Book
Redcoat
Private Jack Lark has survived years of discipline and now wears his red coat with pride, but ordinary barrack life is no longer enough. At Aldershot he sees a chance to become an officer’s orderly and move beyond the limits imposed on a common soldier, even as Colour Sergeant Slater remains determined to block his advancement and settle old scores.
The novella captures the peacetime British Army immediately before Jack’s career becomes entangled with the wars of the 1850s. Barrack-room hierarchy, patronage and the gulf between officers and enlisted men sharpen Jack’s ambition and help explain why assuming another man’s identity will soon seem less impossible than remaining in his allotted place.
