April Morning
Encyclopedia
April Morning is a 1961 novel by Howard Fast
depicting the Battle of Lexington and Concord from the perspective of a fictional teenager, Adam Cooper. It takes place in the 27-hour period from April 18, 1775 to the aftermath of the battle. During that stretch, Adam comes of age
and resolves his difficulties with his intellectually demanding father, Moses Cooper.
While the novel was not originally written as a young adult story, it has increasingly been assigned in middle school
English
and social studies
classes, due to the age of the protagonist and Fast's meticulous efforts to recreate the texture of daily life in colonial America
and the political currents on the eve of the American Revolution
.
In 1987, a film version was made for television starring Chad Lowe
as Adam and Tommy Lee Jones
as Moses. It is often shown in classes where the book is read. Legendary director John Ford had intended to follow up his film 7 Women
with a film version of April Morning, but soon became too sick and had to pull out of the project. Had Ford had his way, he would have had his frequent collaborator John Wayne play Moses. Ford once said that out of all the film projects he was not able to do for one reason or another, the only one he really regretted not doing was April Morning, because it could have been his early gift to America's bicentennial.
The novel is organized into eight chapters named for the times of the day when they occur. It all takes place in a time span of less than two full days. In that short time many dramatic events happen.
ignorance. Similarly, his mother Sarah upbraids him for not spending his free time reading and memorizing the Bible
's Book of Lamentations
. At dinner, Moses sternly reprimands Adam for the ignorance represented by the spell and points to the Cooper family tradition, in 125 years in the American colonies, of literacy, rationalism and intellectualism. He pointedly tells him that he is not yet a man in his father's eyes. As dinner ends, the Coopers are visited by their cousin Joseph Simmons, who is a member of the local Committee of correspondence
, which organizes resistance to the British. He and Moses work on a declaration of their rights before they go to the Committee meeting. Moses refuses to let Adam join him.
That evening, Adam learns that the attendees discussed matters of revolt and whether or not to keep minutes
. Moses convinces the men to be proud of their speech and not fear punishment for treason. Meanwhile, Adam visits Ruth, whom he admires. She once told everyone that she was going to marry him when they grew up. He finally vents his frustration with his father's constant belittling. They part with a kiss.
That night Adam and Levi overhear a midnight rider say that the British are coming. Adam joins the militia in order to resist the British, which, surprisingly, Moses agrees to, telling Sarah that Adam is no longer a boy in his eyes. Father and son prepare for combat and talk about the relationship between Adam and Ruth. After breakfast, they join the militia to face the British on the green. About 70 men and boys gather in Lexington
and when the British arrive shortly after dawn they encounter two lines of militia. The colonists stand their ground though the British commander, Major Pitcairn, orders them to disperse. A shot is fired by a British soldier, starting the battle, in which Moses is killed. After the British kill more of the colonists, the outnumbered militia flees the battlefield. Adam hides in a nearby smokehouse, worrying about his father's death.
Later that afternoon, Adam hears two British soldiers outside the smokehouse debate whether to burn it, but they do not. He escapes through the woods but runs into two British soldiers and is nearly shot. Escaping across a meadow he encounters Solomon Chandler, who tells him stories in order to assuage his fear after having lost his father. He assures him that despite having run away when the shooting started on the green, he is not a coward. The two join a group of militiamen, and he tells them all what happened in Lexington.
Soon, more militias gather and they learn that the British took heavy casualties at the Old North Bridge. They gather along the road back to Boston and plan an ambush
of the retreating British. The British troops arrive and the militia open fire. After several volleys, the militia runs away and the British do not pursue. The militia regathers and the British approach again. The militia lays another ambush, in which they retreat down the road under cover of sharpshooters
killing the British from great distances. They continue to lay ambushes for the British, and retreat through the woods. They meet up with others at a nearby barn and decide to set yet another trap for the British along a nearby road. Along the way they encounter, and defeat, a British cavalry
patrol.
