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The story has been well researched and is full of many characters, some who actually existed and some who have been invented. These are so well interwoven into the plot that it is difficult to work out who is actually a real historical figure! As Rory Clements observes in his afterword to the book, ‘It is a world exhausted by war, desperate for peace – and extremely vulnerable because few have any appetite for further conflict’. This is the foundation upon which the author builds the compelling story at the heart of the book. It involves some extremely nasty goings-on, sadly based on fact. When I requested this on NetGalley I was fascinated by the idea of the story, and had no idea this was part of a series. I was concerned that it would make little sense on its own - and I’m sure some of these characters and their relationships would be clearer if you knew the previous books - but I worried needlessly. The series is set in the years leading up to and during World War II, and follows the adventures of a Cambridge professor and secret agent for the British government named Tom Wilde who must navigate the treacherous waters of wartime espionage and intrigue. Well, it’s undoubtedly a murder. A body found in a ditch halfway to Ely. An unidentified man in his mid-thirties. Labourer or farmland from the callouses on his hands and the muscles on his arms, but beyond that we have no idea who he is.”
Main character John Shakespeare is given both cases to solve. Mary, Queen of Scots, is scheduled for execution and the Spanish Armada is ready to strike. Traitors and enemies have their heads displayed on pikes high above the London Bridge. It is a time of peril for England, where chaos and fear threaten to reign. Shakespeare must go into an underworld that includes a strange array of people– including his brother Will, the struggling writer. Unfortunately, it looks as though the queen is not totally opposed to the advances of the ambitious earl. In fact, the Queen seems to be fairly flattered by his overtures and attempts to win her over. This is also surprising because his mother is Lettice Knollys. Gorgeous and dangerous at the same time, Lettice presides over her own court. Maybe it’s a strange court of people, but they should not be taken lightly. Meanwhile, Wilde's name is discovered on a Gestapo hit list. As the death toll rises, an unthinkable question emerges: could an Englishman be behind the plot?
Rory Clements Books Overview
A young English lady works in Berlin to get important papers to a Jewish scientist, evading the Gestapo to do it. But just a few weeks later, she is discovered dead with a silver syringe in her hands. Then in an exclusive club in London, a conspiracy takes off that could threaten the very center of government. Revenger is the second book in the John Shakespeare series. It was published in 2010. In this exciting sequel to Martyr, the year is 1592. The countries of Spain and England are at war. But while there are risks going on and the war being waged, home is not safe either. The regal Queen Elizabeth is left vulnerable ever since the passing of Sir Francis Walsingham, who was her most trusted spymaster. This is one of the worst things that could happen while a country is at war, but what can you do?
Chapter 1 - Autumn 1945 - In Norfolk, Liz Lightfoot and Tony Hood are lovers, but are both married to other people. Tony’s wife Sandra. Liz’s husband Lucas. They’re all friends. Then along came Hitler, lucas quit the railways and joined royal norfolks, Tony unable to enlist as he has a farm and his dad had a stroke. So where across the dark waters out where the sea is, a submarine monstrous rises above the surface. Tony and Liz were making out then have to run for their lives. Someone sees them.. Corpus is also a crime thriller though, albeit in an era that I wouldn’t be used to reading about. I found it to be quite engaging as it flowed quite well. It was relevant to the time period and political events that were happening at the time too. I struggled with Corpus and eventual
Klara, Hitler's suspected child, is what I would think of if I had to think of a child in Germany during that era. She blindly believes in what she is taught at school and through her involvement in the female version of the Hitler Youth. Her adoptive parents disagree but in Third Reich Germany they cannot risk Klara saying anything against the regime, particularly given who she is and their aim to hide her.
The author is the first to admit that he has a passion when it comes to thrillers. Rory says that he loves reading about men and women that face up to the ultimate test while they are under fire. This extends to enjoying writing about them, something that Rory chalks up to probably being in his blood. I felt that Clements did well in portraying postwar Britain including the collective sense of loss and the need to rebuild a shattered economy. Such details of everyday life enrich the narrative beyond the drama of its main plot. The reason for this is that a rumour is going around that the Nazi machine is still operational in England with at its centre a man called, Sir Neville Catesby, who acts as the "English Führer", and who's accompanied by several associates of like mind, but who will later on turn into someone and something else entirely, and that all in an effort to put the blame on Fascism. Rory Clements has created an intriguing character in the form of Tom Wilde. At first appearance he is a professor at Cambridge and not someone you would think capable of a secret spy mission right into the heart of Germany during the Second World War. However, Clements slowly unveils layer after layer of Tom. When an aristocratic young cousin of Queen Elizabeth is found murdered in a burned house, things are bad. Things get stranger and more heinous when they find that her flesh was marked with symbols of the profane. The year is 1587 and England’s most famous sea warrior Sir Francis Drake is targeted by an assassination around the same time as the murder. If the plot is pulled off, Spain could have the opportunity to invade a defenseless England.Home grown fascism is central to the plot and seems to be quite vogue in current wartime thrillers. It is a subject that has been somewhat played down in the past and well deserves to be exposed the bleaching effect of sunlight. Perhaps it’s the result of the last few years with Brexit and immigration controls that are providing the inspiration for a reassessment within literature? The plot, although initially could be seen as far fetched, actually felt so realistic that it made me wonder 'did Hitler have a child that no one in the general public ever found out about'? It also made me question the power dynamics at the top of the regime and piqued my curiosity about this period of History even more than it was already. British author Rory Clements writes mysteries in series. His first series featured John Shakespeare (supposedly a relative of William You-know-who) in the court and service of Queen Elizabeth. They were excellent looks at the people and the times in the late 16th century. Clements’ second series features Tom Wilde and is set in the 1930’s and 40’s. Wilde is half British and half American and is a history professor at Cambridge. There have been 7 Tom Wilde books in the series. “The English Fuhrer” is the seventh.
Rory was born in Dover, Kent, but says that he was raised in different outposts all over the world since his father was serving in the Royal Navy. The author says that he grew up ‘hungry’ to be a writer. He worked himself as a newspaper journalist, but even while doing that, he always had dreams of switching over to writing novels. He moved to Norfolk in 2007 and says that he found the ‘perfect’ spot to achieve his ambition of writing novels. He says that he has to have time and space to think, chat, and imagine. Meanwhile, Liz tells Tom and Danny what she saw in the dunes. The huge vessel appearing in the sea. She can now as Tone is dead and Lucas is in prison for murder. This was hard work. When a publisher advertises a novel 'for fans of Robert Harris' I expect more. Harris is a master at taking historical events, building believable characters, bringing dialogue to life and creating real suspense - even when the reader knows the outcome. Rory Clements doesn't. The emphasis on the nations being swept up in a fury of righteous politics rang particularly true for what is going on here and now. Distrust is breeding; and morals bent or completely broken, for the greater good.I felt sorry for Tom having to cope alone whilst Lydia is away and I wondered if she would come to regret her decision to live apart from her husband and child, rather a selfish decision in my view.
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