Act of Oblivion: The Sunday Times Bestseller

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Having been found guilty of high treason for the murder of Charles the I, they are wanted and on the run. Many of the men who signed the warrant for the King’s execution have already died in the normal course of things, or have been rounded up and imprisoned, to be executed in their turn. Oliver Cromwell then ruled as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland until his death in 1658. A disappointing one for me, then, though most people seem to be loving it, so as usual it clearly comes down to subjective taste. Using real events, dates and locations as well as real characters (except for one), Robert Harris has written a recreation of the true story of the tracking down of the killers of Charles 1, in what was the biggest manhunt of the 17th century.

Robert Harris Books | Waterstones Robert Harris Books | Waterstones

Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. This is Harris' best book in ages - and it will delight his many fans and will certainly bring him new readers. In this tense and beautifully written account of the ensuing manhunt, Harris brings sympathy to characters on either side of the civil war that divided a nation. BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.In addition to these historical figures and events, Harris adds a fictional character, Richard Naylor, the official obsessed with tracking down Whalley and Goff. 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. What is most impressive about the book is that you won’t find yourself wholly rooting for either side, not because the author exposes the extremes of both side (which he does), but because he so successfully shows the basic humanity of all of the characters. Still deluded, obsessed and just as intolerant for their current "you must believe this redefinition for reality" or "else" quotients for continual preaching. Whalley, Goffe and Nayler are vividly drawn, their decisions and actions consistent with the worldviews he has created for them.

Act of Oblivion: A Novel by Robert Harris, Paperback | Barnes Act of Oblivion: A Novel by Robert Harris, Paperback | Barnes

America was a new colony and Harris really captures that feeling of new settlers trying to carve out a life in a strange land. the raw emotions of the characters and the issues that drive human dissent make this a worthwhile read. A former political journalist, he often explores the darker aspects of politics and its corrupting effects on individuals.

I felt that more concentration on the Restoration and less on these two runaways would have given scope for more interest.

Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris review – regicides on the Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris review – regicides on the

When that war ended in a Parliamentarian victory, Whalley and Goffe, along with fifty-seven other men, signed the death warrant that led to the king’s execution. Act of Oblivion is not my favourite Harris novel, then – I think, for me, An Officer and a Spy and the Cicero trilogy will be hard to beat – but it’s still a very good one. And so begins what is an epic journey, in a strange land far away from everything and everyone the fugitives have ever known.Harris argues that there must have been someone who served the role of the fictitious Richard Nayler that he has created here, in London he is the secretary of the regicide committee of the Privy Council, he has the responsibility of tracking down the traitors. An interesting tale, mis-sold a little by the cover claiming its the story of the greatest manhunt in history, when in fact there is precious little of a manhunt.