''The American Prisoner'' is a British novel written by Eden Phillpotts and published in 1904 and adapted into a film by the same name in 1929. The story concerns an English woman who lives at

Fox Tor Fox Tor is a relatively minor tor on Dartmoor in the county of Devon, England. On the flank of the tor, about 500 m to the north stands Childe's Tomb - according to local legend, the last resting place of Childe the Hunter, an unfortunat ...

farm, and an American captured during the American War of Independence and held at the prison at

Princetown Princetown is a villageDespite its name, Princetown is not classed as a town today – it is not included in the County Council's list of the 29 towns in Devon: located within Dartmoor national park in the English county of Devon. It is the ...

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...

. The heroine's father, Maurice Malherb, is based on Thomas Windeatt. In the novel ''Malherb'' is a miscreant who destroys Childe's tomb and beats his servant. He is depicted as a victim of his own bad temper rather than a sadist. Malherb is introduced as the younger son of a noble family and he builds the Fox Tor house to be the impressive gentleman's residence suggested by

William Crossing William Crossing (1847–1928) was a writer and chronicler of Dartmoor and the lives of its inhabitants. He lived successively at South Brent, Brentor and at Mary Tavy but died at Plymouth, Devon. Early life Crossing was born in Plymouth on 14 N ...

rather than the humble cottage which it actually is.

References

External links

* 1904 British novels British novels adapted into films Novels set in the American colonial era Novels set in Devon Works by Eden Phillpotts Novels set in the 18th century {{1900s-hist-novel-stub