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Birth of a Nation
Eddie Bosham, the not entirely English agent, is in prison on a murder charge. But he’s not worried. He’s innocent, and, anyway, he has hidden proof of a ghastly scandal that could bring down the monarchy. We take up his memoirs where he was left, marooned on the Galapagos Islands with the young Charles Darwin. Rescued and set ashore in Acapulco, he makes his way to Texas. Staunchly loyal to whichever side will win, he spies for General Santa Ana at the Alamo and for Sam Houston at San Jacinto. Westward ho, he stumbles across the secret that will launch the California Gold Rush.
448 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2005
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About the author
Julian Rathbone
69 books24 followersJulian 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...
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...
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 24, 2020
Our very English agent and unreliable narrator is much more agreeable than Oskar Matzerath. Whether he plants the notion of the Origin of Species in Darwin's head or suffering the misadventures of John C. Frémont on his way to the Pacific, his dungeon reminiscences ably fill in the blanks of history. If you don't believe him, go along for the ride with Albion's answer to Baron Von Münchausen. You will make numerous stops, looking back slightly confused: how did we end up from there to here ?
March 15, 2009
In many ways, I wish I'd liked this book more than I did; and if the main character had been more sympathetically established at the start, maybe I would have done. By the end of it, I did feel he deserved more credit than his author gives him.
As it was, Julian Rathbone managed (for me) to communicate a sense of detachment from the various adventures Eddie gets embroiled in which is perhaps intended as ironic, or blackly humorous, but which I found off-putting. There were several passages of description I found myself speed-reading in the knowledge that they really weren't adding anything to the story - and they didn't feel convincingly like the "voice" of the first-person narration, so they didn't really help the characterisation.
A very clever book by a clearly knowledgeable and accomplished writer, and I applaud the many references to American and British folk songs of the era evoked, but ultimately not a book I can enthuse over.
As it was, Julian Rathbone managed (for me) to communicate a sense of detachment from the various adventures Eddie gets embroiled in which is perhaps intended as ironic, or blackly humorous, but which I found off-putting. There were several passages of description I found myself speed-reading in the knowledge that they really weren't adding anything to the story - and they didn't feel convincingly like the "voice" of the first-person narration, so they didn't really help the characterisation.
A very clever book by a clearly knowledgeable and accomplished writer, and I applaud the many references to American and British folk songs of the era evoked, but ultimately not a book I can enthuse over.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews