Description:

It's 1775, and in Europe, an unseen Master peers into a darkened mirror to see the man whose destiny is to wear the victor's crown. Across the sea, in a land named for a virgin queen, Gen. George Washington is thrown from his horse and has a dream that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Soon, a reluctant Washington will be elected Commander-in-Chief of the new Continental Army and considered for the position of king of America--and his rise will set in motion a chain of events that lead directly to rebellion. But little do the colonists and Founding Fathers realize that they are part of a greater plan, being used as pawns in another person's game of power and conquest. *From the Paperback edition.* ** ### From Publishers Weekly Blending historical detail and supernatural fantasy, as in her Deryni series and Lammas Night, Kurtz depicts a believable alternate American Revolution driven by the occult machinations of an age-old Master as well as destiny and Masonic solidarity. Kurtz, however, rightly emphasizes the more human characters, likable and three-dimensional in their political and personal struggles as she fleshes out historical figures from George Washington and Benjamin Franklin to the exiled Jacobites who want Prince Charles (Bonnie Prince Charlie of the Stuart dynasty) to assume a throne in America. The Wallace family?Jacobite Andrew; his son Simon; Simon's wife, Arabella; and Arabella's brother, Justin Carmichael?provide viewpoints for most of the important action. Sometimes detail threatens the story (descriptions of costume or Freemason ritual, or exposition of the Revolutionary War's battles), but the blend is usually seamless and well proportioned. Readers are also left with some provocative questions about our national values. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. ### From Booklist Kurtz turns her exploration of possible occult (especially Masonic) influences in history to the American Revolution. She takes two acknowledged facts--the existence of a large number of Jacobites (supporters of the Stuart claimants to the British throne) among the original American patriots and the equally large number of founding fathers who were Masons--and on them builds an engrossing and elegant tale. It begins with George Washington, unconscious after a fall from his horse, having a compelling dream of being crowned and proceeds through the whole course of the war. Masonic and Jacobite influences are continually brought to bear in favor of American independence, even when in the process they sometimes conflict with one another. Vivid portrayals of Washington and Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie" ) are at the core of the book, which is otherwise well up to Kurtz's historically well-informed standards. Highly recommended. *Roland Green*