The Three Brothers: When George Washington and Edmund Barton Sat Down to Dinner

The Three Brothers: When George Washington and Edmund Barton Sat Down to Dinner, by Stephen Marantelli, imagines a long dinnertime conversation between George Washington and Edmund Barton, covering their lives, experiences and countries.

In their long conversation , the two statesmen discuss other politicians and their roles (for better or for worse) in shaping democracies. Fans of Hamilton will enjoy the tell-all attitude in their recounting of historical events, and it works well for these two to spill the tea to a colleague from another place and time. One particularly interesting scene in The Three Brothers goes over a picture of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, with snarky commentary on the personalities and personality conflicts shown. I wasn’t as familiar with Australian history, but there’s a similar send-up when Washington questions Barton about his country and colleagues.

There’s not really a conflict in The Three Brothers, instead, the two statesmen discuss the similarities and differences of the two countries, and give their thoughts. It’s more of a civics thought experiment than a novel, but the banter between the two men keeps the book moving along. The time-travel device enables discussion of American politics long after Washington’s time, as Washington questions Barton about what’s happened, and reacts to what’s happened in his country. Barton comes back, again and again, to the question we all asked in grade school, about how the Founding Fathers could reconcile owning slaves.

Overall, this is an interesting imaginary conversation, comparing and contrasting two statesmen of two countries, with spilled tea and verbal sparring to keep the pages turning.