A Historical Fiction novel written by John Jennings. Stephen Trent is a young London rakehell, living a life of drinking and gambling on his father's dime. When his father dies suddenly, he is left penniless, the inheritance eaten up by debts. He botches his uncle's scheme to see him into the army as an unpaid officer, eventually leading to a proper commission at his uncle's expense, and in his despair is inveigled into the army as a private soldier by a recruiting sergeant.
Tropes found in this work include:
- The Big Guy: Big Jack O'Hara is 6'6', near 300 pounds, and strong to go with it.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Corporal Flanagan hits this trope in every particular except his rank. He's foul mouthed, abusive, autocratic, and prone to using his swagger stick on anyone who fails in the slightest fashion.
- Funetik Aksent: Trent and his aristocratic aquaintances are the only characters whose dialogue uses standard spelling. Everyone else has some version of this.
- Gentlemen Rankers: As the title indicates, Trent being one is the major premise of the book.
- Historical Domain Character: Trent joins General Braddock's expedition to Virginia, meets George Washington's brother and engages in a fistfight and later a target shooting match with Daniel Boone, among many others with more minor roles.
- Recruiters Always Lie: Big Jack O'Hara is giving a speech about the glories of Army life to a tavern full of London lowlifes when Stephen meets him. He then convinces Trent to join, implying that it will be a similar situation to the one his uncle offered.
- Upper-Class Twit: Trent and his friends embody this trope; they spend their time drinking, gambling, and making the bearers of their sedan chairs run races. His uncle is disgusted by his behaviour.
