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Audiobook edition · 14 h 17 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when rebellion reaches a quiet farm, and loyalty becomes as dangerous as the road ahead?
In The Yeoman Adventurer, George W. Gough places an ordinary Staffordshire farmer in the middle of the Jacobite Rising. He owns and works his land, but the struggle over Britain's throne draws him into a wider, troubled world. The road carries him away from rural quiet and into danger, divided loyalties, and romance.
The Jacobite cause seeks to restore the exiled Stuart family to the throne. Its struggle divides families, neighbours, and counties. Along the road south from Scotland into England, armies, rumours, and spies travel. Against this unsettled background, the story explores a difficult question: what do you owe a king, a friend, or your own family?
What you’ll discover
- An ordinary man drawn in Follow a farmer whose quiet life meets the pressures of a country divided by rebellion.
- Loyalty against safety Explore the uneasy pull between personal ties and allegiance in a time of political upheaval.
- A road alive with danger Enter a world where armies, rumours, and spies make the road a place of uncertainty.
- Love alongside rebellion Discover a romance set amid the fear and divided loyalties of the Jacobite struggle.
- Rural England under pressure See how a struggle for the throne reaches beyond politics and into an ordinary farmer's life.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like fast adventure with a warm, teasing voice, a quick-witted heroine, and a young scholar-farmer who talks his way out of trouble.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A stranger interrupts Oliver's sulk
- Oliver turns his home into shelter
- Oliver waits for his moment
- A would-be robber becomes a rescuer
- Freake's quiet influence opens doors
- The Prince cannot unite his chiefs
- Command brings duty and personal danger
- Love and loyalty complicate courage
- Ordinary people keep the adventure moving
Who’s who
- Oliver WheatmanA Staffordshire yeoman and Latin scholar who longs for a man's work and finds it in the service of a hunted woman.
- Margaret WaynfleteA soldier's daughter, quick-witted and brave, who wants only to reach her captured father and keep clear of Lord Brocton.
- Lord BroctonA handsome, ruthless young lord who wants Margaret, the Wheatman land, and a letter that can ruin his family.
- Colonel Christopher WaynfleteMargaret's father, a veteran of foreign wars, cool and funny, who joins Prince Charles and takes Oliver under his wing.
- Master John FreakeA calm London merchant who says he wants to know who will win and quietly helps Oliver and Margaret.
- Jack DobsonOliver's old schoolfellow, a cheerful cornet in Brocton's dragoons, who loves Oliver's sister Kate.
- Kate WheatmanOliver's red-haired sister, sharp-tongued and loving, who runs the household and hides his Virgil.
- DonaldA giant Highland clansman who is won over by Oliver's punch and becomes his loyal sergeant.
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The Yeoman Adventurer
A farmer who goes fishing in a rage lands a giant pike and a hunted woman, and cannot go home again.
Medium level5–10 hours to read2 languages
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In short
Picture a young man of twenty-three who believes life has passed him by. On a frosty December afternoon, soldiers march past his village, and he spends the hours fishing in a rage.
The Yeoman Adventurer at a glance
- Reading time
- About 8 h 25 min6 h 40 min fast, 10 h slow
- Length
- 119,800 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A Sulking Farmer Lands a Giant Pike
On a December morning, Oliver Wheatman refuses to join his mother and his sister Kate to watch soldiers march by. Among them is Jack Dobson, his old schoolfellow, now a cornet in Lord Brocton's new dragoons. Oliver owns five hundred acres and feels like a cabbage in a field while everyone else marches off to glory.
Kate has hidden his battered Virgil. Stung by her joke, Oliver listens to Joe Braggs, the farmhand, who says a pike as big as a gatepost lies in the river. Oliver grabs his rod and storms off to the bank.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 9 h 20 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Gough, George W. The Yeoman Adventurer. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-yeoman-adventurer.
Gough, G. W. (2026). The yeoman adventurer. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-yeoman-adventurer
Gough, George W. The Yeoman Adventurer. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-yeoman-adventurer.
@book{gough2026yeoman,
author = {Gough, George W.},
title = {The Yeoman Adventurer},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-yeoman-adventurer}
}
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What is The Yeoman Adventurer about?
It follows Oliver Wheatman, a Staffordshire farmer, who helps Margaret Waynflete escape Lord Brocton during the 1745 Jacobite Rising. He is drawn into the Prince's army, scouts, fights, and falls in love along the road.
Is The Yeoman Adventurer a true story?
No, Oliver, Margaret and their friends are invented. The setting is real, including Prince Charles Stuart's march to Derby in 1745 and the retreat north, and real figures such as Lord George Murray appear.
Who is Master Freake?
He is a calm London merchant who calls himself a Freakeiteian, someone who wants to know who will win. He befriends Oliver, backs him with money, and has a hidden hand in many events.
The author
George W. Gough
English novelist
George W. Gough is the author behind The Yeoman Adventurer, a historical adventure novel of its era that carries readers into a world of daring escapades, divided loyalties, and romance on the open road. The tale rides again here in a restored modern English edition, its adventure moving at full gallop.
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