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The Patriots
Reg Mills, paratrooper, hero, struggles to adjust to civilian life after the Second World War. When a chance altercation lands him in prison, he meets fellow veteran Tony Tobias. Facing the brutal realities of life on the inside, the pair is forced to re-evaluate their place in a world that no longer has need of them.
As Reg and Tony discuss their fortunes they come to the conclusion that the greed and materialism of postwar culture is responsible for their downfall. With cold military precision, they start to plan a revenge attack on the society they once fought to protect – a train robbery they feel will redress the balance and repay what is owed to them.
From the heist to the ensuing manhunt, The Patriots is a masterful tale of suspense that poses difficult questions of idealism and morality – a book that is at once intelligent, moving, and thrilling.
As Reg and Tony discuss their fortunes they come to the conclusion that the greed and materialism of postwar culture is responsible for their downfall. With cold military precision, they start to plan a revenge attack on the society they once fought to protect – a train robbery they feel will redress the balance and repay what is owed to them.
From the heist to the ensuing manhunt, The Patriots is a masterful tale of suspense that poses difficult questions of idealism and morality – a book that is at once intelligent, moving, and thrilling.
- GenresCrime
368 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1906
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About the author
James Barlow
50 books5 followersJames Barlow was a British novelist, born on 1 December 1921 in Birmingham, England. The author of thirteen novels and one work of non-fiction, he died suddenly at the age of 51 in Ireland on 30 January 1973.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 5, 2025
"England was a small country. It was almost impossible to be alone despite beautiful stretches of countryside. There was always the woman at the window, the unexpected motorist, the poacher in the middle of the night, the lovers in some field at dusk."
There is a pulse to this writing which is compelling. It is as rhythmic as trains used to be. I would venture to say that at times, it is poetic. Broken into lines, those sentences could be a poem. This came as a surprise to me thinking The Patriots was just a crime novel. Other surprises piled onto that one. Here are a few in no particular order.
* It's about a train robbery which shouldn't interest me but it did.
* I wanted the robbery to succeed though I am law abiding.
* Its depiction of post-war Britain is accurately depressing yet people find love and have hope.
* Small details of description show a thoughtful writer more often equated with literary fiction.
* Some passages are lengthy, not boring, with long sentences which verge on the experimental.
* The portrayal of female characters isn't wooden but fleshed out and sensitively gets inside their heads.
* A character who hit his wife could still hold my interest although I'd walk out if any man did that.
* Nature would be such an important character, even a catalyst for events.
* Plot and action are here. Yet so is reflection and thoughts that can be tender as they are brutal.
* It moves forward, fast, while also pausing (never boring) us with one robber's memories of the war and loss of a friend.
* I'd never heard of its author. James Barlow reminds me of John Braine (Room at the Top) and other British writers who became grouped as The Angry Young Men (yet also included the playwright Shelagh Delaney). His socially realistic depiction of the working class belongs with those called Kitchen Sink Dramas.
* Finally, I'm surprised and grateful that I found it. It seems to have faded into oblivion. Published in 1960 and purchased to become a movie, all plans were scrapped when the actual Great Train Robbery took place in Britain. The producers must have feared encouraging another heist. The only crime I see is that James Barlow died young and without the critical attention he deserved.
There is a pulse to this writing which is compelling. It is as rhythmic as trains used to be. I would venture to say that at times, it is poetic. Broken into lines, those sentences could be a poem. This came as a surprise to me thinking The Patriots was just a crime novel. Other surprises piled onto that one. Here are a few in no particular order.
* It's about a train robbery which shouldn't interest me but it did.
* I wanted the robbery to succeed though I am law abiding.
* Its depiction of post-war Britain is accurately depressing yet people find love and have hope.
* Small details of description show a thoughtful writer more often equated with literary fiction.
* Some passages are lengthy, not boring, with long sentences which verge on the experimental.
* The portrayal of female characters isn't wooden but fleshed out and sensitively gets inside their heads.
* A character who hit his wife could still hold my interest although I'd walk out if any man did that.
* Nature would be such an important character, even a catalyst for events.
