Major Andre

by Anthony Bailey

A look at Benedict Arnold's conspiracy to surrender West Point to the British, told from the point of view of a leading participant, the charming and talented professional military man, amateur actor, and poet John Andre, who is compelled by his code of conduct to rise above his own shortcomings.

Genres: Historical Fiction

Paperback

First published July 1, 1987

About the author

Anthony Bailey (born 1933) was a British non-fiction writer, and art historian.

He was evacuated to Dayton, Ohio, in 1940 during World War II. For many years he was a writer for the New Yorker magazine.

He died of corona virus in Colchester, Essex, which he contracted whilst in hospital for hip surgery after a fall at his home.

He lived in Mersea Island, near Colchester, Essex, with his wife Margot. They have four daughters: Liz, Annie, Katie and Rachel.

His obituary in the New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/26/bo...

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're not familiar with Major John Andre and his role in Benedict Arnold's treason in 1780, this book will still be good, but will probably lack a certain resonance. If, like me, you know it backwards and forwards, it is a complete gut-punch of a book that improves with re-reading...although I might have done the very last paragraphs differently. If you are a writer, it's a perfect example of how to live inside your character's head, and a formidable meditation on what it is like to face death.

[Lisbeth Eng · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of John Andre is compelling and poignant, and Bailey succeeds in bringing this oft-told, true tale from our American Revolution to life. Andre is portrayed as an intelligent, sympathetic and brave young man, forced to face his own death with as much grace and courage as he can muster. The historical Andre was mourned and admired by comrades and enemies alike, and Bailey ably intertwines Andre's relationships with his captors (Tallmadge and Hamilton in particular) with Andre's imagined inner reflections and regrets. This book, and the historical protagonist it portrays, touched my heart, and will stay with me for a very long time. As a writer of historical fiction (I've written a WWII-set romance and am currently working on one set during the American Revolution) I appreciate the deftly-drawn characterization of a doomed but fascinating man.

[P.Wiltse · Rating 3 out of 5]

So very, very 80s. I mostly liked it (except for the multiple times Bailey paraphrased André's actual writings really really closely), but I doubt the André in the book bears much resemblance personality-wise to the real man. It took me a while think of what he did remind me of, because I kept thinking it was a sort of washed-out version of Gore Vidal's Aaron Burr, and then I realized it was actually Charlie Schuyler, the other (and frankly less interesting) narrator in Burr.

Bailey also did something that's rapidly becoming a minor pet peeve of mine when it comes to sympathetic characterizations of André (I think JJ Feild claimed this too in an interview) - André loving America and seeing himself as quasi-American or wanting to stay in America, and I just think there's no evidence for this. I mean, he certainly thought parts of it were pretty, and I don't think he hated it, but I also think it's more likely that he was never that attached to America and his home was always England. I think the meme of André the American has more to do with the fact that he's ours now, bitches, because America seems to have stayed fascinated with him for far longer than Great Britain did than anything the real John André actually felt.

[Nicki Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Major André was a delightful read. Bailey presents his leading man as a fascinating character, and I loved the idea of his story being revealed through his prison talks with Tallmadge. This is certainly not the most scholarly work I've read on André in the last year; however, it was an entertaining and enjoyable fictionalised representation of events.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll be honest when I first got this book, I thought it was a biography of Major John Andre. It is not. This is a fictional account written from his point of view of his meeting with Benedict Arnold, his journey to British lines and subsequent capture and his imprisonment, trial and execution. It was a good read depicting this interesting time in Revolutionary War history.