True to the Old Flag

A Tale of the American War of Independence

By: George Alfred Henty

Narrated by: Jim Hodges

Length: 10 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Bring history back to life through Jim Hodges' historically accurate, exciting, and edifying audio recordings.

The Battles of Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, the Declaration of Independence, Washington crossing the Delaware, Saratoga, and the final surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown - these are the scenes that stir the soul of many an American. But to an Englishman, they do no such thing. This Henty novel retells these stirring tales but from a different perspective, helping listeners learn how the other side viewed this miraculous triumph of freedom that inspires millions throughout the world still today.

The Henty Historical Novel Collection, written by George Henty in the 1800s, covers many time periods in history throughout the world. In this collection you will learn history, geography, and vocabulary while also discovering hero characters for your children to emulate.

Public Domain (P)2006 Jim Hodges Productions

There are two sides to every story.

This was a fantastic story told from the opposite side we Americans always hear from. I really appreciate that it was written by a 19th Century Englishman, much closer in time to the Revolution than we are. His perspective, and the lack of a modern spin, is valuable for those who wish to better understand all the people of that time, not just the winners.

The narrator also did a great job. He made the story engaging and the characters distinctive.

If I could rate this below 1 star, I would.

I've listened to a lot of G.A.Henty's books - and this may be the last. I have never before read a book that poses as "historically accurate" that was so blatantly bigoted as this. Henty is very clearly English, and very nasty throughout this story toward Americans.

Henty used this book to vent his anger over the British loss in the revolutionary war by laying the "blame" for the loss entirely on the poor choice of generals. He also claims that the English command would have much preferred not to work with the "bloodthirsty savages", but had no choice for fear of the "vermin" joining the American side in the conflict if they did not. He claims that the French-Canadians were every bit as bloodthirsty and savage as the natives and that the "American traitors" weren't much better. He claims that Americans would kill men, women, and children indiscriminately if they were thought to be loyalists. Henty goes on to claim that the French assistance was purely out of spite for the British taking Canada from France. He goes on to insinuate that the English were unjustly ganged up on and that the whole reason for the war was a farce, as "the English had rescinded all taxes except the tea tax". I could go on about the author, but I'll stop there and discuss the narrator.

Jim Hodges is the narrator for most, if not all of Henty's work. He is BY FAR the worst narrator ever to read aloud - and that INCLUDES elementary-school students called on to read in class. His absolute butchery of every accent he attempts can't even be viewed as comical - they are downright PAINFUL. The number of times that it has occurred to me during his narrations that slowly inserting a screwdriver into my ear would be less painful than listening to his butchery of EVERY ACCENT is downright frightening. I can guarantee that he has never listened to his own narrations purely by the fact that he has narrated more than once. It is so bad that I have had to listen to every book he narrates on a headset because my wife begged me not to torture her by having it on a speaker around her.

If I could rate this below 1 star, I would.