Thomas Dunne Books
345 Pages
As I read the books about the Presidents, I ran across some historical fiction that pertains to the lives of our first President, George Washington. Newt Gingrich, long time politician and now historical fiction writer, along with thriller author, William Forstchen, team up to write the story of the Battle of Trenton during the American Revolution. Considering my reading project and that I’m researching the Revolution as part of my observation of its 250th anniversary, this seemed like the perfect book to throw onto the pile when I was at the Lockport Public Library.
I’ve already read historical fiction books by Gingrich that detail the Civil War, specifically about Gettysburg. I thought that book was almost as good as The Killer Angels which was the basis for the movie, “Gettysburg.” Additionally, William Forstchen is one of my favorite authors. I’ve read almost everything else he’s written that’s readily available. I walked into this book with high hopes. While they did not entirely live up to those hopes, this book opened a world that was fuller than was has been dryly reiterated through numerous history books.
This is the story of the Battle of Trenton from three distinct points of view. We see the events through the eyes of General George Washington, political activist Thomas Paine, and private Jonathan Van Dorn. We are given some glimpses into the events as experienced by some of the Hessians, but predominantly we see the action through the eyes of these three characters, each with their own experiences promoting the narrative.
George Washington, on the eve of the battle, is filled with doubt, but perseveres in an attempt to instill some pride in his troops. Every morning, the lists of men deserting or unable to fight grows. For most of the rest of the army, enlistments run out at the end of the year. The timing has to be perfect before he loses his army, and perhaps the nation. He hopes with the Christmas holiday, his enemies are more complacent, and easier to overcome. Everything is riding on this last ditch effort.
Meanwhile, Thomas Paine is in Philadelphia to get his latest treatise published. He shows up on the doorstep of a valued friend, barely recognizable after his time fighting in the Revolution. He does not appear to be the firebrand that he has been described as in later publications. HIs philosophies on the current state of the governing of the world are still forming, riding on the success of Common Sense.
Jonathan Van Dorn may be the most interesting of the three main characters. He is a private in the army. His brother is one of the deserters, leaving the American cause to join the British, believing that the opportunities there are greater. Jonathan has to weigh his loyalty to the new nation against his loyalty to his family. The Battle of Trenton takes place in his literal backyard, and he must guide his comrades, even if it means leading them to his family. The conflict of his emotions drives this narrative far more than the events of the day.
If this story had been told only through the eyes of Jonathan Van Dorn and his family, this would have been an incredibly outstanding book. Van Dorn’s arc was, by far, the most interesting of the three told. With a fictional character, Gingrich and Forstchen had more latitude with which to tell the story, and it worked very well. Using Washington and Paine, however, they were constrained to hold them within the confines of their actual actions for the days involved. This constraint shows. Those sections did not flow as well as Van Dorn’s and the story seemed somewhat stifled against the moments that Van Dorn graced the pages. I could have used a lot more of Van Dorn’s perspective. It made the events seem more human and hit closer to home than either Washington’s or Paine’s stories.
I liked To Try Men’s Souls by Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen. It offered a new look at a piece of our early republic’s history. It is worth the read if you want to learn a little about history, but don’t want to tackle the history books. While I don’t often recommend skipping the history books, maybe reading this book will interest you enough to pick up one of those history books to learn more about the events detailed in this book. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see where fact and fiction come together and diverge?
Craig Bacon often has a hard time reading historical fiction. Those books typically need to be very good and true to the original subject. Otherwise, it’s just fiction.