Cornwell's most recent title "The Fort" follows the events of the
Penobscot Expedition in 1779. To make a long story short, the
British under Gen.Francis Maclean build a fort on the peninsula of
"Majabigwaduce" or "Bigaduce" to the locals.
The British garrison numbers only under a thousand men and a
massive American armada intends to thwart the British effort.
Several key players are followed in The Fort, written in a style
closer to "The Longest Day". Told from both the American and
British sides.
It takes about 100 pages to get going, but in that long
introduction you are introduced to all of the characters of the
story and get accustomed to their personalities and methods. In
hindsight the slow start really helps the book in the long run.
It was a really fun book, not one of Cornwell's best and his last
book "Azincourt" was a more entertaining read. The Fort however
feels like it has much more substance. That and the 18th century is
awesome.
One last interesting note, one of the characters in the story is a
young "Lt. John Moore" who would later become "Sir John Moore, hero
of Corunna" during the Peninsular war.