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1792: the blood begins to drip from the guillotine. The French Revolution is entering its most violent phase, and threatens all Europe with chaos. In the age of the mob, no individual is safe.
The spies of England, France and Prussia are fighting their own war for survival and supremacy. Somewhere in Paris is a hidden trove of secrets that will reveal the treacheries of a whole continent.
At the height of the madness a stranger arrives in Paris, to meet a man who has disappeared. Unknown and untrusted, he finds himself the centre of all conspiracy. When the world is changing forever, what must one man become to survive?
Treason's Spring is a thrilling and meticulous panorama of Paris in the Revolution, the first of a trilogy of books whose revelations transform our understanding of an era.
The spies of England, France and Prussia are fighting their own war for survival and supremacy. Somewhere in Paris is a hidden trove of secrets that will reveal the treacheries of a whole continent.
At the height of the madness a stranger arrives in Paris, to meet a man who has disappeared. Unknown and untrusted, he finds himself the centre of all conspiracy. When the world is changing forever, what must one man become to survive?
Treason's Spring is a thrilling and meticulous panorama of Paris in the Revolution, the first of a trilogy of books whose revelations transform our understanding of an era.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
404 pages, Paperback
Published October 4, 2018
8 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Robert Wilton
24 books13 followersOut now! The 'rare, clever treat' that is 'Treason's Spring'...
Robert Wilton worked in a number of British Government Departments, including a stint as Private Secretary to three successive UK Secretaries of State for Defence. He was advisor to the Prime Minister of Kosovo in the period leading to the country's independence, and now helps to run an international human rights mission in Albania. He's co-founder of The Ideas Partnership, a charity stimulating and supporting projects in education, culture and the environment.
His new historical thriller 'Treason's Spring' is out imminently. It's a prequel to 'Treason's Tide' (hb 'The Emperor's Gold'), which was an Amazon historical fiction Number One, one of Waterstone's 'best new debut novels', and won the Historical Writers' Association/Goldsboro Crown for best debut. 'Sensational... great, intelligent, fun' (Time Out) ' and 'Literary gold... superbly satisfying...beautifully written, wonderfully clever' (Daily Telegraph), it was written in various odd bits of Europe on a computer with no functioning full-stop key, was edited in Russia and Mongolia, and was almost but mercifully not quite blown up by the British Transport Police.
His series of historical espionage thrillers drawing on the archive of the Comptrollerate-General for Scrutiny and Survey also includes 'Traitor's Field', an epic tapestry of the British Civil Wars and 'a new benchmark for the literary historical thriller. He achieves that Holy Grail of utterly absorbing, edge-of-the-seat thriller with a book of ideas' (M.C.Scott). He launched the 'learned, beautifully written, elegant spy thriller' (The Times) 'The Spider of Sarajevo' in Sarajevo on June 28th 2014, the exact centenary of the events it re-tells.
Robert Wilton also writes on the history and culture of south-eastern Europe, works as a life coach and occasional voice artist, and translates Albanian poetry. He divides his time between the Balkans and Cornwall.
Robert Wilton worked in a number of British Government Departments, including a stint as Private Secretary to three successive UK Secretaries of State for Defence. He was advisor to the Prime Minister of Kosovo in the period leading to the country's independence, and now helps to run an international human rights mission in Albania. He's co-founder of The Ideas Partnership, a charity stimulating and supporting projects in education, culture and the environment.
His new historical thriller 'Treason's Spring' is out imminently. It's a prequel to 'Treason's Tide' (hb 'The Emperor's Gold'), which was an Amazon historical fiction Number One, one of Waterstone's 'best new debut novels', and won the Historical Writers' Association/Goldsboro Crown for best debut. 'Sensational... great, intelligent, fun' (Time Out) ' and 'Literary gold... superbly satisfying...beautifully written, wonderfully clever' (Daily Telegraph), it was written in various odd bits of Europe on a computer with no functioning full-stop key, was edited in Russia and Mongolia, and was almost but mercifully not quite blown up by the British Transport Police.
His series of historical espionage thrillers drawing on the archive of the Comptrollerate-General for Scrutiny and Survey also includes 'Traitor's Field', an epic tapestry of the British Civil Wars and 'a new benchmark for the literary historical thriller. He achieves that Holy Grail of utterly absorbing, edge-of-the-seat thriller with a book of ideas' (M.C.Scott). He launched the 'learned, beautifully written, elegant spy thriller' (The Times) 'The Spider of Sarajevo' in Sarajevo on June 28th 2014, the exact centenary of the events it re-tells.
