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The Desolate Garden is a story centred on one family, the Earls of Harrogate, who, since the fourteenth century, have been the sole custodians of a secret government bank located in Queen Anne’s Gate, Westminster and affectionately known as Annie’s.In 2007 Lord Elliot Paterson, the new Earl takes over the running of the bank and decides to modernise the old written ledgers by converting them into digital form. He discovers a hidden ledger of 1935 in which a vast sum of money starts to go missing along with the insertion of two sets of initials in a margin, one; an address in Leningrad, Russia.
On further investigation, he suspects that his grandfather, Lord Maudlin Paterson, could have been funding a Russian Spy. Six months after telling his estranged eldest son, Harry, of his suspicions he is found shot dead in the London family house in Eton Square.
Harry, who on leaving the army had worked for the secret intelligence services, now finds himself recalled to London to shine a light on why his father was murdered. He meets a stick insect of a woman in Duke’s Hotel St James’s who seemingly is on ‘the pull,’ but unknown to him works for the British Home Office and is to be his case officer in the pursuing investigations.
Harry does not want to tell Judith of his father’s discoveries, but Judith knows more about his family than Harry does. Neither wish to reveal too much of what they know until they have to stop further murders.
The tale is told through the dialogue between these two as their relationship rebounds backwards and forwards like a train driven by a five-year-old.
Moved from introductions thread:FREE until 2nd November--The Desolate Garden—Bestseller In Russian Literature. Once under a paid five-year option to become a $30 million film
http://mybook.to/DesolateGarden
Judy wrote: "Moved from introductions thread:FREE until 2nd November--The Desolate Garden—Bestseller In Russian Literature. Once under a paid five-year option to become a $30 million film
http://mybook.to/Des..."Thank you, Judy, I wasn't sure where I put it... lolol
I have written a number of books, including both fiction and travel, and a specialist work on climate change. But I think this is the one that would most interest people in this group - and at the moment I am offering it as a free download (link at bottom of post).Three Seasons: Three Stories of England in the Eighties
Blurb:
A washed-up trawler captain. A sleek young businessman. And the Master of an Oxford college. Through these three characters, all beautifully drawn, Mike Robbins has created a vivid picture of the 1980s, a divisive era of great change.
Three Seasons is a book of three novellas, unconnected with each other, but all set in the south of England in the 1980s.
In Spring, a middle-aged Hull trawler skipper, his great days gone, has one last throw of the dice in a South Coast port.
In Summer, an ambitious young man makes his way in the booming Thames Valley property market, unconcerned with the damage he does to others.
In Autumn, the Master of an Oxford college welcomes his two sons home, but they awake difficult memories from half a century before.
Three Seasons is about the Thatcher era in Britain, but it is not about politics. These three stories are portraits of a country and its people on the verge of change.
You can download a free e-copy (choice of formats) from here: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/VWcPr
You will be asked to give your name and email for Instafreebie's email list, but it is not sent to me; and while reviews are welcome, first and foremost I just hope you enjoy the book.
Sounds like a very intriguing and promising book Mike - thanks
Thanks for posting, Mike. I will have a look.
You have some interesting titles, Mike, including a memoir about visiting Sudan Even the Dead Are Coming and a political essay Such Little Accident: British Democracy and Its Enemies. I am currently reading Fall Out: A Year of Political Mayhem and am tempted to start a British Politics thread, but we would have to keep discussions within the 20th Century. However, I am also reading Six Minutes in May: How Churchill Unexpectedly Became Prime Minister and finding a lot of parallels between the past and the present!
This book tells of a secret that a Jewish survivor of the Nazi occupation of Vienna told to a British secret agent in 1945. What Happened In Vienna, Jack?
myBook.to/What
The publishers are offering it free tomorrow, Susan.
