"With a heart full of love and gratitude I now take leave of you; I most devoutly wish that your later days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable."
-George Washington, from his farewell address to his officers
When I spotted this book at the library, it captured my attention right away. It seemed to fit right into our last few months of educational travel. My husband and I had recently participated in a Road Scholar program called "Colonial and Revolutionary Virginia: Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown." As a part of the program we heard a lecture on the battle, visited the National Battlefield and saw a film, the siege lines, Surrender Field, the monument and the town of York. We also had met "Marquis de Lafayette" in Williamsburg. The next week we were in Washington, DC where we visited the Museum of American History of the Smithsonian and especially enjoyed the exhibit on Yorktown. Also when we went to the museum at Mount Vernon, there was more on that famous battle. A bit later in the week, we were viewing the White House from Lafayette Square and realized that two of four statues at the corners of the square are Lafayette and Rochambeau, French generals who were indispensable to Washington in the victory at Yorktown.
I found the novel well-written with an interesting plot though I couldn't really call it a "page turner." I am sure it would be too much history and not enough other stuff for many of my reader-friends. At any rate I enjoyed it because of my interest in this period of American history and all the background I had acquired recently as I mentioned. I think I would rate it a 3.5 if decimals were allowed.
The authors did not include a section at the end to say what was fiction in the novel. I knew enough to feel that most of the description of military engagements and surrounding events was researched thoroughly and historically accurate. I am guessing that two of the main characters, Allen van Dorn and Peter Wellsley, are fictional. They provide much of the conflict since they had been childhood friends and were at the time of the story on opposite sides of the revolution. The plot revolves around the two of them and give some suspense to the plot because anyone who knows a smidgen of American history knows how the battle turned out! And even the title would reveal the outcome at Yorktown!
One important theme of Victory at Yorktown is the inestimable aid of the French in the triumph at Yorktown, which essentially ended the Revolution. The authors bring this out in many ways, starting with the dedication. One is given to wonder what would have happened to Washington's army had the French not stepped in as they did!
Supposedly this novel is a conclusion to a trilogy on George Washington. I may want to read another one of these days.
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