Eastertide, April 1775. In the blockaded port of Boston, Elizabeth Howard plays a dangerous game. As the infamous courier Oriole, she is hunted by the British for smuggling intelligence and munitions to the Sons of Liberty by night, while by day she flirts with British officers to gain access to information the rebels so desperately need.
But she hasn’t counted on the arrival of Jonathan Carleton, an officer in the Seventeenth Light Dragoons. To her dismay, the attraction between them is immediate, powerful—and fought on both sides in a war of wits and words. When Carleton wins the assignment to ferret out Oriole, Elizabeth can no longer deny that he is not only her most dangerous foe, but also the possessor of her heart.
As the first blood is spilled at Lexington and Concord, Carleton fights his own private battle of faith. And headstrong Elizabeth learns the bitter consequences of following her impulsive heart when her dangerous role thrusts her into the carnage of Bunker Hill.
"J. M. Hochstetler tells the story of Daughter of Liberty in a style I love. She takes fictional characters and sets them at critical moments in history to describe events through their eyes. Daughter of Liberty sets Elizabeth and Jonathan into the middle of the battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. I now know more about those first battles of the American Revolution than I ever learned in history class.
"I’ve long believed that history in school should be taught through fiction. Instead, history is taught with the dry textbook style of memorizing dates, places, and names—something guaranteed to suck all the fun out of it. Great historical moments are always fraught with tension, life and death, heroism, sacrifice and passion. A novel can catch all of the natural drama while still delivering the facts. Daughter of Liberty is the first in a series of novels by Hochstetler about the Revolution. I can’t wait for more." —Mary Connealy
“The crack of the pistol’s report came from directly behind the courier. Sizzling past so close to his ear he could feel the heat of it.”
"With these words, and the impact of a rebel fieldpiece, J. M. Hochstetler’s Daughter of Liberty bursts onto the historical fiction scene. Twenty-year-old Bostonian Elizabeth Howard sympathizes with the patriots’ struggle for freedom from English oppression. Her convictions set her at odds with her parents’ pro-British sympathies, and force her to live a life of lies and deception. By day she is a debutante, by night she is a spy.
"Ruggedly handsome Jonathan Carleton was born in England, but is now a wealthy Virginian landowner. He’s committed to serving his country, but to which does he owe his allegiance? As a member of the British regulars he stands for everything Elizabeth despises. From the moment these two meet, their attraction is fiery and dangerous, and neither Jonathan nor Elizabeth suspects the other’s true allegiance. Are they destined to remain enemies forever?
"Add to this conflict a villain out to get both the hero and heroine, and a final plot twist that will delight fans of the Jane Seymour version of The Scarlet Pimpernel, and you’ve got a truly interesting read. The Revolutionary War makes a great setting for the realistic plot and action Hochstetler incorporates. Fans of American history will appreciate this novel as a painless way to learn more about the lives of such famous historical figures as General Thomas Gage, General John Pitcairn, Paul Revere, and Dr. Joseph Warren.
"Although I am a fan of historical fiction, I was a little overwhelmed with the depth of history included in this book. However, the plot, the lively dialogue, and the character interaction—especially the romantic development—are fabulous, so don’t let the historical details stop you." —Diana Urban
“The spirited wordplay and attraction between Elizabeth and Jonathan keep the book moving at a quick pace. But the real strength lies in the well-crafted research and historical details that illuminate the brick mansions of Beacon Hill, the bustling alleyways of downtown Boston, and the carnage of Bunker Hill” —Dana Rae Laverty, ForeWord Magazine
