The Two Georges

The Two Georges

First edition (UK)
Author	Harry TurtledoveandRichard Dreyfuss
Language	English
Genre	Alternate History,Mystery,Steampunk
Publisher	Hodder & Stoughton(UK) Tor Books(US)
Publication date	1995 (UK) March 1996 (US)
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (Paperbackandhardcover)
Pages	608
ISBN	0-340-62825-1

The Two Georgesis analternate historyanddetectivethriller novel co-written by science fiction authorHarry TurtledoveandOscar-winning actorRichard Dreyfuss.It was originally published in 1995 byHodder & Stoughtonin theUnited Kingdom,and in 1996 byTor Booksin theUnited States,and was nominated for the 1995Sidewise Award for Alternate History.

Background

The flag used in the world ofThe Two Georgesresembles the US 'Grand Union Flag'. In the world ofThe Two Georges,it was retained permanently as the 'Jack and Stripes', the flag of the North American Union inside the British Empire

For more than two centuries, what would have become the continentalUnited StatesandCanadahas been theNorth American Union,a self-governingdominionwithin theBritish EmpirewithAlaskabeing retained under the rule ofRussiaandHawaiibeing a Britishprotectorate.The title of the novel refers to a fictionalGainsboroughpainting that commemorates the agreement betweenGeorge Washingtonand KingGeorge III,which peacefully ended theAmerican Revolution,implied as the result ofGeorge Grenvillenever becomingPrime Minister.The painting itself has become a symbol of national unity.

Native Americansfared much better than in real-world history with tribes such as theIroquoisand theCherokeemanaging to keep much of their land and have autonomy, their status comparable to that of thePrincely StatesinBritish India.

As the North American Union remained in the British Empire following peaceful negotiation, theFrench Revolutionwas suppressed at thestorming of the Bastilleby troops under the command ofNapoleonBonaparte in the service ofLouis XVI,thus preserving theBourbon monarchy.By the twentieth century,FranceandSpainexist in a French-dominatedpersonal union,the Holy Alliance, which controls most ofLatin AmericaandNorthern Africaand is ruled over by François IV.

The abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1833included slaves in North America. The emancipatedblacksprospered, gained education and experienced a rapidupward social mobility,by the twentieth century, becoming a mainly middle class community. Conversely, theIrish-American communityremained a predominantly poor, working class population, subsisting on hard physical labor such as thecoal miningon which the North American Union depended for its energy. This created a feeling of bitter jealousy among the Irish, and many of them came to support theSons of Liberty,a terrorist organization that wants to see America become independent from the British Empire and promotes a blatantly racist and xenophobic ideology.

In the twentieth century, the empires of Great Britain, the Holy Alliance andRussiaare the world's major powers, with theAustrian Empirebeing a European land-basedmiddle powercovetingBalkanterritory and neither Germany nor Italy becoming unified nation-states.

As in theMexican Warof our history, the mid-nineteenth century saw Britain and the North American Union conquer a large portion ofNueva España(in this case, also including theBaja California peninsula) from the Holy Alliance. The city ofLos Angeleswas renamed New Liverpool and developed into one of the largest cities of the North American Union and the Province ofUpper California.

Plot

The Two Georges,being displayed in New Liverpool, is stolen while a crowd is distracted by the murder of 'Honest' Dick (a.k.a.'Tricky' Dick), theSteamerKing, a nationally known used car salesman. In its place is left a gramophone with a recording of the "Yankee Doodle,"a notorious subversive song serving as the anthem of the Sons of Liberty.

Colonel Thomas Bushell of theRoyal American Mounted Policeleads the search for the painting, accompanied by its former curator (and his eventual love interest) Dr. Kathleen Flannery and Captain Samuel Stanley. Some days later, a ransom note is received from the Sons of Liberty. TheGovernor-Generalof the North American Union,Sir Martin Luther King,informs Bushell in confidence that the painting must be recovered beforeKing-EmperorCharles III's state visit, or the government will have to pay the Sons' ransom demand of fifty million pounds.

The search takes Bushell, Flannery, and Stanley across the country via airship (an advanced form ofdirigible), train, and steamer. They also meet many members of the Sons of Liberty, includingCommon SenseeditorJohn F. Kennedy.

After chasing many false leads and the wrong suspects, Bushell and his associates arrive at Victoria (the nation's capital, on the south side of thePotomac Riveracross fromGeorgestown, Maryland); during a reception at the Russian Embassy, Bushell encounters his ex-wife Irene, who had an affair with and subsequently married Sir David Clarke, Governor-General King's chief of staff.The Two Georgesis found undamaged in a self-storage facility an hour before the King arrives. They also uncover the true culprits: the Holy Alliance and Bushell's superior officer and covert Sons of Liberty operative, Lieutenant General Sir Horace Bragg, who believed that emancipation was an injustice to his formerlyslave-holdingfamily. Bushell then thwarts Bragg's attempts to assassinate the King, first by gunfire then by a bomb concealed in the frame ofThe Two Georges.When Bragg is arrested and awaiting trial, he and Bushell argue over the outcomes of a potential war against the Holy Alliance and a resultant American separatist uprising caused by the theft of the painting. Later, Bushell and Stanley are bothknightedby King Charles for their accomplishments.

Reception

TheHouston ChroniclelistedThe Two Georgesas one of many pieces of fiction that have pictured blacks as the head of the executive branch, in this case Sir Martin Luther King, Governor General of North America.Publishers Weeklypraises the novel's "recognizable yet delightfully distorted" world where "engaging characters play out a suspenseful and satisfying story".School Library Journaldescribed the novel as "a fast-paced and gripping story."

Reviews

• Dragon

Similar themes in other works

Washington's Dirigible,part ofJohn Barnes'Timeline Warsseries,has a similar theme: a resourceful time traveler manages to getBenjamin Franklinappointed as the tutor of the youngGeorge III– making him a liberal-minded King, well-disposed towards the North American colonists. The result, as inThe Two Georges,is an alternate history timeline in which theAmerican War of Independenceis averted and North America remains part of the British Empire, although with a great deal of autonomy.