. Hugh Kenrick becomes a burgess in the Virginia legislature and leads the charge to push a series of resolutions to repeal the Stamp Act. Kenrick receives a key assist in his fight from a friend in England, Dogmael Jones, who procures a copy of the law and sends it to Kenrick in advance, giving him time to form alliances and prepare his arguments against the corrupt legislation.

5. Revolution (ISBN 1596921544)
Following the passage of the Stamp Act of 1765, Hugh Kenrick attends the Stamp Act Congress in New York while Jack Frake forms a local chapter of the Sons of Liberty. After they foil a plan to smuggle the stamps into the colony, Dogmael Jones debates repeal with his allies in British Parliament, earning himself more enemies. Through these vividly drawn characters and events, Sparrowhawk V: Revolution continues the story of resistance to the Stamp Act, the true beginning of the American Revolution.

6. War (ISBN 1596921986)
The sixth book is about the start of the American Revolution. Sparrowhawk Book VI: War, which concludes the series, opens in the spring of 1774 and ends explosively on the York River in Virginia in September of 1775. Jack Frake is now the captain of an independent company of militia; Hugh Kenrick is a burgess witnessing the twilight of the colonial legislature in Williamsburg. The whirlwind of colonial resistance to Crown tyranny begins in front of an enigmatic marble statue and leads to the bloody slopes of Breed’s Hill near Boston. Jack sends Etáin to Scotland for her own safety, while Reverdy and Hugh clash over their true loyalties. The residents of Caxton are in conflict, too, as Jared Turley, the bastard son of Hugh’s uncle, is in Virginia and manipulates men and events to exact the Earl’s vengeance on Hugh. And the Sparrowhawk plays a key role in concluding the chosen destinies of the heroes.