Richard Carvel

In colonial Annapolis, Richard Carvel comes of age amid broken friendships, political intrigue, and the uneasy glitter of provincial society. His childhood bond with Dorothy Manners cools as she grows more dazzling and self-possessed, while the gentler Patty Swain offers him warmth, dignity, and a secret companionship that is shattered when Dorothy discovers her. Richard's grandfather, Mr. Carvel, responds to Patty with unexpected generosity, welcoming her into the family's circle even as Richard watches Patty's vain brother Tom chase status and ambition. As Richard matures, the world around him shifts toward revolution. Lessons with Mr. Allen, conversations with Mr. Swain, and the rising tension between Whig and loyalist loyalties shape his understanding of law, resistance, and history. Yet political education becomes entangled with deception: Allen alters the truth about Richard's beliefs to Mr. Carvel, who rejoices in what he thinks is his grandson's loyalist conversion and sends him toward Oxford, even gifting him the horse Firefly. Richard, trapped by his grandfather's fragile health, must keep silent while suspecting Allen and his uncle Grafton of a larger scheme. Between plantation labor, society gatherings at Wilmot House, and whispered prophecies from old Stanwix, Richard is pulled between love, duty, and the gathering storm of war. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.