This is the 4th episode of 1776: The World Turned Upside Down, a 12-episode serial by Serial Box Publishing in partnership with The Associated Press. The infant colonial navy meets the mighty Brits. Life on the briny in the 18th c. offered a mean existence along with the tantalizing hope of riches. And entertainments on land for hard-working, hard-drinking colonials: cards, billiards, cock-fights, and sermons, too. They were farmers and accountants, high-school dropouts and part-time soldiers, successful merchants and failed corset makers. Yet together they stood together and fought the greatest empire the world had ever known, all for a brand-new idea: America. A month by month immersive historical account of the Revolution in its first year, this series of twelve installments is unique in its focus on the lives of ordinary colonists and the more personal stories of now famous figures. Through informal and playful storytelling about the events in each month, the series explores the roots of America’s successes and many struggles. We see the beginnings of regional disputes and differences, institutional inequality and oppression, the tension between cultural heritage versus assimilation, and the struggle between states’ rights and federal government, all through the eyes of colonists and militiamen. The audio series is narrated by Robin Miles with a variety of guest voices including Hamilton star Chris Jackson as George Washington. Installments are being released in synchronized ebook and audio monthly installments from Serial Box throughout 2018.

An unparalleled look at AmericaÍs Revolutionary War invasion of Canada

In the tradition of the preceding volumes - the first of which was published in 1964 - this work synthesizes edited documents, including correspondence, ship logs, muster rolls, orders, and newspaper accounts, that provide a comprehensive understanding of the war at sea in the spring of 1778. The editors organize this wide array of texts chronologically by theater and incorporate French, Italian, and Spanish transcriptions with English translations throughout.

Despite recent interest in music-making in the so-called ’provinces’, the idea still lingers that music-making outside London was small in scale, second-rate and behind the times. However, in Newcastle upon Tyne, the presence of a nationally known musician, Charles Avison (1709-1770), prompts a reassessment of how far this idea is still tenable. Avison’s life and work illuminates many wider trends. His relationships with his patrons, the commercial imperatives which shaped his activities, the historical and social milieu in which he lived and worked, were influenced by and reflected many contemporary movements: Latitudinarianism, Methodism, the improvement of church music, the aesthetics of the day including new ideas circulating in Europe, discussions of issues such as gentility, and the new commercialism of leisure. He can be considered as the notional centre of a web of connections, both musical and non-musical, extending through every part of Britain and into both Europe and America. This book looks at these connections, exploring the ways in which the musical culture in the north-east region interacted with, and influenced, musical culture elsewhere, and the non-musical influences with which it was involved, including contemporary religious, philosophical and commercial developments, establishing that regional centres such as Newcastle could be as well-informed, influential and vibrant as London.