Citizen Washington: A Novel

George Washington became the nation's first hero, but before that he was simply a man pursuing his ambitions. In his youth, he served the king in a red coat fighting the French, married a wealthy widow despite loving another man's wife, and accumulated land and slaves while building enemies. In this novel, one of those enemies—newspaper publisher Hesperus Draper—discovers that Martha Washington burned her husband's letters after his death. Draper sends his nephew to uncover the truth about the letters and Washington himself. The younger Draper encounters a dozen people, including Mount Vernon slaves, Iroquois Indians, Jefferson, Adams, and other figures of the era. Each tells their own story while revealing Washington's: from his youth through the Revolutionary War battles to his presidency. The result is a multi-faceted portrait of a society moving toward rebellion, a nation being born, and a man rising to greatness.