Robert Wilton also writes on the history and culture of south-eastern Europe, works as a life coach and occasional voice artist, and translates Albanian poetry. He divides his time between the Balkans and Cornwall.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 3, 2018
One of those rare occasions when I wish I could give 10 instead of 5 stars. Ingenious and engrossing. Hugely accomplished. Robert Wilton is such a clever writer.
September 6, 2017
I would like to thank Netgalley and Atlantic Books for an advance copy of Treason's Spring, the fourth novel from the Archives of the Comptrollerate-General for Scrutiny and Survey.
In 1792 Edinburgh merchant Keith Kinnaird arrives in Paris as the behest of his friend and sometime trading partner, Henry Greene, only to find that Greene has disappeared and no one seems to know where he is. As Kinnaird starts to search for him he soon finds himself in trouble as the revolution is in full swing, nobody can be trusted and a stranger asking questions about a man the authorities have a suspicion of cannot stay unnoticed for long.
There is much to admire in Treason's Spring but I found it a struggle to get through as it isn't my kind of fiction - it's too literary and meandering and I'm more of an obvious, short, sharp points kind of reader.
This is a densely plotted spy novel with double cross upon double cross where no character's intentions are clear apart from Kinnaird and even then he seems too gullible to be true. It takes concentration to keep up with all the webs and tentacles so I applaud Mr Wilton's skill in plotting as he doesn't put a foot wrong and I love the ending which is so smart and ironic.
The characters are well drawn. It is interesting to watch Kinneard grow and change as the novel progresses. He possesses an unusual strength of character from the start but it morphs into steely determination by the end of the novel. The other strong character in the novel is the real life Joseph Fouché, a one man secret police, being a spy catcher and holder of many secrets. He also grows in the novel from an uncertain young man to an unscrupulous politician, determined to hold on to his power at any cost. The battle of wits between these two men is the driving force in the novel.
With an intricate plot requiring thought and concentration from the reader and strong characterisation I should have loved this book but I found the execution and much of the minutiae hard going. Firstly I should say that this is a long novel and as it has multiple points of view it is not a straightforward linear narrative. Mr Wilton covers all the bases with paragraph's from every character's point of view, excerpts from contemporaneous diaries which may or may not be real, I haven't checked, archival reports and letters to and from unnamed correspondents. There is no doubt that it gives the reader a wider understanding of events but it makes for a choppy read and puts a distance into the narrative where it is difficult to get absorbed and really root for Kinnaird. I do, however applaud Mr Wilton's research into the period and his ability to pass on the unease and fear of many citizens.
Treason's Spring is not a novel that appealed to me but it has many good points and will appeal to readers who want more that a straightforward thriller.
In 1792 Edinburgh merchant Keith Kinnaird arrives in Paris as the behest of his friend and sometime trading partner, Henry Greene, only to find that Greene has disappeared and no one seems to know where he is. As Kinnaird starts to search for him he soon finds himself in trouble as the revolution is in full swing, nobody can be trusted and a stranger asking questions about a man the authorities have a suspicion of cannot stay unnoticed for long.
There is much to admire in Treason's Spring but I found it a struggle to get through as it isn't my kind of fiction - it's too literary and meandering and I'm more of an obvious, short, sharp points kind of reader.
This is a densely plotted spy novel with double cross upon double cross where no character's intentions are clear apart from Kinnaird and even then he seems too gullible to be true. It takes concentration to keep up with all the webs and tentacles so I applaud Mr Wilton's skill in plotting as he doesn't put a foot wrong and I love the ending which is so smart and ironic.
The characters are well drawn. It is interesting to watch Kinneard grow and change as the novel progresses. He possesses an unusual strength of character from the start but it morphs into steely determination by the end of the novel. The other strong character in the novel is the real life Joseph Fouché, a one man secret police, being a spy catcher and holder of many secrets. He also grows in the novel from an uncertain young man to an unscrupulous politician, determined to hold on to his power at any cost. The battle of wits between these two men is the driving force in the novel.
