by Jerome Charyn
Art Director: Chin-Yee Lai // W. W. Norton & Co.
Brief Descriptions:
Double agent John Stocking is seventeen when the novel opens in 1775. The son of a legendary, pipe-smoking whorehouse madam (a real historical figure) whose "nuns" cater to both rebel American and British military men, Stocking is a scholarship student at King's College. Working as a scribe composing love letters for high-ranking soldier, he has been caught breaking into George Washington's camp, and is accused of poisoning Washington himself. Historical characters including Washington, Hamilton, both General Howes, and a parade harlot dart in and out of the story, which features the burning of Manhattan by the British.
Direction: Strong, bold, edgy, fun and sexy.
The publishing house thought this was a wonderful cover for the title but unfortunately it was killed by a major bookseller buyer. Oh well.
I based my silhouette on the portrait of George Washington at the Battle of Princeton, 1781, by Charles Willson Peale.
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