From Library Journal
The author's notes for this well-written but difficult novel indicate that it is a fictionalized account of three years (1753-55) in the life of George Washington?a glory-hungry, ambitious figure on the rise in mid-18th-century Colonial America. And so it is?and much more. The tale is told from the point of view of sometime sea captain Thomas "Tick" Morley, a young man of average ambition with a hankering for the wrong women and a developing taste for adventure. His accidental involvement in Washington's forays into and beyond the Appalachian Mountains and his wry observations of these journeys make for informative and amusing reading. Appearances by Benjamin Franklin are delightful, as is Morley's "romance" with a manipulative and mysterious young woman. Details of the developing slave trade are appropriately disturbing. Find a quiet place to concentrate on this detailed novel, which is well done but demanding reading. For historical fiction and academic collections.?Bettie Alston Shea, Charlotte- Mecklenburg P.L., N.C.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Readers who enjoyed Max Byrd's historical novels Jefferson (1993) and Jackson (1997) should find this authentic rendering of pre-presidency and even pre-revolutionary George Washington quite interesting. Three specific years are the focus of Kilian's narrative, which is obviously the result of careful and copious research--the years 1753^-55, when Washington, eager to make something of himself, participated in the English forces' confrontation with French forces in the perennial struggle for control of the Ohio Valley. Young Thomas Morley, in partnership with his brother, is a shipowner involved in coastal trading among the colonies. A fortuitous circumstance acquaints him with young George Washington of upper-crust Virginia. By another set of circumstances (stemming from trifling with a young lady), Morley's fortunes are soon tied up with Washington's, and in retrospect, as the Revolutionary War rages, he remembers his affiliation with Washington during those three years that in essence made the great man's career. We see a truly human Washington here, deeper than a frozen-in-ice icon. Brad Hooper
From Kirkus Reviews
Creaky and ponderous but occasionally eye-opening take on George Washington's less-than-brilliant career as spy, commander, and possible instigator of the French and Indian War. As portrayed by Kilian, a Capitol Hill correspondent and novelist (The Big Score, 1993, etc.), Gentleman George, still in his 20s in 1754, was a fastidious, patronizing bumbler of such preening ambition and political naivet that it's a wonder he's still on the dollar bill. Young sea captain Tick Morley, who likes books and baths, confesses that, as charismatic as towering Major Washington appears, the only thing admirable about him is how well he rides a horse. Morley nevertheless agrees to carry Washington's letters to Virginia's Colonial Governor Dinwiddie and to the brilliant, bawdy Mr. Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia. Upon learning that Morley is a virgin, Franklin drags the youngster to a bordello, then regales him with a vision of vast political forces lining up to decide the destiny of the American colonies. Franklin, who shines on these pages, believes that the flawed but impressive Washington, if he's not killed by the French, just might emerge as a leader of a rebellion against King George. He encourages Morley to spy on George, who is, in turn, spying on the French for Governor Dinwiddie. Washington founders in the Alleghenies and, while pining for the tempestuously married Sally Fairfax, ambushes a group of Frenchmen, thus starting the 1755 war that culminates in the disastrous humiliations of Washington and the British General Edward Braddock. Morley witnesses Washington's picaresque pratfalls with a mixture of embarrassed rage and boyish astonishment, as Washingtonscoundrel, hypocrite, and swooning romanticbecomes an unlikely symbol of the unlikely nation he will one day lead. Once past the leaden, pseudo18th-century colonial prose, it becomes clear that Kilian's tale is less about Washington and more about the crazy things men do when they're in loveand about the awful price women must pay as the objects of such inspiration. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Michael Kilian is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.
