Copperhead
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4.5 • 33 Ratings
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- £6.99
Publisher Description
The second book in Bernard Cornwell’s bestselling series on the American Civil War.
Nathanial Starbuck is a Copperhead: a northerner fighting for the rebel South in America’s Civil War.
Expelled from the Faulconer Legion, Starbuck must travel a hard road before he can rejoin his comrades. He must join the shadowy war of betrayal and espionage, where nothing is certain and no one can be trusted. Starbuck’s journey will take him through the savage prisons of Richmond, across the blood-sodden battlefields of Virginia, and into the deadly high command of the northern army.
About the author
Bernard Cornwell was born in London, raised in Essex and
worked for the BBC for eleven years before meeting Judy, his
American wife. Denied an American work permit he wrote a
novel instead and has been writing ever since. He and Judy
divide their time between Cape Cod and Charleston, South
Carolina.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the second volume of the Starbuck Chronicles, Cornwell surpasses his wonderful series featuring a war-crazed 19th-century British officer ( Sharpe's Devil , etc.) and even mainstream thrillers like Crackdown . Many believable, three-dimensional characters, including such historical figures as Jefferson Davis and George McClellan, walk, run, gallop and sometimes stumble through the Union's 1862 campaign to capture Richmond. Captain Nate Starbuck, who escaped from a fire-and-brimstone Boston preacher of a father to fight for the Confederacy in Rebel (which will be simultaneously released in paperback), here finds himself mistakenly jailed as a Yankee spy. Freed and sent across the lines as a double agent, he eventually returns to an uncertain future with the Confederates. Although it features more non-battle machinations--mostly tangled family relationships--than the Sharpe series, this novel also captures the ``sheer joy'' of war: Starbuck is ``a soldier born to the dark trade.'' Cornwell masterfully depicts battle scenes and the dithering torpor of McClellan's campaign, but he also vividly portrays America's 19th-century religious fervor and Jefferson Davis's inaugural. Richard Sharpe's middle-aged son appears, as does a splendid villain aptly named de'Ath. This is a rollicking treat for Cornwell's many fans. $75,000 ad/promo.
Customer Reviews
Starbuck - fantastic stuff!
As ever with Cornwell, the characters and events are described brilliantly. He is able to transport you back in time effortlessly; with Nate Starbuck he has a hero you want to read about and understand, even though he is on the 'wrong' side. I can't wait to read the next book
Better than part 1!
Another superbly written book by the master! Starbuck's characterisation is much better, there is more battle and it is rich with the description and mood of an ( almost) beseiged Richmond. If you enjoyed the first, the second is equally , if not even more, enjoyable!