Act of Oblivion

"A galloping adventure." -- The Wall Street Journal From the bestselling author of Fatherland, The Ghostwriter, Munich, and Conclave comes this spellbinding historical novel that brilliantly imagines one of the greatest manhunts in history: the search for two Englishmen involved in the killing of King Charles I and the implacable foe on their trail--an epic journey into the wilds of seventeeth-century New England, and a chase like no other. 'From what is it they flee?' He took a while to reply. By the time he spoke the men had gone inside. He said quietly, "They killed the King." 1660 England. General Edward Whalley and his son-in law Colonel William Goffe board a ship bound for the New World. They are on the run, wanted for the murder of King Charles I--a brazen execution that marked the culmination of the English Civil War, in which parliamentarians successfully battled royalists for control. But now, ten years after Charles' beheading, the royalists have returned to power. Under the provisions of the Act of Oblivion, the fifty-nine men who signed the king's death warrant and participated in his execution have been found guilty in absentia of high treason. Some of the Roundheads, including Oliver Cromwell, are already dead. Others have been captured, hung, drawn, and quartered. A few are imprisoned for life. But two have escaped to America by boat. In London, Richard Nayler, secretary of the regicide committee of the Privy Council, is charged with bringing the traitors to justice and he will stop at nothing to find them. A substantial bounty hangs over their heads for their capture--dead or alive. . . . Robert Harris's first historical novel set predominantly in America, Act of Oblivion is a novel with an urgent narrative, remarkable characters, and an epic true story to tell of religion, vengeance, and power--and the costs to those who wield it.

About the Author :
Robert Harris is the author of fifteen novels, including Act of Oblivion, Pompeii, Enigma, and Fatherland. He has been a television correspondent with the BBC and a newspaper columnist for London's Sunday Times and the Daily Telegraph. His novels have sold more than twenty-five million copies and been translated into forty languages. He lives in Berkshire, England with his wife, Gill Hornby.

Review :
"It will come as no surprise to readers familiar with Harris' work that this is a splendidly written historical novel. Harris really is a joy to read. . . . Another top-flight effort from a master storyteller." - Booklist "Act of Oblivion is a belter of a thriller. It will be compulsive reading for those who loved An Officer and a Spy, Harris's book about the Dreyfus affair. Like that novel, the research is immaculate. A chewy, morally murky slice of history is made into a thriller that twists and surprises. The characters are strong and we care about their predicament. The story stretches over continents and years, but the suspense feels as taut as if the three main characters were locked in a room with a gun." - The Times UK "Robert Harris brings his signature storytelling power to an exciting manhunt through colonial America. Act of Oblivion pulls off historical fiction's greatest challenge, transporting readers into the heart of a formative era with momentum and suspense. A twisty labyrinth of espionage and intrigue." - Matthew Pearl, New York Times bestselling author of The Dante Club and The Taking of Jemima Boone "Robert Harris is, simply put, masterful." - Karin Slaughter, New York Times and international bestselling author "Harris spins an exciting tale which I hope will leave you hungry for more." - Inside History Magazine "Lucid and full of suspense." - Spectator "In his new thriller, Robert Harris wrests [a] fascinating period back from its unjust oblivion, showing how closely its complex landscape of constitutional crises and Puritan politics played out in new unregulated media resonates with us today." - The Critic "A drama so involving and nerve-wracking, you can barely turn the pages fast enough. Historic!" - Saga Magazine "What Harris does here is nothing short of masterful." - Irish Times "Pacy and tense, and the pungently evoked past offers up some shrewd present-day parallels." - Mail on Sunday "There is satisfaction in the well-made novel, and Robert Harris's Act of Oblivion. . . [is one of the] best-made and therefore most enjoyable new novels I read this year." - The Scotsman "A lightning-quick thriller, the tension cranked right up throughout, and Harris' 17th century New England is so real you can almost smell it." - Tim Weaver, author of Blackbird "The master of the intelligent thriller." - Daily Telegraph "Harris is a master of historical fiction, a compelling author who brings to life the recent and ancient past." - Times Literary Supplement "A tale that grips from start to finish. It's a remarkable achievement." - Metro "Master storyteller Robert Harris has forged history anew, melding fact and fiction." - RTÉ "I admire Robert [Harris] boundlessly for his originality as well as superb narrative skill." - Max Hastings, author of Inferno "Robert Harris never fails to dazzle me . . . . his research is superb, his characters intrinsically interesting and his writing crisp and elegant. . . . Describing this book as a chase is to do it an injustice. It has elements of social history as well as being a truly moving family tale. . . . You can read Harris as a mystery author or a fine historian with equal pleasure or you can just read him for the sheer joy of it, as I do. This will definitely be one of my best books of the year." - The Globe and Mail "If you like your page-turning popular fiction at the more intelligent end of the spectrum, you could not do better than this." - The Telegraph