Johnny One-Eye: A Tale of the American Revolution

Johnny One-Eyeis bringing about the rediscovery of one of the most "singular and remarkable [careers] in American literature" (Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World). In this picaresque tour de force that reanimates Revolutionary Manhattan through the story of double agent John Stocking, the bastard son of a whorehouse madam and possibly George Washington, Jerome Charyn has given us one of the most memorable historical novels in years. As Johnny seeks to unlock the mystery of his birth and grapples with his allegiances, he falls in love with Clara, a gorgeous, green-eyed octoroon, the most coveted harlot of Gertrude's house. The wild parade of characters he encounters includes Benedict Arnold, the Howe brothers, "Sir Billy" and "Black Dick," and a manipulative Alexander Hamilton.

Not since John Barth's The Sotweed Factorand Gore Vidal's Burrhas a novel so dramatically re-created America's historical beginnings. Reading group guide included.

Starred Review. The book deserves to be spoken about in the same breath as E. L. Doctorow's Ragtime.Jerome Charyn is one of the most important writers in American literature. -- Michael Chabon

"Jerome Charyn is merely one of our finest writers, with a polymorphous imagination and crack comic timing." Jonathan Lethem

"Jerome Charyn is one of the most important writers in American literature." Michael Chabon

"Bawdy, savage, and tender." Entertainment Weekly

"A breathless and poignant tour de force." Bookforum

Johnny One-Eye is bringing about the rediscovery of one of the most "singular and remarkable [careers] in American literature" (Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World). In this picaresque tour de force that reanimates Revolutionary Manhattan through the story of double agent John Stocking, the bastard son of a whorehouse madam and possibly George Washington, Jerome Charyn has given us one of the most memorable historical novels in years. As Johnny seeks to unlock the mystery of his birth and grapples with his allegiances, he falls in love with Clara, a gorgeous, green-eyed octoroon, the most coveted harlot of Gertrude's house. The wild parade of characters he encounters includes Benedict Arnold, the Howe brothers, "Sir Billy" and "Black Dick," and a manipulative Alexander Hamilton.

Not since John Barth's The Sotweed Factor and Gore Vidal's Burr has a novel so dramatically re-created America's historical beginnings. Reading group guide included.

In Johnny One-Eye, Jerome Charyn has created a picaresque tour-de-force centered on the one-eyed spy John Stocking, who must fight to survive in a wartime Manhattan. As Johnny grapples with his allegiances and his love for the gorgeous, green-eyed Clara, we follow the circuitous path of the Revolution, from the torching of Manhattan in 1776 to the decisive battle Yorktown and Washington's heartrending departure from Manhattan in the autumn of 1783. Hailed as "the first great Revolutionary War novel to appear in many decades" Tom Bissell}, Johnny One-Eye marks the rediscovery of one of America's greatest living writers.

Johnny One-Eyeis bringing about the rediscovery of one of the most "singular and remarkable [careers] in American literature" (Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World). In this picaresque tour de force that reanimates Revolutionary Manhattan through the story of double agent John Stocking, the bastard son of a whorehouse madam and possibly George Washington, Jerome Charyn has given us one of the most memorable historical novels in years. As Johnny seeks to unlock the mystery of his birth and grapples with his allegiances, he falls in love with Clara, a gorgeous, green-eyed octoroon, the most coveted harlot of Gertrude's house. The wild parade of characters he encounters includes Benedict Arnold, the Howe brothers, "Sir Billy" and "Black Dick," and a manipulative Alexander Hamilton.

Not since John Barth's The Sotweed Factorand Gore Vidal's Burrhas a novel so dramatically re-created America's historical beginnings. Reading group guide included.

"A rollicking tale." --Stacy Schiff, New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice

Bawdy, savage, and tender.A breathless and poignant tour de force.

"A rollicking tale." --Stacy Schiff, , Editors' Choice

Jerome Charyn, a master of lyrical farce and literary ventriloquism, published his first novel in 1964 and is the author of Johnny One-Eye, The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson, I Am Abraham, and dozens of other acclaimed novels and nonfiction works. His stories have appeared in The Atlantic, Paris Review, American Scholar, Epoch, Narrative, Ellery Queen, and other magazines. Two of his memoirs have been named New York Times Book of the Year, and Michael Chabon has called him, "One of the most important writers in American literature." Charyn has also spent time as a professor and an international ranked table tennis player. He lives in New York and Paris.

Read an exclusive essay by Jerome Charyn