The Two Georges - Hardcover

Dreyfuss, Richard; Turtledove, Harry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312859694 ISBN 13: 9780312859695

Publisher: Tor Books, 1996

Synopsis

A story of murder, intrigue, and a stolen painting portrays America as it might have been, had George Washington surrendered to George III

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

Alternate-world yarn from Oscar winner Dreyfuss and Hugo winner Turtledove (Worldwar: Upsetting the Balance, 1995). In this world, the American Revolution never happened, and the North American Union is an integral part of the British Empire--a union symbolized by the Gainsborough painting of the title, featuring George III and George Washington. The tranquility of the NAU- -peaceful, nonviolent, multicultural, technologically 1930s--is threatened only by the ruthless, fascist, separatist Sons of Liberty terrorist group. As the painting tours the NAU, alcoholic divorc‚ Colonel Thomas Bushell of the Royal American Mounties, along with custodian Kathleen Flannery, is given the task of guarding it. In New Liverpool (Los Angeles), used-car salesman Tricky Dick is murdered as a diversion while the Sons steal the painting--just days before King-Emperor Charles III is due to arrive. Bushell's boss, Sir Horace Bragg, and Governor-general Sir Martin Luther King are, understandably, upset. Bushell investigates assiduously, but fails to come up with the painting. Worse, someone highly placed in the RAMS is leaking information to the Sons. Eventually, in Victoria (Washington), Bushell will be called upon to prevent the assassination of Charles III. Despite the rather ponderous approach, Dreyfuss and Turtledove's might-have-been world--something like an indefinitely extended Victorian idyll--charms as it intrigues, and the above- average characters help compensate for the movie-ish sleuthing. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

Will Oscar-winning actor Dreyfuss collect any new awards for his first novel, coauthored with a Hugo-winning master of alternative SF (Worldwar: Tilting the Balance, Forecasts, Jan. 22)? Probably not, but the talented thespian won't get the hook for his rookie writing, either, as he partners on an entertaining detective story set in a present-day North American Union, still a colony of the British Empire. Thomas Bushell and Samuel Stanley of the Royal American Mounties must find the famous Gainsborough painting of The Two Georges?showing Washington kneeling to the king?that has been stolen by the subversive Sons of Liberty while on traveling exhibit. The Mounties are accompanied by the exhibit's curator, Kathleen Flannery, who's helpful but may be collaborating with the Sons. Their cross-country search shows off a lower-tech world, in which people get around in dirigibles and steamer cars, and old-style powers like Austria, Prussia and the Ottoman Empire vie for dominance. The authors' alternate globe is recognizable yet delightfully distorted; in this looking-glass, engaging characters play out a suspenseful and satisfying story.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Tor Books
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0312859694
• ISBN 13: 9780312859695
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384