The Trial and Execution of the Traitor George Washington: A Novel Paperback – August 4, 2020

Even if the true history is known, this wasa well-told story, with many unexpected twists and turns. Great pace, great characters, hard to put it down. And the ending is most unexpected...

Any lover of history, historical fiction, or alternative history will enjoy this book. It's definitely a page turner. At times I started actually believing that it may have happened. I would have given five-stars if the dialogue had been a little more true to the period . I doubted that some of the expressions were in use in the 18th century. Loved the plot nod to Dickens. I've been a loyal reader of this author's legal thrillers, and this was a really nice change of pace.

What do you get when a creative mind melds with a brilliant lawyer and gifted writer? Charles Rosenberg takes us back to our Revolutionary War against mother country Britain and imagines what if the British had managed to arrest General George Washington and smuggle him across the Atlantic to stand trial in London for treason in strict accordance with established British common law and principles of international law. In a carefully researched and fascinating history lesson, Rosenberg details a daring plot hatched by First (Prime) Minister North, who is desperate and under pressure from an angry King George III and a Parliament and citizenry to end the drain on blood and treasure wrought by our costly and protracted rebellion, as well as the concurrent Anglo-French War. Once Washington is imprisoned in the Tower in London, Rosenberg treats us to a suspenseful interplay between the Continental Congress’ delegation trying to negotiate Washington’s freedom and the inexorable British judicial system that assures Washington receives due process of law before he can face a traitor’s gory death. A compelling, engrossing book from start to finish. What if ...?

Well written, good dialogue. Bit of a Deus Ex Machina ending

Was an interesting "What If" but not really that engrossing or compelling. Character development was a little weak and didn't read as credible.

This tale lives up to the ambitious premise revealed in the title. I was hooked from the start and did not want to put it down. The historical and legal content are skillfully woven into the well-paced narrative. The story is told through the eyes of several characters, all of them believable, none of them George Washington. There is Jeremiah Black, the British officer who carries out the lawful arrest/unlawful kidnapping of General Washington. Lord North, Britain’s First Minister, who is behind the plot. And of course, the title tells us there is going to be a trial, and where there is a trial there must be a lawyer. His name is Abraham Hobhouse. Will he be able to save his famous client from a traitor’s death?

From beginning to end, this tale had me on the edge of my seat. Combining the details of actual history, and the intrigue of alternative history with the twists and turns of a superb mystery, Rosenberg created a book that captured my imagination and quite a bit of my time in the last three days. The characters were believable, and the plot was engrossing from the start. I honestly did not know how it would end until it did. Highly recommended!!!

What if? What if? What if? Alternative history is intriguing, and fertile ground for novelists, but until now, most of the books I've read tend to have been by authors whose minds have wandered into "what if' questions posed by World War II -- Robert Harris in "Fatherland", Jo Walton's trilogy, "Dominion" by C.J. Sansom -- with a brief and less successful foray into a world ruled by the son of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, as imagined by Laura Andersen.So it was with a lot of curiosity and not a little excitement (having been watching "Turn", the TV series about Revolutionary War spies...) that I picked up this novel, and read it cover to cover. Was the title REALLY as much of a spoiler as it seemed? That's what kept me reading, even when some of the book's flaws (a minor historical inaccuracy here or there; characters that disappear for hundreds of pages, only to reappear much later on; characters who aren't really fully developed as people, but are just there to push the plot along its way) annoyed me.Essentially, this is a good adventure yarn, combined with an intriguing crash course in 18th century geopolitical maneuvering. Sometimes the two sit awkwardly together, and it isn't really clear (or at least, it wasn't to me) what the actual motivation behind the conspiracy to arrest/capture/kidnap Washington was: what did Lord North hope would happen to his envoy en route? I ended up with so many niggling questions that went unanswered that I eventually had to shrug and just go with what Charles Rosenberg decided to share in his fast-paced tale. Yes, there are gaps and inconsistencies, and if you're looking for richly detailed characterizations, you'll have to venture off elsewhere.I'd describe this as designed to appeal to readers who like action adventures and thrillers by authors like Steve Berry, but who aren't averse to trying some historical novels as well. It wears its history lightly, tossing in just enough detail to remind the reader that hey, this is 18th century London! (For instance, the envoy sent to try to negotiate Washington's release picks up a copy of "The Sylph", a novel written -- as we know now but as he and others then wouldn't have, by Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, to read at his government guesthouse, and finds it racy fare.) But it's a case of telling rather than showing. Similarly, we follow the officer sent to capture Washington for the first hundred pages or so, very intensely -- after which he essentially disappears from the narrative entirely, until he is needed at a critical point in the plot and yanked back into the picture, after having been out of view, while the story has been told from two other, completely different perspectives.So, this is great weekend or summer holiday fare for an uncritical reader, looking for something unusual and different and suspenseful. What happens to Washington and the revolution? Read it and find out!The bottom line? Fun, but not memorable, and for a reader who values well-rounded and developed characters and consistency in narrative point of view, this could be a frustrating read, too.