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Only Time Will Tell: the first six chapters: The Clifton Chronicles

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*The first six chapters*

The Clifton Chronicles is Jeffrey Archer's most ambitious work in four decades as an international bestselling author.

The epic tale of Harry Clifton's life begins in 1919, in the backstreets of Bristol. His father was a war hero, but it will be twenty-one tumultuous years before Harry discovers the truth about how his father really died and if, in fact, he even was his father.

The first in the series, Only Time Will Tell takes a cast of memorable characters from the ravages of the Great War to the outbreak of the Second World War, when Harry must decide whether to take his place at Oxford, or join the fight against Hitler's Germany.

In Jeffrey Archer's masterful hands, you will be taken on a journey that you won't want to end.

59 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 12, 2015

161 people are currently reading
233 people want to read

About the author

Jeffrey Archer

657 books12.4k followers
Jeffrey is published in 114 countries and more than 47 languages, with more than 750,000 5* reviews with international sales passing 275 million copies.

He is the only author ever to have been a number one bestseller in fiction (nineteen times), short stories (four times) and non-fiction (The Prison Diaries).

Jeffrey has been married for 53 years to Dame Mary Archer DBE. They have two sons, William and James, three grandsons and two granddaughters, and divide their time between homes in London, Cambridge and Mallorca.

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5 stars
330 (48%)
4 stars
224 (33%)
3 stars
84 (12%)
2 stars
26 (3%)
1 star
11 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
Profile Image for Yash kumar sharma.
17 reviews
September 25, 2023
I think not this book, the whole series is quite intruging & gripping. While reading this i found myself imaginning the whole scenes of the era. I think the author done an fanstatic job in characters development and the storytelling with each characters perspective take this book to the next level. You can imagine when you were view the same scene from different perpective that helps you to on the story.

Things i don't like in this book
-Some part prior to ending can be improved(like ship scene)
-Sometimes story becames repetitive.

With Love! and Gratitude!!
Reader Y.

Thanks for reading :)
Profile Image for Emma Hawkes.
61 reviews2 followers
April 13, 2024
7/10 overall good read. I enjoyed this book and found myself getting into the plot and storytelling, which gives an insight into the struggles of the poorer population. Each chapter follows a different character, based around one boy, Harry. Towards the end, I wasn't rushing to pick this book up. Mostly due to the fact that this book follows into another book. I am told that this book is the least gripping out of Jeffrey Archer's others.
104 reviews
April 2, 2024
I don't want to like Jeffrey Archer, but I do. Maybe I have some kind of "The cover is too mass market" snobbery or something. However, right after I finished this one, I put my name on the library reserve list for the next one. Wonderful character development, with characters tied to one another in a wide variety of ways. Looking forward to finding out what happens to Harry!
1 review
March 4, 2020
Beautifully written, could not put it down till I finished reading!

Beautifully written! Can't put it down till you finish reading it! Wanting to read subsequent sequels! I am sure it gets better and better!
Profile Image for Goldie.
160 reviews
November 24, 2024
Really tricky to rate this book...a tedious read it felt like it was full of uneccersary fillers and not needed characters but the actual plot twists and turns and revaluation were gripping ....not sure if I will read the sins of the father yet. But maybe
16 reviews
December 5, 2017
Superb

I hope to read the entire novel. May be soon. It's fast and extremely interesting. Suggest others to read the free version first.
1 review
April 30, 2018
A time machine taking you 100 years back

I've liked all the works of Jeffrey Archer until now and this one isn't an exception. Life from a school boy's perspective.
4 reviews
February 14, 2019
Really good one from the author...I recommend this book to my friends.
Profile Image for James Minter.
Author 35 books179 followers
May 27, 2020
A gentle enjoyable story set in and around Bristol, UK and written from the perspectives of the main protagonists.
3 reviews
June 16, 2021
It is amazing...one of the few English books I love and didn't sleep whilst reading it.
20 reviews
February 6, 2022
I have to say it is one of the best books I have read that has kept me interested and on the edge of my seat throughout the whole of it. I would recommend this book highly to anyone.
Profile Image for RobBram.
19 reviews1 follower
March 6, 2023
Great storytelling, left on a cliffhanger ready for the next book in the Clifton Chronicles series. Good page turner so far.
4 reviews
April 9, 2015
Great book. A bit slow moving In parts. Interesting story line with many twists and turns.
2 reviews
January 23, 2021
Great story teller

A very satisfying book. So well told as ever.He keeps you with the characters and his story telling is effortless
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews

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