* Plot and action are here. Yet so is reflection and thoughts that can be tender as they are brutal.
* It moves forward, fast, while also pausing (never boring) us with one robber's memories of the war and loss of a friend.
* I'd never heard of its author. James Barlow reminds me of John Braine (Room at the Top) and other British writers who became grouped as The Angry Young Men (yet also included the playwright Shelagh Delaney). His socially realistic depiction of the working class belongs with those called Kitchen Sink Dramas.
* Finally, I'm surprised and grateful that I found it. It seems to have faded into oblivion. Published in 1960 and purchased to become a movie, all plans were scrapped when the actual Great Train Robbery took place in Britain. The producers must have feared encouraging another heist. The only crime I see is that James Barlow died young and without the critical attention he deserved.
March 30, 2009
A touching tale of two men sadly outdated in the post-war reality. I really like Barlows style, and in retrospect think I probably should have read it in the original english language. Still, I enjoyed it. The critique of society that obviously is there isn't all that poignant or spot on, in my opinion, but it's the story of Reg Mills that is important. Really good, in depth character you're bound to feel something about. Read it:)
November 16, 2020
It was this book's promising title which had first attracted my attention and after giving it a shot, I was glad to find out I could not put it down.
The plot is about a man, Reg Mills, trying to come to terms with a money-driven and morally ambiguous society after witnessing the sheer brutality of the Second World War as a paratrooper. In other words, Mills feels out of place in a world radically different from the one he is so familiar with and which, in a way, he personifies throughout the novel. In some moments of pure genius and inspiration, the narrative is beautifully told as if Mill's life, crimes and ultimate tragedy is all one big battle with military terminology. In this manner, the author's writing poetically encapsulates Mill's philosophy of life, him against the world, the world he had so recently (for the book was published in 1960) fought to save.
This is a book which deserves more critical attention and love from the general readership. Mill's story is an important one to remember.
[Taken from the book, Page 26]: "The mind's eye caused the lip to tremble and the hands to sweat and nothing could keep out the voices, voices, smoke, noise, the smell of grit, the feeling of exhaustion, it was always remembered, you couldn't live it down, forget it, you were what you were because they made you thus..."
The plot is about a man, Reg Mills, trying to come to terms with a money-driven and morally ambiguous society after witnessing the sheer brutality of the Second World War as a paratrooper. In other words, Mills feels out of place in a world radically different from the one he is so familiar with and which, in a way, he personifies throughout the novel. In some moments of pure genius and inspiration, the narrative is beautifully told as if Mill's life, crimes and ultimate tragedy is all one big battle with military terminology. In this manner, the author's writing poetically encapsulates Mill's philosophy of life, him against the world, the world he had so recently (for the book was published in 1960) fought to save.
This is a book which deserves more critical attention and love from the general readership. Mill's story is an important one to remember.
[Taken from the book, Page 26]: "The mind's eye caused the lip to tremble and the hands to sweat and nothing could keep out the voices, voices, smoke, noise, the smell of grit, the feeling of exhaustion, it was always remembered, you couldn't live it down, forget it, you were what you were because they made you thus..."
December 22, 2025
Barlow’s The Patriots is one of my favourite reads of 2025 — 65 years after its release. Barlow’s protagonist is an impulsive, damaged man, trying desperately to provide for his family while suffering PTSD at a time it wasn’t diagnosed let alone treated. He’s a fully formed, morally complex character. The flashback combat scenes are riveting and terrifying.
It’s also a condemnation of British class structure and the dreary prospects facing working class English men and women, post-war.
But most remarkably, this story is a stirring telling of a train robbery written just a few years before(!) the actual Great Train Robbery. The motivation, planning, execution and plausible aftermath are all there.
If you enjoy character studies, crime capers or police procedurals, this novel is a juicy example of all three.
September 4, 2023
Epic story of one man’s civil war era story and that of his young wife and several of his friends. Despite being caught in a bit of tragic circumstances in the beginning of the book, each one tries to do the right thing and make a moral choice no matter the personal consequences to themselves.
Content: battles and a few swears
Content: battles and a few swears
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews