The Memoirs of George Sperryhawke

by Austin Smith

George Sperryhawke, the bombastic rogue and forgotten founding father, chronicles life in 18th century America as he clambers and swindles his way up the social ladder. After running away from home and being expelled from the seminary, Sperryhawke went to sea, and would go on to become one of the wealthiest men in the colonies by the age of 25, and a pivotal figure in the founding of the Republic. A thoroughly unreliable but not entirely unlikeable narrator, the discovery of the Sperryhawke manuscripts has given students of American history great cause for rejoicing.

"At last. Someone with the courage to tell the real story of the Yankee Rebellion." Benedict Arnold

"This is completely untrue. George Sperryhawke was a liar, a thief, and a cad. And I never invited him to my wedding." Thomas Jefferson

"I couldn't even get through the prologue. Let me know if they ever turn it into a play." Benjamin Franklin

200 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 27, 2017

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An award winner of the NYC Big Book Award in 2018, Austin Smith’s "The Memoirs of George Sperryhawke" is sure to intrigue any reader. Set in 18th Century America, an older George Sperryhawke decides to write his memoirs for others to read and, presumably, from which to learn. His story starts out with a young Sperryhawke living in an impoverished home to a drunkard of a father and a weakling of a mother, neither of whom had the means or rational decisions to provide for their family. Always a lover of the finer things and the wish to become a gentleman, Sperryhawke left his family in search of his goal. He ran into some bad luck in a candle factory but then was then taken in by a wealthy lady who saw to it that he received a proper education and eventually went on to college to study ministerial duties. Sperryhawke always had a unique way of viewing each situation in his favor and then manipulating the circumstances to cover his tracks. After some mishaps in parochial college, he ventured toward the life of a seaman, and after more “divine intervention,” as Sperryhawke would say, continued living on the sea as the chaplain. By the end of his adventures at sea, more “divine intervention” took place for him to end up with his own tea trading company, complete with a worker. By the age of twenty-five, Sperryhawke had reached his goal of becoming a gentleman and enjoying the finer things in life and had become one of the wealthiest men in the thirteen colonies.
"The Memoirs of George Sperryhawke" is a quick and enjoyable read. Written as a satire, the story still gave the illusion that I was learning some history, at least in the manner of speech, social attire, and behavior. A couple times in the text, the characters would get on tangents about a certain subject, which made for a rather long chapter because only that one topic was being discussed the majority of the time. I would have to guess though, that maybe that goes with the genre of writing or the time period in which the story is set. Even with Sperryhawke’s clearly faulty way of thinking through matters, I found the story and situations humorous and that it could potentially relate to many people. If there would be a sequel to this story, as in a continuation of his memoirs after the point in his life in which he stopped writing, I would be very interested to read of his further adventures, as I am sure he embarked on many.

[peggy 2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great deal of fun and I can only hope that the memoirs of Mr. Sperryhawke will continue. Never has it been so much fun to spend time with such a loveable scoundrel. Mr. Smith's clear understanding of 17th century England and America, and its shipping and economics adds to the enjoyment.