KING'S REBEL

Here's a vivid picture of the Revolutionary War, fast in pace, liberal in romance and sex and threaded with intrigue. Seen through the eyes of Robert, Earl of Carhampton, it is not only a picture of a new world, but, after many adventures, it is a chance for a new life. Captain in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, he is sent from Howe's army in New York to the Iroquois on a special mission. His life with the Indians teaches him a great deal about their culture and civilization; he learns too about the ""leather tanners and cobblers"" he had been sent to fight and eventually this King's scout makes his choice between the red coat and the buckskin. Given a not too original framework for historical romance, this has speed and excitement in its telling, is full of life and people and is rich in the colors, smells and sounds of battle and of the woods and valleys of New York and Pennsylvania. Its origin in diaries, messages and records adds to its appeal.