To Catch a King: The Classic Bestseller

by Harry Patterson, Jack Higgins

July 1940. England prepares for invasion, all eyes focused on its borders.

But such focus inevitably leaves gaps elsewhere, and Hitler sees an opportunity to carry out an audacious plot that would change the course of the war…

The Duke of Windsor, brother to King George VI and former ruler of the United Kingdom in his own right, is a target.

Hitler’s to kidnap him and hold him ransom - the ultimate leverage against an embattled and beleaguered British government.

But can it really be done? And who amongst the German secret services is audacious enough to set a trap to catch a king?

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Ebooks, Mystery, World War II, Espionage

305 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 1979

About the author

One of the many pseudonyms used by Henry Patterson. See Jack Higgins for more complete information.

Reviews

[David Lucero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Higgins has always been one of my favorite authors. I found The Eagle Has Landed to be one of the best I've read, and still have this in my collection. To Catch A King was a book I found in a thrift store nearly 20 years ago, and finally got around to reading it. The premise takes place when Nazi Germany was poised to invade England. Hitler got it in his head that the Duke of Windsor was on their side, and would sit on the throne as king of Nazi-occupied England in the not-to-distant future. To put his plan in effect, Himmler enlists the aid of SS General Walter Schellenberg, an elusive man rumored to have mixed feelings about Nazism.

Schellenberg needs the help of a German-born American singer named Hannah Winter. He follows her to Lisbon where the Duke and Duchess of Windsor are about to sail to the Bahamas. Schellenberg must convince the Duke to come to Germany, while the Duke wrestles with a plan that could ultimately help him play an important role in saving his beloved England. SS Major Kleiber is sent to assist Schellenberg, but the two do not see eye-to-eye and often have disputes that develop in outright brawling. As the date of the invasion nears, Schellenberg does not know who he can trust, and should he fail his future within the Nazi ranks is jeopardized.

I find Higgins has the tendency to use the same scenes from The Eagle Has Landed. For example, in that book a letter is handed to Colonel Radl authorizing him to have absolute power for the mission Hitler handed down to him. The letter is simple and effective, and Higgins uses the same type letter here, which leaves me wondering how he gets away with it so often. Then again, it does work here like it did in so many other books. To Catch A King is a short book, less than 200 pages, a good enjoyable read if you wish to finish something quickly. You will not be disappointed if you are a Higgins fan, but if you haven't read his books, I suggest starting with the one which made him famous, The Eagle Has Landed. You will appreciate his writing much more.

David Lucero, author

www.LuceroBooks.com

[Virginia Tican · Rating 5 out of 5]

From RDCB Volume 1 1980 ~ This is what happens when some idiotic Nazi officials close to Hitler, concoct a harebrained scheme of kidnapping the Duke of Windsor and installing him as England's king after he has already abdicated with the wild and foolish notion that the Prince of Wales is too ready and too willing to commit treason because of the turbulent circumstances surrounding his abdication taking also into consideration his German blood and then presenting the deed to the Fuhrer as a "fait accompli." The object, of course, is to tailor the Prince as Germany's puppet. Enter one of our major players, SS General Walter Schellenberg, connoisseur of Art in most styles and forms, a good German but not a Nazi, a good Catholic and Hannah's savior. Hannah Winter is our other main player and the conduit to Portugal to make the kidnapping plot known to the Windsors while they are taking a leisurely sojourn at an Italian villa near Lisbon. Hannah, is an American citizen from New York sent by her family to Berlin to bring her Uncle Max (a night club proprietor whose club most American artists perform at) back home with her to America. She also has an extraordinarily beguiling singing voice hence Schellenberg's extreme reluctance to exterminate her. Then we also have Joe Jackson, ex~RAF an American and Hannah's contact in Portugal. Let us not forget, the Prince for they all have their roles to play. This maybe a "cock and bull" tale but it is really jolly good fun. And I am not offering you a Spanish coin owing to the fact that England had an iron~hold on The Rock during that Timeline..

[Varsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

So interesting, didn’t know anything about this piece of history!

[Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was all right. But not as interesting as I thought it would be. Kind of underwhelming I guess. It’s about a plot by the Nazis in World War 2 to convince the former King Edward to join their side (against the British) while the British and Americans try to foil the plot. The audiobook’s narration was well done, but too bad he didn’t have better material to work with.

