Ride Proud, Rebel!

~ 1st Novel in the Drew Rennie Series by Andre Norton

ride.proud.rebel

NOTE: This title has entered the “Public Domain” and is therefore open to any publisher that wants to print it. Many “Print on Demand” publishers have started to release this title. This site has chosen to ignore these published versions and only concentrate on estate sanctioned materials.


Synopsis ~

Write-up from the front flap of the 1961 dustjacket ~

Drew Rennie was a rebel in more ways than one. Since childhood he had rebelled against the stern, unforgiving grandfather who had reared him and who made no secret of his hatred for Drew’s Texan father. When the Civil War began, the smoldering feud had erupted into a violent quarrel. Grandfather’s sympathies were with the North; in 1864, when eighteen-year-old Drew returned to Kentucky with Morgan’s Raiders, he was a seasoned veteran who had already been fighting for the South for two years. And even though Morgan’s disastrous defeat at Cynthiana clearly reflected the Confederacy’s growing weakness, it never occurred to Drew or his spur-jingling friend Anse or young Boyd Barrett to stop fighting. In disorder, without adequate supplies and weapons and harried by Union soldiers, they fought their way south to join Forrest’s army.
This then, is also the dramatic story of the long, agonizing retreat of the Army of the Tennessee from Harrisburg in Mississippi, where Boyd was wounded, to the rout of Selma and final surrender. Based on unpublished sources and written by a master storyteller, Drew’s adventures as a scout for Forrest during the last year of the Confederacy make not only a gripping tale but also graphically portray the courage and strength of men who met defeat with honor.

 

Write-up from the back of the Fawcett paperback edition ~

“They’re Comin! Looks Like the Whole Country’s Sprouting Yankees Otta the Ground.”
The Civil War is raging, and all the South is a shambles. Fifteen-year-old Drew Rennie is a born rebel who would do anything to get into uniform and fight for the Confederate cause.
Barely old enough to grow peach fuzz, Drew runs off to join General Morgan’s crusade against the Yankees. But Drew has had plenty of practice at fighting, starting at home with his grandfather. And now that he has reached the battlefield, he needs every bit of bravery he has.

 

Write-up from a fan ~

Drew Rennie, an orphan is begrudgingly raised by his maternal Grandfather who hated Drew's father and transferred his hatred to Drew. His grandfather supports the Union side in the War Between the States, so naturally Drew enlists in the Confederate Army. The book recounts his adventures and misadventures in the service of General John Hunt Morgan as a scout and procurer of horses. He later served under N.B. Forrest after Morgan was killed. Andre did a lot of research using memoirs of a Confederate soldier to be as accurate as possible. The house that Drew "grew up in" is based on John Hunt Morgan's house and a model of that house was built by Andre's best friend's father and was given to Andre and now sits in the Cleveland Public Library. ~ PG

 

Reviews ~

Kirkus Reviews ~ Issue: April 1st, 1961
Andre Norton- in a new role- weaves a substantial and dramatic narrative with the Civil War as its focus. Drew Rennie was a rebel in political allegiance and in spirit alike. The outbreak of the war climaxed the feud between himself and his grandfather who resented his very existence because of his Texan father. In hurt and anger Drew joins Morgan's Raiders and despite Morgan's defeat at Cynthiana, he continues the arduous trek with his friends, Anse and Boyd, to join Forrest's troops. Harassed by dwindling supplies, poor weapons and Union soldiers they reach their destination only to retreat further with the southern forces to a final surrender. The army is vanquished, but its pride is not. Knowing how the years have rendered a return to his former life impossible, Drew sets out for the West, perhaps to find his father, surely to find a new and fresh life. A moving and suspenseful tale which carries a conviction of reality.

 

Booklist Review ~ June 01, 1961
Rebel trooper Drew Rennie had left the Kentucky home of his grandfather, where he had been reared but never loved or accepted, to serve with Morgan's Raiders. After the rout of Morgan's men at Cynthiana, Drew joined General Bedford Forrest's command and fought out the last year of the war with the retreating Army of the Tennessee, riding tall and proud on the long, hard road which finally led to the Confederate surrender. By the author of numerous science fiction books and several historical narratives, this is a realistic, uncontrived, and thoroughly convincing Civil War story for teen-age boys.

 

Various reviews ~ For more info and other listings see Articles Over the Years

2020 by Judith Tarr

 

Dedications and Acknowledgements ~

To Those Reconstructed Rebels
Ernistine and William Donnaldy
with no apologies from a damnyankee

 

Bibliography of English Editions ~

  • (1961) Published by World, HC, HC361, LCCN 61006657, $3.75, 255pg ~ cover by W.T. Mars {Light Blue Cloth Boards, # 2079 on Rear of Dust Jacket}
  • (1981) Published by Fawcett, PB, 0-449-70017-8, $1.95, 222pg ~ cover by unknown
  • Rebel Pride (2015) Published by Positronic Publishing, TP, 978-1-51540-245-9, $12.99, 332pg ~ Print-on-demand ~ Omnibus containing Rebel Spurs and Ride Proud Rebel! ~ Also available as Digital Media for $1.99
  • (2017) Published by Open Road Media, DM, 9781504049191, $1.99, 243pg ~ cover by unknown
  • Rebel Pride (2018) Published by Positronic Publishing, HC, 978-1-51542-220-4, $24.99, 332pg ~ Print-on-demand ~ Omnibus containing Rebel Spurs and Ride Proud Rebel!

View the 1978 Fawcett contract

View the original Copyright app.

For information on editions currently available visit the Book Store

View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://andre-norton.com/works-of-a-master/series-of-a-master/the-drew-rennie-series/258-ride-proud-rebel#sigProId78ddd9b790

 

 

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