What Happened In Vienna, Jack? is being offered free of charge until 2nd December. Any reviews would be greatly appreciated.myBook.to/What
Book Compared to James Bond.What Happened In Vienna, Jack?
myBook.to/What
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great thriller to grab
By P.S. Winn on November 30, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
Welcome to the world of secrets, lies and espionage. Jack Price is a former British spy who knows perhaps too many secrets of past conspiracies and cover-ups. Patrick West is a man who has a sordid past himself, but it is going to be up to him to see if he can find a way to delve into the past and find out what secrets Jack Price may know. This is a well-written novel that I would classify as something close to a James Bond thriller. Daniel Kemp seems to be quite knowledgeable about not only spying but historic secrets and how to bring them together in an intriguing novel.
It's FREE until 2nd December 2017
I have recently written The Wrong Envelope set in 1920. It tells the story of Bernard, a bohemian artist, and Evie, his post lady. It uses irony and humour to explore the difficult position that women found themselves in after the First World War and the stifling expectations of both family and society at that time. I live in Scotland, but if any goodreads readers are in book clubs that read the book, I would be delighted to attend one of their book club meetings by Skype to answer any questions...
Good luck with your book Liz. Whereabouts in Devon is it set?
Thank you! It's set in Colyton, a tiny town in East Devon, full of thatched cottages and houses going back to Tudor times.
Thanks Liz. I've just looked online. It sounds delightful. I've been to many places near there but not Colyton itself. I will pop in next time I'm in the area - perhaps with your book under my arm.
Daniel posted the following:FREE until 28 Jan
A story of murder, exploitation and sex
Once I Was A Soldier
myBook.to/Once
Daniel posted:The final day of this offer:
FREE until midnight PST 28 Jan
There is no morality to be found in evil.
But to recognise that which is truly evil one must forget the rules of morality.
Murder
myBook.to/Once
A Nurse's Story: Medical Missionary in Korea and Siberia, 1915-1920Happy Armistice Day 100! Delia Battles was one of 10 siblings from a small Ohio farming community, and the only one to serve in "the great war."
She was a nurse at a Western mission hospital in a small town in what is now North Korea, and trained young Korean women as nurses. While she was there, the US entered WW1 and she was called to join a Red Cross Medical Unit of doctors and nurses stationed in Asia. She traveled on the Trans-Siberian railroad, encountered fleeing refugees in Harbin, and then worked in a typhus hospital and helped establish a Red Cross hospital in Omsk. Includes some fascinating historical photographs.
This book has been available as a paperback and is now available as an ebook on Amazon; read for free on Amazon Unlimited or KOLL.
For more information, see:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
https://www.amazon.com/Nurses-Story-M...
Thank you Alison. There is a UK kindle version, so I will take a look.
Val wrote: "Thank you Alison. There is a UK kindle version, so I will take a look."Thank you. Yes, the book is available in other markets:
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nurses-Story...
Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Nurses-Stor...
Liz wrote: "I have just published The Wrong Direction, the sequel to The Wrong Envelope. It's a romantic comedy, set in 1920, but it also explores the unenviable position that w..."I downloaded samples of each to my kindle so that I remember to check them out. They definitely look like books I would enjoy.
Post moved from the introductions thread.Timothy J Smith wrote:
Hello all,
I will paste a short biography below.
I am a Goodreads Author. My books are set in various places around the world. In April 2019, my new novel, The Fourth Courier, set in Warsaw 1992, will be released. I'm looking forward to the group discussions.
Tim
Raised crisscrossing America pulling a small green
trailer behind the family car, Timothy Jay Smith
developed a ceaseless wanderlust that has taken him
around the world many times. Polish cops and Greek
fishermen, mercenaries and arms dealers, child
prostitutes and wannabe terrorists, Indian Chiefs and
Indian tailors: he hung with them all in an unparalleled
international career that saw him smuggle banned
plays from behind the Iron Curtain, maneuver through
Occupied Territories, represent the U.S. at the highest levels of foreign governments, and stowaway aboard a “devil’s barge” for a three-days crossing from Cape Verde that landed him in
an African jail.
