Julian Rathbone was the author of many highly-acclaimed novels. Two of which (KING FISHER LIVES and JOSEPH) were shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He died in February 2008.

Tremendous fun, as Julian Rathbone plays fast and loose with great swathes of American history . . . He wears his learning lightly and has a disarmingly flippant side. BIRTH OF A NATION is notable for the sheer breadth of the material it contains. The narrative meanders, but to excellent purpose, as Rathbone finds a succession of contrasting milieus, all superbly described, for his itinerant hero . . . the novel can be recommended without reservation. It has all the ingredients -- a likeable hero, a string of feisty heroines, well-drawn locales, dramatic reversals of fortune -- of the classic English adventure story

Julian Rathbone was the author of many highly-acclaimed novels. Two of which (KING FISHER LIVES and JOSEPH) were shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He died in February 2008.

Tremendous fun, as Julian Rathbone plays fast and loose with great swathes of American history . . . He wears his learning lightly and has a disarmingly flippant side. BIRTH OF A NATION is notable for the sheer breadth of the material it contains. The narrative meanders, but to excellent purpose, as Rathbone finds a succession of contrasting milieus, all superbly described, for his itinerant hero . . . the novel can be recommended without reservation. It has all the ingredients -- a likeable hero, a string of feisty heroines, well-drawn locales, dramatic reversals of fortune -- of the classic English adventure story