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by Robert Crotty (Author)
The Betrayal brings together the conflicting loyalties, passions and greed of an emerging colonial America. The characters are vividly portrayed and the plot lines follow the course of developments in the infant Republic - its heroes, its villains and its enemies. All come to life in a lively recreation of the age of Benedict Arnold and his contemporaries. The year is 1777. The fighting takes place in the Hudson River Valley - Lake Champlain campaign intended to split the colonies and bring an early end to the War of Independence. The play captures a remarkable time in the nation's history, brought vividly to life in this depiction of those who paid the price to create a new nation.
Robert Crotty, a gifted writer and the author of The Teacher (2014), captures the moment. The brutality of the warfare, the everyday lives of soldiers, the jealousy and bitter competition among leaders, the seeming hopelessness of a war fought by conscripts and volunteers, George Washington holed up at Valley Forge, a Congress quarrelsome and bankrupt and a set of independent colonies attempting to band together long enough to support a campaign few understood or appreciated are all in the mix. It makes for rich and dramatic storytelling. The colonials through perseverance and fighting skill would stop the English advance and end the threat. The victory opened the way for the French to enter the conflict, decisively changing the balance of power. The end result would come later at Yorktown with Lord Cornwallis' surrender, the colonials triumphant. A new nation was born. It is all brought together by a creative and skillful author in this insightful and entertaining play capturing a critical period in the birth of America.