These experiences explain the unique breadth and sensibility of Tim’s work, for which he’s won top honors. Fire on the Island won the Gold Medal in the 2017 Faulkner-Wisdom Competition
for the Novel. He won the Paris Prize for Fiction (now the Paris Literary Prize) for his novel, A Vision of Angels . Kirkus Reviews called Cooper’s Promise “literary dynamite” and selected it as
one of the Best Books of 2012. Tim was nominated for the 2018 Pushcart Prize. His screenplays have won numerous competitions. His first stage play, How High the Moon , won the prestigious
Stanley Drama Award. He is the founder of the Smith Prize for Political Theater.
https://www.instagram.com/timothyjays...
https://www.facebook.com/TimothyJaySm...
Tim posted this in Introductions - moved as it contains promotional information:Hello and happy new year!
I'm primarily a novelist, though I've had some success as a screenwriter and playwright as well.
I write literary thrillers and mysteries set around the world: Africa, Greece, Palestine/Israel, Istanbul (a novel-in-progress), and soon to be released: The Fourth Courier set in Poland. I lived and/or worked in all these places, and I draw on those experiences for my settings and characters. Suffice it to say, I've had a rather intense and exciting life, which is briefly described on my Author page.
Probably the biggest influences on my writing were Graham Greene and John LeCarre, and more recently, Joseph Kanon, Moshe Hamin, Sebastian Faulks, and Robert Goolrick. That's an odd array, I know, but combined they give me strong plots with memorable characters. About one of my earlier books, a reviewer wrote that I did for the thriller what John LeCarre did for the spy novel: elevate the genre to a literary form. I'll take that compliment!
I have two published novels by Owl Canyon Press. For my third novel, I recently signed with Trident Media Group for literary representation, and that book - The Fourth Courier - will be published by Arcade Publishing (an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, the fastest growing independent publisher in America).
I'm gay, and all my novels have gay protagonists or sidekicks, in such roles as journalists, soldiers, or FBI and CIA agents. My novels are not gay sex novels. Instead, because I have lived around the world, I try to portray what it's like for gay people in those cultures, and make it a feature of the plot. There's always a plot twist that wouldn't happen - or not in the same way - if the gay factor weren't there.
That's me in brief. I look forward to exploring better than I have before this incredible network called Goodreads.
Tim
To celebrate Valentine's Day, my two novels, The Wrong Envelope and the sequel, The Wrong Direction are now 0.99 on Amazon Kindle. The novels are set in England in 1920 and use wit and humor to explore the unenviable position that women found themselves in after the First World War.
Moving a self-promotion post over from the Introductions thread - a reminder that this is the only thread where self-promotion posts are allowed.Melina wrote:
Hello, Everyone,
I am an author of historical fiction and nonfiction. I also am an avid history enthusiast. My era of expertise – and obsession – is the 1890-1920 timeframe.
To learn more about my books, subscribe to my blog (that focuses mostly on history) or join my mailing list visit http://www.melinadruga.com/ .
You can find me on social media on Twitter (@MelinaDruga), Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/MelinaDruga) and, of course, Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/MelinaDruga).
My books are available exclusively on Amazon, and eBooks are free to Kindle Unlimited members and on KDP Select free days. Follow me on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Melina-Druga/e...
Posted by Virginia and moved from what books I am reading thread as it contains self-promotion.It's the 50th Anniversary of Desert Solitaire by Ed Abbey. If he hasn't ruined your life yet, there's still time.
Has to be read in some vast wild open space preferably with friends, a fire, and lots of beer.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
My novel, Birdbrain, is one of his demented literary children.
VA
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
The link to Virginia's inspiration did not copy across (or didn't work), so here it is:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
The Banqueting Club, the first of the Armstrong and Burton series, is out now.Two ageing political warriors fight to save their friendship in the midst of a historic scandal, and the relentless march of Margaret Thatcher's Britain.
Lots of history and background at www.georgefairbrother.com
Thanks for the opportunity to post.
Looks interesting, George. Good luck with it.
Susan wrote: "Looks interesting, George. Good luck with it."Thanks, I appreciate your kind thoughts
Just to say that my novel, The Wrong Envelope is currently in the Kindle sale. 0.99 in the US and the UK, 1.99 in Canada and 2.99 in Australia. It's a light, witty romance, set in England, and uses humour and irony to explore what life was like for British women in 1920.
