The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves

A novel of the first rank, the kind of monumental work Italo Calvino called 'encyclopedic' in the way it sweeps up history into a comprehensible and deeply textured pattern." - The New York Times Book ReviewFearing a death sentence, Octavian and his tutor, Dr.

Trefusis, escape through rising tides and pouring rain to find shelter in British-occupied Boston.

Sundered from all he knows — the College of Lucidity, the rebel cause — Octavian hopes to find safe harbor.

Instead, he is soon to learn of Lord Dunmore's proclamation offering freedom to slaves who join the counterrevolutionary forces.