Drums (Limited Edition with pictures by NC Wyeth; signed by Wyeth and the author)

First Edition, Limited Issue. The best novel written about the American Revolution. One of 500 numbered copies signed by James Boyd and N.C. Wyeth, this being number 86. Illustrated with 14 full page color plates and pictorial endpapers by Wyeth. Includes seven pages of letters in facsimile between Boyd and Wyeth concerning this edition. Previous owner's name on front blank, else near fine and tight in original orange cloth lettered in gilt on the spine and with a pictorial onlay on the upper cover. Cover illustration somewhat rubbed in places. Octavo. 409 pages. David McCullough cites the book as one he read in his youth that inspired him to become a historian. A wonderful copy of this rare and timeless coming of age tale from the U.S. Revolutionary War.

Drums takes place in the years leading up to the American Revolution and its onset. Set in Edenton, North Carolina, we find Johnny Fraser, the son of a well-to-do Scottish immigrant with expectations of becoming a gentleman and dreams of a life of adventure. The brewing Revolutionary War throws a wrench in Johnny's plans, however, and he wishes the rising conflict between England and the Colonies would simply go away. Soon after fleeing to England, he realizes that his dandyism is in fact a veneer coating nothing of real worth. And in time, his obsession with English culture gives way to the suppressed American patriotism in his heart.

Readers often expect a novel about the Revolutionary war focusing on famous battles. Although such battles are indeed covered in the latter half of the book, the focus of the story is on young Johnny's struggle to find his way and determine the right course of action where, like many others of his time, he finds himself torn between loyalty to the King and pride in his new country. Indeed, the book provides an unexpected look into the hearts of those Americans who loved England with its sophistication yet also loved their colony and fellow Americans; and we see how Johnny's family, friends, and neighbors respond to the choice before them between loyalty and patriotism.