I Have But One Regret .. And You'll Soon Guess What It Is.

The views expressed in this review are those of the reviewer and not necessarily those of Selfishgenie Publishing. The author of the review was provided with a free copy of the book.

“But One Life” by Samantha Wilcoxson, is one of those books that has the potential to be significant but doesn’t allow itself to be. There is nothing wrong with the writing as such, but the effect after reading it is “meh”.
 
The book tells the story of Nathan Hale, who was executed by the British in 1776 for spying during the early days of the American War of Independence. It follows his progress from the time he starts college at Yale through to his demise 7 years later. The story is told through Hale’s own eyes.
 
For those that have never heard of Nathan Hale, it is he who is alleged to have given us the quote “I regret I have but one life to give for my country”, from which the book’s title is taken.
 
Had it not been for his execution Hale would probably have lived and died as an obscure schoolteacher. The fact that he is remembered is probably more to do with America needing a hero in early days of the War of Independence and Hale dying conveniently at the right time.
 
The book is probably best described as a dramatized biography, in as much as it is based on the known facts about Hale’s life but imagines most of the conversations and many of the meetings in which the character participates.
 
This, for me, is the source of its problems as a book. It simply isn’t dramatic enough. Not once during my reading of it was my pulse rate raised or my jaw made to drop. Indeed, on more than one occasion, I’m sorry to say that I fell asleep while reading it.
 
Two thirds of the book is taken up with the progress of Hale through college and at the start of his teaching career. This is an important part of his life because it is when he would have encountered the ideas that gave him his  revolutionary zeal.
 
However, I saw nothing that told me how Hale became so  inspired, so passionate, about the cause of American Independence that he was prepared to give his life for it.
 
Most of the narrative was taken up with the mundanities of college life and life as a small town schoolteacher. As such it wasn’t very enthralling. We are told that Hale was an active participant in the Linonian Society, a debating club at Yale, which is where he would have encountered many of the ideas underpinning the revolutionary movement in the American Colonies.
 
But we weren’t exposed to any of those ideas ourselves. I felt no passion for the cause that Hale would embrace because I wasn’t shown how Hale became passionate about it. The nature of the debates were so mundane that had they been on TV, I would have changed channels.
 
While the iniquities of the British Crown were mentioned frequently, I wasn’t shown how those iniquities were converted to a desire to be free of them that could, and eventually would, lead to war.
 
Later, when Hale decides to join the militia, it felt as though he was doing it more for companionship than out of any desire to rid his country of British rule. This is important because we are told it caused an irreparable rift between him and the object of his affections, Betsey Adams.
 
The lack of emotional turmoil in making that decision resulted in it feeling bland. The decision should have been tearing Hale apart, but I felt none of his anguish.
 
It is this lack of visible emotions on the part of Hale that makes the whole story so flat and uninteresting. If I can’t feel his emotions, how am I supposed to engage with them?
 
This theme extends into the story of Hale’s active participation in the War of Independence. We are told of two actions in which he participated that are described in such an unexciting manner that the story of a journey to buy milk sounds more interesting by comparison.
 
This was war. War is a terrifying experience. Hale could die a horrible death at any moment. But it sounded less exciting than Hale’s earlier story of smashing the dining room windows at Yale during a drunken evening out with friends.
 
The finale of the story, Hale’s betrayal and execution as a spy, which is all that made him famous, is told with an equal lack of emotional trauma. The scene depicting his betrayal was undramatic to say the least, but what followed was even less so.

​A man about to die would be living in terror of what was to come. But Hale seems mainly concerned about how his family would take the news. Once again the scene is narrated with a flatness that evokes no sympathy or emotional response.
 
We don’t even get a suitably evil depiction of the British soldiers who carried out the execution.
 
The story that is told is, at best, one of a likeable and competent teacher and at worst an incompetent spy who is lionised for his failure. In a war that took the life of thousands of young American men the fact that his name lives on while theirs are forgotten is a puzzle to me and this book does nothing to unravel that puzzle.
 
But I have awarded three stars, so there must be something positive to say about this book. That is that it is impeccably researched. I have no doubt about the accuracy of the detail surrounding the historical events that are described. But, sadly, historical accuracy is not enough to make a story exciting enough to want to read it.
 
To find out more about “But One Life” by Samantha Wilcoxon, click here.
 
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