This self-promotion post was place in the wrong thread, so I have moved it over here. J.B. wrote:
I have recently swapped from paper to Kindle. This is my new kindle book. I would really appreciate your views. Modern political fiction. Location - Latin America.
B07QW3PKNH
Judy wrote: "This self-promotion post was place in the wrong thread, so I have moved it over here. J.B. wrote:
I have recently swapped from paper to Kindle. This is my new kindle book. I would really appreci..."
thank you Judy, I am new to this channel.
Latin America Mi Amor - A book of short stories based in different countries in Latin America, some of which were published in literary magazines in the UK and Ireland. The first one, "Goodbye to the Angel" won the third prize in the Irish Times/Hennessy Awards in 1997. “The Tango” and “Both sides of the River” were chosen as the winners of Incognito magazine’s Quality Fiction for Women competitions.The book is the author's reflection and result of her "love affair" with Latin America as seen by a foreigner's eyes. From the Argentinean pampas, through the fertile valleys of Chile, the cosmopolitan salons of Mexican high society, to the crowded favelas of Sao Paulo, the stories reveal a complex, intriguing and heterogeneous continent with its heroes, villains, traditions, customs, political strife and social inequalities. A procession of characters populate the book making the reader cry, laugh, learn, debate, and be taken aback at the same time converting Latin America into a newly found love he or she will never be able to forget completely. Just like one never forgets the first lover.
The book had been written before Jolanta Polk embarked on the arduous but satisfying task of writing a novel based on an imaginary country in Latin America and shortly to be published by Kindle (Amazon).
Thank you for posting about your book, J.B. It sounds very interesting. I'll just add a link, Latin America Mi Amor: Short Stories from around the Continent
Just wanted to say that The Wrong Envelope.
is 0.99 in the Kindle sale at the moment. It's set in Devon, 1920 and uses humour and irony to describe the situation women found themselves in after the First World War. It climbed the UK Amazon charts this week - peaking at 21 in Humorous Literary Fiction so I'm extending the Kindle sale for a few more days - 0.99 in the US and UK, 1.99 in Canada and 2.99 in Australia.
Honors of Inequality: How Colleges Work for Some is a historical analysis of conservative ideology's influence on higher education scholarship and the organization of higher education as a field of study from the 1950s to 1990s. It may appeal to readers of intellectual thought, neoliberalism, and questions of equity (access and success) in higher education. The final three chapters link the origins of the American system of higher education financing by student loans to the backlash against New Deal reforms (Truman Commission) and student unrest decades earlier.Until February 22, 2021, the book is free on Amazon Kindle to support a recent push to #CancelStudentDebt. If that is a specific interest, then I encourage readers to download the e-book for the Epilogue at the back. The Epilogue is also available on ResearchGate and through my author page.
Peter A.B. Widener II was among the last of the scions of the great Guilded Age, an age that saw great disparities in wealth and opportunity. His family fraternized with the Dukes, the Vanderbilts and European royalty. They amassed one of the greatest collections of classic art in the world, art that now largely hangs at The National Gallery in Washington, D.C. But after his harrowing experiences working in hospitals and seeing first-hand the carnage of World War I, Widener came back a changed man.Peter WidenerWithout Drums: A child of wealth comes of age in The Great War
Hi everyone. I'm an American author living in Paris. I write primarily historical fiction set in the mid-20th century. Originally from the South, where good manners are just as important as good friends, I come bearing gifts. In celebration of the launch of my novel "The Last Good Republican" I'm making available to members of the Reading the 20th Century group a novella prequel: "The Seduction of Carter Ridge."
To get your free digital copy just head over to my author website (link in my bio). Here is what you'll find with the novella:
FOR FANS OF GORE VIDAL OR ANDRE ACIMAN, A CHARMING NOVELLA THAT EXPLORES A YOUNG MAN’S FIRST EXPERIENCE AWAY FROM HOME.