[Adelaide Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um thriller histórico, passado na II Guerra, decorrendo entre Berlim, Madrid e Lisboa

[Martin Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early in WWII, as German forces prepared to invade Britain, an overconfident Adolf Hitler and his minions came up with a bizarre plot: Convince Edward, the Duke of Windsor and former king of England, to join the Nazi cause. Hitler was certain the duke was a Nazi-sympathizer and would make a good pro-German British king once England was occupied. To make this plan a reality, Hitler sent SS General Walter Schellenberg to Portugal, where the duke and his wife, Wallis Simpson, were staying, to convince the royal couple to defect. Thus was the start of Operation Willi.

All that is true. What exactly happened during Operation Willi has been subject to conjecture. Edward, who abdicated the throne to married his twice-divorced American lover, was a known Germanophile who often made admiring remarks about Hitler. His wife was believed to be a former lover of the German foreign minister, and also harbored pro-German sentiments. However, whether the duke ever seriously considered siding with the Nazis after the war started in 1939 is unsure.

In To Catch a King, author Jack Higgins promotes in fiction form his own idea of what may have happened during Operation Willi. In a forward to the novel, Higgins admits he believes the duke was an honorable man and a patriot who would never consider betraying his country.

To Catch a King has many of the same elements that made Higgins' The Eagle Has Landed a bestseller—that is a suspenseful, character-driven plot. While two fictional characters, Americans Joe Jackson and Hannah Winter, are the catalysts for the novel's action, most of the other characters are based on the real-life actors who were involved in Operation Willi. Whereas Winston Churchill, the target in Eagle, doesn't make an appearance until the end of the novel, the duke and duchess are main characters in King. So is Walter Schellenberg, the SS master counterspy who held misgivings about serving the Nazi cause and who considered Operation Willi a silly endeavor.

I must say that in creating the character of Joe Jackson, I believe Higgins was giving a tip of the hat to the classic WWII drama Casablanca. Like Humphrey Bogart's character Rick Blaine, Jackson is a veteran of the anti-fascist forces in the Spanish Civil War. While Rick owned Rick's Café Americain in Casablanca, Jackson owns Joe Jackson's American Bar in Lisbon.

I always enjoy Higgins' WWII novels, and I was not disappointed in To Catch a King.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of Jack Higgin's earlier novels which was actually published under his real name of Harry Patterson in 1979.

One of things I've found about Higgins is that he does WWII novels brilliantly and this is no exception.

In a nutshell, in July 1940, Hitler is planning Operation Sea Lion which is going to be the invasion of England by Germany. The British have just retreated and been evacuated from Dunkirk and the majority of Europe things the Germans are going to win.

The Duke of Windsor who recently abdicated was spending time in France with his wife Wallis Simpson and escaped the German invasion and was now a villa in Portugal.

The Germans has the idea that if they did invade England they would want someone on the throne who was supportive of their cause and for some reason they thought the Duke would be, so they came up with the plan to persuade him or if he refused abduct him and take him to Spain who at the time were supportive of Germany.

This was a highly enjoyable read and was done very well. As always with Higgins he gives you the bad Germans and also gives you the conflicted ones who are good men at heart but put in a bad position. I love the way he does this because he always manages to make you like and feel sorry fo them.

This was a good, fun, easy read. Highly recommended. Loved the ending! 4 stars.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oooh, this is a good book. Flows easy, quick read, simple story line. If you need something easy, quick, and one that you won't want to put down, this is a book for you. Especially if you like WWII stories. And Jack Higgins is a master of the thriller. Also, this story is based on fact; a story that I never had heard about.

As Hitler is working his way across Europe, the Duke (the same Duke who abdicated the British throne in December 1936) and Duchess of Windsor get stuck in Portugal. Hitler decides that his people will kidnap the Duke and Duchess and install them as puppet monarchs when the Nazis invade and conquer England. This is all true as are some of the main characters in this story.

What, or I should say, who gets in Hitler's way in this endeavor are a young Jewish American nightclub singer who finds out about this scheme and an American bartender. Give it a read to find out what happens.

[Nancy]

1940. Hitler’s terrifying war machine will soon roll through England, and in its wake Hitler plans to enthrone puppet monarchs under Nazi control. For these roles he demands none other than the exiled Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

Berlin. Brilliant SS officer Walter Schellenberg is ordered to “persuade” the Duke and Duchess to the Nazi cause. But when Shellenberg impulsively aids the escape of beautiful Jewish nightclub singer Hannah Winter, he plunges them both into a dark arena of intrigue and betrayal. Hunted by ruthless Gestapo agents, chased through the deadly underground from Berlin to Madrid to Lisbon, they are racing on a collision course with their own loyalties – and the fate of all England.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel was interesting. It was more of a chase-novel, really. Ms. Hannah Winter discovers the Windsor Affair. The Nazi's and General Schellenberg try to find Ms. Hannah Winter who's headed to Lisbon to warn the Duke and Duchess of Windsor of the plot and of course the Nazi's are on their way to try and convince the Duke of coming to Germany with them. About 70% of the novel is the journey. I learned a few things while reading it, but didn't come away very fulfilled. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a horrible story. Anyone interested in reading it, I can say it's worth a glance.

[Cristiana Martins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma leitura fascinante para quem gosta de thrillers históricos! O livro transporta-nos para a Lisboa da Segunda Guerra Mundial, com uma trama cheia de intriga e conspiração. Gostei especialmente da forma como a cidade foi retratada, assim como das personagens bem desenvolvidas e do ambiente de tensão que se mantém ao longo da história. No entanto, houve momentos em que a narrativa se tornou um pouco difícil de acompanhar, pois a escrita é, por vezes, confusa e com mudanças abruptas. Ainda assim, vale a pena para quem aprecia um bom enredo histórico com espionagem e reviravoltas!

[Jemma · Rating 2 out of 5]

A poorly written first half really undermines what should be a fascinating tale. Certainly the research seems thorough and generally, the bits about the main Nazis seem good. The other characters seem two-dimensional at best. This would be a lot better book in fact if it was a history rather than a thriller. The working out of the plot is better handled but still not as exciting or tense as this idea promised to be. Still might make a good TV movie.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1940 certain Nazis believe that the Duke of Windsor can be persuaded to support them and so various agents are dispatched to make contact.

This was an entertaining story, with good characters, dialogue and pace.

Not sure about the historical accuracy, but still worth reading if you like WWII / spy adventures.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack Higgins knows how to write an involving thriller. I have really enjoyed his Sean Dillon series. This one seemed a tad farfetched since I found the actions of General Schellenburg a bit hard to believe.

[MITCHELL S. FRIEDMAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just terrific

Historical fiction? A great read. Turn the pages and learn some more the Nazi war machine and the criminals that were in charge. Easy to read and pass the time. Action packed with suspense.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typically Higgins

East to read historical thriller set during WWII. Higgins keeps things interesting as Nazis try to persuade the Duke of Windsor to join their cause. When that fails, they decide kidnapping will do.

[Penny · Rating 3 out of 5]

aka Jack Higgins. ISBN would not show up for this book. aka Judas Gate

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vintage Higgins. Very exciting.

[Marius van Blerck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-constructed readable WW2 thriller that suffers a little from an overabundance of stereotypes.

[Thom Swennes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable. Jack Higgins brings to life one of the most unusual stories from World War II. The action flows and the characters live on each and every turnable page.

[Billie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice read You can see Higgins in the characters (crazed Nazi strong heroes. Nice mixture of history and fiction. Have been reading Higgins since high School Always enjoy his work.

[Annmbray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical romp. Enjoyable but no heavy lifting here!

[Rick Massuch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe Jackson=Richard Blaine

[chuck croner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading

Spellbinding easy to read I did not realize how true this book was. World war 2 stories are great to read as I was born in the late thirties and lived through it.

[KLEE BETHEL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caught me too

Easy to read, hard to put down. He is able to capture imagination with this fictionalization of a historic event.

[Sandra Butler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Surprised by this book

It was nowhere near the quality of the author's other books, a great disappointment. I really do not recommend it.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started a bit slow, but picked up the pace half way through.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent read from Jack Higgins.

[Tim Alborough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book , brings to life some characters from recent history . Well written and a quick read , will make note to read some more Jack Higgins books .

[parisimo · Rating 2 out of 5]

i wish there was more suspense