The group of militia men continues to grow, with men from neighboring towns joining in, and they set another trap. Meanwhile, they see smoke rising from the vicinity of Lexington and think that the village has been burnt by the British. The attack on them goes as planned, but Adam falls asleep during it. Soon he gets leave to return to Lexington and console his family. He finds his house unburned, and his family is relieved he isn't dead. Moses' body is brought home. They bear him to the church with the other dead. As Adam looks over the damage left from the battle, he realizes that, unlike Levi, he has left childhood behind.
That evening, Adam returns to his home. Many neighbors have come to visit and prepare food there, including Ruth, and she and Adam talk. She asks about the battle in the morning on the green, and he tells her about some of the things he saw. She worries that the British will come again and the same thing will happen, but he reassures her. She then asks him if he loves her, and after thinking about it, he says yes. She tells him that she loves him and then they part. After returning home to a nearly empty house, he goes to bed thinking about the changes that happened to him during those two days.
in 1988 by James Lee Barrett
. This production was directed by Delbert Mann
.
. Originally published 1961. Mass Market Paperback: Bantam, 1983. ISBN 0553273221
Howard Fast
Howard Melvin Fast was an American novelist and television writer. Fast also wrote under the pen names E. V. Cunningham and Walter Ericson.-Early life:Fast was born in New York City...
depicting the Battle of Lexington and Concord from the perspective of a fictional teenager, Adam Cooper. It takes place in the 27-hour period from April 18, 1775 to the aftermath of the battle. During that stretch, Adam comes of age
Coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
and resolves his difficulties with his intellectually demanding father, Moses Cooper.
While the novel was not originally written as a young adult story, it has increasingly been assigned in middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
English
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
and social studies
Social studies
Social studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the American National Council for the Social Studies...
classes, due to the age of the protagonist and Fast's meticulous efforts to recreate the texture of daily life in colonial America
Colonial America
The colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...
and the political currents on the eve of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
In 1987, a film version was made for television starring Chad Lowe
Chad Lowe
Charles Conrad "Chad" Lowe is an American actor. He is the younger brother of fellow actor Rob Lowe. He won an Emmy Award for his supporting role in Life Goes On as a man suffering with HIV. He has also had recurring roles on ER, Melrose Place, and Now and Again...
as Adam and Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
as Moses. It is often shown in classes where the book is read. Legendary director John Ford had intended to follow up his film 7 Women
7 Women
7 Women, also known as Seven Women, is a 1966 film drama made by MGM. It was directed by John Ford, produced by Bernard Smith and John Ford, from a screenplay by Janet Green and John McCormick, based on the story Chinese Finale by Norah Lofts. The music score was by Elmer Bernstein and the...
with a film version of April Morning, but soon became too sick and had to pull out of the project. Had Ford had his way, he would have had his frequent collaborator John Wayne play Moses. Ford once said that out of all the film projects he was not able to do for one reason or another, the only one he really regretted not doing was April Morning, because it could have been his early gift to America's bicentennial.
The novel is organized into eight chapters named for the times of the day when they occur. It all takes place in a time span of less than two full days. In that short time many dramatic events happen.
Plot
The novel begins in the afternoon with Adam getting water for dinner from the Coopers' well. He is interrupted by his eleven year-old brother Levi. As he returns to his home, his father Moses reprimands him for superstitiousSuperstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
ignorance. Similarly, his mother Sarah upbraids him for not spending his free time reading and memorizing the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
's Book of Lamentations
Book of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations ) is a poetic book of the Hebrew Bible composed by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah. It mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in the 6th Century BCE....
. At dinner, Moses sternly reprimands Adam for the ignorance represented by the spell and points to the Cooper family tradition, in 125 years in the American colonies, of literacy, rationalism and intellectualism. He pointedly tells him that he is not yet a man in his father's eyes. As dinner ends, the Coopers are visited by their cousin Joseph Simmons, who is a member of the local Committee of correspondence
Committee of correspondence
The Committees of Correspondence were shadow governments organized by the Patriot leaders of the Thirteen Colonies on the eve of American Revolution. They coordinated responses to Britain and shared their plans; by 1773 they had emerged as shadow governments, superseding the colonial legislature...
