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The Fort

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About this listen

‘Captivate, kill or destroy the whole force of the enemy’ was the order given to the American soldiers.

THE FORT is the blistering new novel from worldwide bestseller Bernard Cornwell.

Summer 1779.

Seven hundred and fifty British soldiers and three small ships of the Royal Navy. Their orders: to build a fort above a harbour to create a base from which to control the New England seaboard.

Forty-one American ships and over nine hundred men. Their orders: to expel the British.

The battle that followed was a classic example of how the best-laid plans can be disrupted by personality and politics, and of how warfare can bring out both the best and worst in men. It is a timeless tale of men at war, written by a master storyteller.

 Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Political Sea Adventures War & Military Adventure War

Critic reviews

‘Nobody in the world does this stuff better than Cornwell’ Lee Child

‘Bernard Cornwell is a literary miracle. Year after year, hail, rain, snow, war and political upheavals fail to prevent him from producing the most entertaining and readable historical novels of his generation.' Daily Mail
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This was an absolute page-turner, if you can have a page-turner when it's an audiobook!

A great read!

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WOW this was a very good insight into the working life of americans during the American War of Independence. I enjoyed the picture that depicted how the English/Scottish soldiers interacted with the local residents and how they directed their fighting in this particular war. It was refreshing as it did not portray any particular side as villanous.

The Fort

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love this book listened to numerous times and enjoy it everytime. hopefully this will lead to a film of the book.

fantastic story

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I enjoyed this story of an event during the American War of Independence. It tells of the British setting up a fort at Magdabigwajuce on the Penobscot River, and the attack on the fort, in the early stages of its construction, by the Americans. Cornwell has drawn the characters of the protagonists well, and has described how each considered the situation and responded. The British forces were trained professional soldiers and sailors, although many lacked fighting experience, and the Americans were largely pressed men, with a few trained Marines, but they were fighting for their liberty. The American officers were, in general, extremely cautious, not wanting to squander their slim resources and always looking for a certain victory, and this led to interesting conflict between them. The Americans had arrived with many ships, and the British over-estimated the actual number of men and their firepower. Both sides were hoping for the arrival of reinforcements.

From the way Cornwell set up the various battles between the Americans and the British, I could not predict which side would win, and this feeling that victory could go to either side continued right up to the end of the book. Even when reinforcements did arrive Cornwell did not tell us immediately which side they were on, and he continued to set up situations in which the reinforcements could be dealt a damaging blow.

The narration, by Robin Bowerman, was good, with each character having a distinctive voice.

Not Sharpe, but absorbing

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Not a bad tale , but not Cornwall at his best . still a good yarn .

Not bad

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