![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPvKxFjsJwYDxH2aSqTSmxD6W1l55p0hl2qJKN6W-6QYN024EWXBBqdhxLFVJ-pcWXWJgVDgvM13A7yQ9ED7VllOsyEP3XoY4yEDhiIl36ghufdAdHWCAvf0CnJMm-n05YSs/s400/Johnny-One-Eye-B.jpg)
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.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr81gBEKpT9LTLP2fMnWOOJlVZKA6XI8ajd6mcxosHYdK4no0mglYQr6uU23IgHH-T5uDmaTZ83sOJuvp-2NTVM36CyZTabAM3l8Y5gFkH_HEOY6N4oQYT_yTod6rkPq62APE/s400/GWashington:CWPeale.jpg)
I based my silhouette on the portrait of George Washington at the Battle of Princeton, 1781, by Charles Willson Peale.