, which organizes resistance to the British. He and Moses work on a declaration of their rights before they go to the Committee meeting. Moses refuses to let Adam join him.
That evening, Adam learns that the attendees discussed matters of revolt and whether or not to keep minutes
Minutes
Minutes, also known as protocols, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting, starting with a list of attendees, a statement of the issues considered by the participants, and related responses or decisions for the issues.Minutes may be...
. Moses convinces the men to be proud of their speech and not fear punishment for treason. Meanwhile, Adam visits Ruth, whom he admires. She once told everyone that she was going to marry him when they grew up. He finally vents his frustration with his father's constant belittling. They part with a kiss.
That night Adam and Levi overhear a midnight rider say that the British are coming. Adam joins the militia in order to resist the British, which, surprisingly, Moses agrees to, telling Sarah that Adam is no longer a boy in his eyes. Father and son prepare for combat and talk about the relationship between Adam and Ruth. After breakfast, they join the militia to face the British on the green. About 70 men and boys gather in Lexington
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...
and when the British arrive shortly after dawn they encounter two lines of militia. The colonists stand their ground though the British commander, Major Pitcairn, orders them to disperse. A shot is fired by a British soldier, starting the battle, in which Moses is killed. After the British kill more of the colonists, the outnumbered militia flees the battlefield. Adam hides in a nearby smokehouse, worrying about his father's death.
Later that afternoon, Adam hears two British soldiers outside the smokehouse debate whether to burn it, but they do not. He escapes through the woods but runs into two British soldiers and is nearly shot. Escaping across a meadow he encounters Solomon Chandler, who tells him stories in order to assuage his fear after having lost his father. He assures him that despite having run away when the shooting started on the green, he is not a coward. The two join a group of militiamen, and he tells them all what happened in Lexington.
Soon, more militias gather and they learn that the British took heavy casualties at the Old North Bridge. They gather along the road back to Boston and plan an ambush
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...
of the retreating British. The British troops arrive and the militia open fire. After several volleys, the militia runs away and the British do not pursue. The militia regathers and the British approach again. The militia lays another ambush, in which they retreat down the road under cover of sharpshooters
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
killing the British from great distances. They continue to lay ambushes for the British, and retreat through the woods. They meet up with others at a nearby barn and decide to set yet another trap for the British along a nearby road. Along the way they encounter, and defeat, a British cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
patrol.
The group of militia men continues to grow, with men from neighboring towns joining in, and they set another trap. Meanwhile, they see smoke rising from the vicinity of Lexington and think that the village has been burnt by the British. The attack on them goes as planned, but Adam falls asleep during it. Soon he gets leave to return to Lexington and console his family. He finds his house unburned, and his family is relieved he isn't dead. Moses' body is brought home. They bear him to the church with the other dead. As Adam looks over the damage left from the battle, he realizes that, unlike Levi, he has left childhood behind.
That evening, Adam returns to his home. Many neighbors have come to visit and prepare food there, including Ruth, and she and Adam talk. She asks about the battle in the morning on the green, and he tells her about some of the things he saw. She worries that the British will come again and the same thing will happen, but he reassures her. She then asks him if he loves her, and after thinking about it, he says yes. She tells him that she loves him and then they part. After returning home to a nearly empty house, he goes to bed thinking about the changes that happened to him during those two days.
Adaptations
The novel was adapted for TV in the Hallmark Hall of FameHallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...
in 1988 by James Lee Barrett
James Lee Barrett
James Lee Barrett was an American producer, screenwriter, and writer.Barrett, along with Peter Udell and Phillip Rose won the 1975 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Shenandoah, which was based on his 1965 film by the same name, which starred James Stewart.Other notable works written by...
. This production was directed by Delbert Mann
Delbert Mann
Delbert Martin Mann, Jr. was an American television and film director. He won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Director for the film Marty...
.
Publication information
April Morning, by Howard FastHoward Fast
Howard Melvin Fast was an American novelist and television writer. Fast also wrote under the pen names E. V. Cunningham and Walter Ericson.-Early life:Fast was born in New York City...
. Originally published 1961. Mass Market Paperback: Bantam, 1983. ISBN 0553273221