A Raving Monarchist

by Julian Rathbone

220 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Julian Christopher Rathbone was born in 1935 in Blackheath, southeast London. His great-uncle was the actor and great Sherlock Holmes interpreter Basil Rathbone, although they never met.

The prolific author Julian Rathbone was a writer of crime stories, mysteries and thrillers who also turned his hand to the historical novel, science fiction and even horror — and much of his writing had strong political and social dimensions.

He was difficult to pigeonhole because his scope was so broad. Arguably, his experiment with different genres and thus his refusal to be typecast cost him a wider audience than he enjoyed. Just as his subject matter changed markedly over the years, so too did his readers and his publishers.

Among his more than 40 books two were shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction. Both were historical novels: first King Fisher Lives, a taut adventure revolving around a guru figure, in 1976, and, secondly, Joseph, set during the Peninsular War and written in an 18th-century prose style, in 1979. But Rathbone never quite made it into the wider public consciousness.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_R...

Reviews

[Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book at random, having never before read one of Julian Rathbone's works. A Raving Monarchist is an enjoyable read, with likeable characters and lessons in Spanish politics. I was pleasantly surprised by the ending.

[Peter Burton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written and still interesting if not compelling.A bit dated but when first issued it would have enlightened people about Spain's transition to democracy after the death of Franco.It would make a better movie than a novel as there are extensive descriptions of the architectural aspects of the churches etc on the Camino,the walk in N Spain to Santiago de Compostela which I found hard to visualise.Interesting too that the two main characters are gay which in 1977 would have been a bit surprising.The plot concerns an assassination attempt and its prevention.