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Lantos, Jeff

Why Longfellow Lied: The Truth About Paul Revere's Midnight Ride

160 pp. | Charlesbridge | August, 2021 | Trade ISBN 978-1-58089-933-8 $18.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-63289-784-8 $8.99
(2) YA Since its publication in 1860, Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride" has been for many the definitive account of the beginnings of the Revolutionary War. In deconstructing the poem, Lantos points out numerous errors that exclude individuals (William Dawes), organizations (the patriots' sophisticated community warning system), and events (the Battle of Lexington) that also figure in the history. The question here is whether or not these omissions were the result of Longfellow's literary license in tightening the narrative or a more deliberate effort to create a theme of individual heroism. Lantos's conversational voice allows his enthusiasm for the subject to shine as he adds details (perhaps a few too many, such as the lineage of those who fought at Lexington); colorful asides (the padding that muffled the oars used in rowing Revere across the Charles River came from the petticoat of a young lady); and corrections to Longfellow's historical record (it was Dr. Samuel Prescott, not Revere, who actually reached Concord). When Lantos gets to the "why"s behind these errors, he notes the date of the poem's ­publication, the crisis facing a nation on the verge of civil war, and ­Longfellow's fierce opposition to slavery; he then posits that Longfellow's near-deification of Revere deliberately gave abolitionists a model of one man with strong beliefs changing the course of history. A thoughtful ­proposition and account, appended with detailed documentation and a ­bibliography.
Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

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