The Sparrowhawk Companion (8 page)

There are “cameo” appearances by actual historical persons in the series, e.g., the Duke of Cumberland, George Grenville, William Pitt, and Lord Chesterfield, as well as by Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Peyton Randolph. They are not in the story merely to lend it color or authenticity; if they speak and act in it, they contribute to the plot. Are their characterizations true and accurate? I discuss this subject in the Foreword to this volume.

Readers might note that the one person who does not appear in the series is George the Third. Historically, the monarch did not become an object of general colonial enmity until just after the battle of Bunker or Breed’s Hill in June 1775. Up to the beginning of armed conflict, patriots, including many signers of the Declaration of Independence,
were toasting his health and wishing him and his family well. The toasts ceased, once blood had been spilled. But, all along, from 1763 onward, he merely reacted to Parliament’s designs and legislation. He was not so much a mover or cause of the events as he was a filigreed rubber stamp; hardly a speaking role, and, try as I might, I could not find a more active role for him in the story, except in narrative.

The lists that follow became necessary when, after finishing
Book Two
, I began to lose track of or misplace characters and even ships. The population of
Sparrowhawk
’s universe swelled when the series’ setting first moved from England to the York River in Virginia in
Book Three,
and then in subsequent
Books
when I filled the benches of the House of Commons and the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg with friends and enemies of liberty. Most of the names in the first list are of characters who actually appear in the series; a handful are of characters who appear “off stage,” such as Amos Swart in
Book Three
and Captain Musto of the ill-fated
Charon
near the end of
Book Two
.

So, like Jack Frake, I heeded Parson Parmley’s advice to think earnestly on the names I chose for my characters, places, and ships. It is the only advice from a cleric I have ever taken seriously.