What happens when a young gay man is alone in Chicago for the 1952 presidential nominating conventions?
This intimate look at Carter Ridge’s first tentative experiences is the second novella in the trilogy prequel to the novel "The Last Good Republican."
It’s 1952 and Carter is fresh out of college. Having grown up in the Deep South where even a city like Columbia or Atlanta can feel like a small town, he’s never been too far away from the adoring eye of his doting mother or his extended family. But with the sudden passing of his father, Carter is now not only the head of the family but has also inherited a fortune. Thrust into this unfamiliar role he must quickly set himself on the path of the man he wishes to become.
But who is he?
Sensitive. Intelligent. Idealistic. And a closeted gay young man. The passions of youth still burn for Carter, and he is drawn to politics to make a difference, to help bring about an end to Jim Crow and segregation in his home state of South Carolina.
Unsure of which political party he will hitch his future to, he decides to go to Chicago where both national party conventions are held that year. It is his first extended period of time alone, away from the familiar and particularly from his family, and one evening he meets Alex.
For readers of gay literary fiction, gay romance, and gay historical fiction and fans of André Aciman (Call Me By Your Name), Madeline Miller (The Song of Achilles), or Gore Vidal.
A prequel to "The Last Good Republican," this novella is the story of Carter Ridge exploring both his sexuality and his politics, in a journey that sets him on the course for his future.
As for my novel, here is the Goodreads link:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
Thanks for letting me promote to all of y'all.
I haven't published anything for some years but have just launched this, and it might be of interest to some members of the group. It's basically a journey through the 20th century in books.On the Rim of the Sea: A Journey in Books
The blurb:
How will the world see the 20th century a hundred years from now? For many, it was like living right on the edge of a turbulent ocean that threatened to engulf them; and sometimes it did. In this thoughtful book, Mike Robbins looks at the century just gone through those who lived it, and the books they left behind.
Robbins includes some very different perspectives. What was it like to crew the last great sailing ships? How did it feel to be an ordinary man—or a Chinese labourer—on the Western Front? How did a popular Jewish writer react to the rise of fascism? Who wrote detective novels in the 1930s, and who read them? And how has it all looked from the saddle of a bike? It is a varied selection. However, these pieces have something in common; they use one or more books (or in one case, TV programmes) to give a picture of a given time or incident. A further thread that ties these chapters together, it is that most of the books show us the last 100 years of history through the eyes of those that lived it. After all, history isn't a collective experience for an individual. It's what happened to them and those close to them.
The years covered in this book (roughly, 1912 to the present) certainly showed us more of a stormy sea than we should have liked. As it was published (April 2022), the cold grey water was back with a vengeance. But it has not always been that way. This book has its darker bits, but there were lighter times and the reader will find a few of them in its pages.
I'm absolutely sure this post will be deleted, smashed to bits with a baseball bat, run over, gnashing of teeth, the whole gamut because I saw this post in my feed and now, well, I'm sorry but as Hunter S. Thompson said, all writers are whores.Speaking of which, if you like Hiaasen, so do I. (Here it comes) and you might like my novels for which I yes, would love reviews, OH MY GOD...I am so sorry. I can't help it. Honestly it is rare to find anyone these days in the U.S. (get your hands OFF me-sorry, it's just my government) that gets Hiaasen, Abbey, Robbins, and yes, sadly Irving even Twain. In other words, stupidity is a national epidemic here.
Thank you for your consideration and my apologies. I am now (shamefully) slinking quietly out of this thread. (So she says but we all know all criminals return to the scene of the crime). VA
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
reply | delete | flag
Susan wrote: "I'm absolutely sure this post will be deleted, smashed to bits with a baseball bat, run over, gnashing of teeth, the whole gamut because I saw this post in my feed and now, well, I'm sorry but as H..."You write an entertaining post, Susan, but the link to the "author's page" is broken and the link to your name goes to a completely private profile that we can't even message.
So who are you and what is your book? 📕 😊
I didn't write the post, Patty, I moved it from another thread.
Please only promote your book(s) here - and not in any of the other discussion threads