With an intricate plot requiring thought and concentration from the reader and strong characterisation I should have loved this book but I found the execution and much of the minutiae hard going. Firstly I should say that this is a long novel and as it has multiple points of view it is not a straightforward linear narrative. Mr Wilton covers all the bases with paragraph's from every character's point of view, excerpts from contemporaneous diaries which may or may not be real, I haven't checked, archival reports and letters to and from unnamed correspondents. There is no doubt that it gives the reader a wider understanding of events but it makes for a choppy read and puts a distance into the narrative where it is difficult to get absorbed and really root for Kinnaird. I do, however applaud Mr Wilton's research into the period and his ability to pass on the unease and fear of many citizens.
Treason's Spring is not a novel that appealed to me but it has many good points and will appeal to readers who want more that a straightforward thriller.
November 18, 2023
I have now read four of Robert Wilton’s novels based on the secret archives of the Comptrollerate-General for Scrutiny and Survey. Together the four form a fabulous body of work although I think this was the one I enjoyed the least. As ever, the story is dense and complex and told from multiple, quickly changing perspectives supported by letters and other documents. I also found it to be a book of two halves – the first 200 or so pages I struggled to clarify exactly was happening and what was the central theme of the novel. This might be entirely because of Wilton’s obfuscatary style or might just be me reading too much late at night when I’m not as alert as I might be. For me, the second half flowed better as the various moving parts begin to fall into place.
The book is set in France in 1792 with Paris in a state of revolutionary chaos and the spies of England, France and Prussia everywhere. The prize they seek is the secret trove of letters and other documents hidden by the deposed King Louis. It is feared the documents contain secrets embarrassing to all the nations of Europe and so each wants them for their own advantage or destroyed.
Into this steps one Keith Kinnaird, ostensibly a Scottish trader on a mission to find a missing friend. Kinnaird finds himself falling deeper and deeper into the complexities of immediate post-revolution life, when to be a foreigner is to be under immediate suspicion and suspicion can mean death.
A very well written and thought-provoking book. Very enjoyable.
The book is set in France in 1792 with Paris in a state of revolutionary chaos and the spies of England, France and Prussia everywhere. The prize they seek is the secret trove of letters and other documents hidden by the deposed King Louis. It is feared the documents contain secrets embarrassing to all the nations of Europe and so each wants them for their own advantage or destroyed.
Into this steps one Keith Kinnaird, ostensibly a Scottish trader on a mission to find a missing friend. Kinnaird finds himself falling deeper and deeper into the complexities of immediate post-revolution life, when to be a foreigner is to be under immediate suspicion and suspicion can mean death.
A very well written and thought-provoking book. Very enjoyable.
March 8, 2018
A well written book and whilst I love reading history both factual and fictional, I have to say I did struggle to get through this book. It did give me some insight into what was going on at the time of the French Revolution but it wasn't as compelling for me to read as much as I had hoped. This was not helped by the fact that the narrative just did not flow for me which made it difficult to follow at times. Maybe if I had felt some affinity to the characters, it would have made for a better reading and understanding of the book.
August 27, 2017
With the same pace I loved in the author's 'Spider of Sarajevo', the atmospherics of 'Traitor's Field' and the intimate details of history that bring the past to life in all the books in this series, together with the building menace of the time that 'Poldark' only told the half of, I relished this story.
November 16, 2018
A fantastic book about espionage and victimization in the French revolution. Great characterisation and fabulous storylines which all come together in the end, developing characters as they go! I know this is no.4 in the series, but as a reader who hasn't read the preceding 3, I cna confirm there is no need to as the story doesn't rely on it!
THanks for a fab read xx
THanks for a fab read xx
February 11, 2023
I was a little anxious when I saw that this book returned to within a few years of the period in which book 1 is set.
As it turned out, I need not have worried. I blooming loved this tale which, in fact is something of a prequel to book 1.
As it turned out, I need not have worried. I blooming loved this tale which, in fact is something of a prequel to book 1.
October 10, 2022
way to many characters and to many changes of scene too hard to get involved in the plot
April 29, 2023
I didn't love this as much as I wanted to. I can see why people compare it to Hilary Mantel, there is some beautiful writing and some of the vignettes focussing on characters are very like her writing. Those were the bits I loved. Unfortunately I didn't find the characters to be very deep or fully formed, this may be purposeful, most of the main characters are spies after all, and you do get a sense of them only being seen in the shadows and out the corner of your eye. The trouble was it meant that I found it difficult to care about them. I did really appreciate the ending and it showed how clever the book was, especially since all the characters were real and the remarkable events true. Although I struggled a bit to get through it I almost wish it had been longer to give the characters more depth and that way I think I would have loved it more.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews