Charles Rosenberg plays an older political parlor game, 'What if?' in his slow- moving yet ultimately entertaining new novel ... The author kindly includes a cheat-sheet at the end of the novel giving the casual student of Revolutionary history a CliffsNotes’ version of the war and its major players ... The most compelling aspects of [The Trial and Execution of Traitor George Washington] is the history center around the very real politics of the time and place.
Washington [as in The Trial and Execution of Traitor George Washington an intriguing characterization, allowing Rosenberg to explore the importance of force of personality in leadership and victory. He also offers an interesting take on American-British relations ... The plotting showcases how “slow” things used to be (months for news of any battle), while at the same time giving a sense of immediacy to the American cause.
Charles Rosenberg’s The Trial and Execution of the Traitor George Washington charts a creative alternative-history tale filled with action, adventure, and twists ... Rosenberg obviously did his homework on Washington; the first president’s manner and physical characteristics are well-drawn. Washington’s behavior is depicted in a way consistent with his contemporaries’ descriptions ... Both American forefathers and British personages take part in Rosenberg’s story. The student of history will find much to recognize but won’t be able to predict the course of events ... The Trial and Execution of the Traitor George Washington by Charles Rosenberg breathes fresh life into the sometimes stagnant annals of history. The reader will come away hard-pressed not to feel the consequences of these fictional events. But sometimes, perhaps, to get the larger picture, the picture must be altered.
[A] fascinating novel that, as usual, showcases his legal expertise, this time in a historical, speculative context ... Unlike classics such as The Man in the High Castle, this alternate history doesn’t speculate on how its re-imagined Washington might have altered America’s future. Rosenberg interweaves legal and political nuances with a suspenseful plot, juxtaposing well-drawn historical figures with appealing inventions, resulting in a thoughtful novel.
This novel definitely grabs your attention as soon as you lay eyes on the cover with its screaming cognitive dissonance. The juxtaposition of 'traitor' with that paragon of patriotism jars one’s senses ... In this alternative history Rosenberg asks a big 'what if,' along with a subsequent string of little ones ... The Trial and Execution of the Traitor George Washington is a fun, easy and quick read, and thought-provoking ... Rosenberg did not trample on historical details as he wove together an exciting narrative.
Rosenberg takes pains to sketch out the problems of 18th-century life, from everyday details to the struggles of statesmanship, given the long distances and slow transports ... Some readers may raise their eyebrows over the author’s choice of British spellings of words, even when spoken by Americans.
In this novel Charles Rosenberg dives into this era full steam ... The middle portion of the book lags a bit as the author introduces and integrates several new characters and subplots, but quickly gains steam as the trial begins and heads toward the climax of the book ... The author does a superior job of capturing his character, poise, and charisma that affect both his supporters and captors in England ... No spoilers here, but the book races toward an unexpected ending, albeit a somewhat less than completely satisfactory one, as the reader is left with almost a cliff-hanger conclusion ... If you have the patience to let the plot develop and start trying to decipher the seemingly random actions of some of the characters, this is a very enjoyable mystery/political thriller in an alternate history timeline.
