The Fabulous History of the Dismal Swamp Company: A Story of George Washington's Times

From historian Charles Royster—winner of the Francis Parkman, Bancroft, and Lincoln prizes—comes the history of one of eighteenth-century America's most fantastic land speculation deals: William Byrd's scheme to develop 900 square miles of swamp on the Virginia-North Carolina border and create fabulous wealth for himself and other shareholders, including George Washington.

Royster scrupulously follows the paper trail through the byways of transatlantic deal-cutting, providing a rare vie…