Secret Protocols

(Hardback)

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Description

Set in wartime Estonia, this was the last novel by Peter Vansittart, one of the greatest historical novelists of the 20th century.Erich's odyssey begins when his Estonian childhood is ended by the outbreak of World War II. He arrives in 1945 Paris, where his life seems full of promise. But a love affair drives him to England to work for the Estonian government-in-exile. His imagined island of monarchs, Churchill, and gentlemen evaporates into one of scornful youth, insular adults, and an underground of spies, political crooks, and fanatics. Sojourns in Europe further underline that war and corruption are not extinct and that, in his own life, the most profound shocks are those of friendship and love. Beneath the drift towards a united Europe, Erich realizes that treaties do not always end war, that solemn rites cannot guarantee love, and that the inevitable can fail to happen."

Reviews

'Containing moments of extraordinary poetic beauty, Secret Protocols also carries a scent more or less vanished from the high-street display cases: the whiff of moral seriousness.' - D.J. Taylor, The Independent on Sunday 'The intellectual vitality of Secret Protocols would be remarkable in a novelist half his age... the style is, as ever, abrupt, witty and allusive.This is not a book for lazy readers, but if you like intellectual fireworks, take Secret Protocols and revel in it.' - Alan Massie, The Scotsman 'Peter Vansittart's new novel is the culmination of a long and distinguished writing life ... He places the imagination above the intellect, revels in language and writes in densely descriptive prose which is often strikingly beautiful ... this complex, enriching and erudite book should be prized as much for its moral clarity and profound intelligence as for its literary merit. You only wish that those who make history had half the author's wisdom.'- Linda Burleigh, Daily Telegraph 'The advance publicity for Secret Protocols announces that this is Peter Vansittart's "final" novel. Since, unlike most ordinary folk, writers rarely have a fixed retirement date, I would assume that either the author himself has decided that 85 is a reasonable age to give up or, more likely, that his publishers regard this hugely ambitious, sweeping novel to be a fitting climax to a distinguished career. As, indeed, it is.Vansittart is remarkable for being a carefullyaccurate historian who is also a splendidly imaginative writer of fiction ...This is a book to reread and savour; powerful and unique.' - Nina Bawden, Guardian

Author Bio

Peter Vansittart wasthe author of29 novels as well as several works ofnon-fiction including his autobiographical work, Paths from a White Horse. In 1969, he won the, "Society of Authors Traveling Scholarship," and in 198,1 he was one of six recipients of the first, "Writers' Bursaries" awarded by the Arts Council. Before his death in 2009, he was awarded an "O.B.E." for services to literature and his masteryover historical fiction."