Major Washington

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

For a closer look at the legendary man who became our country's first president, Chicago Tribune columnist (and writer for the cartoon strip Dick Tracy) Kilian focuses on three critical years in the life of George Washington, 1753-1755. Seen through the eyes of fictional colleague Thomas Morley, young Washington is a charismatic, imposing figure whose fierce ambition and passion may have been the catalyst for the French and Indian War. We also get a glimpse of the individual behind the heroics, the man who suffers devastating bouts of "the flux," embarrassingly bad teeth and the heartache of loving Sally Fairfax, the wife of his close friend and supporter. By rather fussily attempting to replicate Colonial English in his first-person narrative, however, Kilian sometimes distracts from his plot and invites questions of historical authenticity. Since the story centers on three forays into and beyond the Appalachian Mountains, Kilian is hard pressed to differentiate the first two trips. He is at his best in the third trek, describing Washington's harrowing experience as a major aide-de-camp to British General Edward Braddock. Without any clear rationale, the author telescopes nearly two decades into the final two chapters rather than end the book in the 1750s. Still, the novel is full of amusing tidbits, including a recipe for milk punch alongside the symptoms of Ben Franklin's eczema. (Feb.)

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 Washingtona glory-hungry, ambitious figure on the rise in mid-18th-century Colonial America. And so it isand 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.

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, andswooning 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.