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Act of Oblivion

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
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, charged in the killing of King Charles I, by the implacable foe on their trail—an epic journey into the wilds of seventeenth-century New England, and a chase like no other.

"From what is it they run?"
He took a while to reply. By the time he spoke the men had gone inside. He said quietly, “They killed the King.”
1660. General Edward Whalley and his son-in-law Colonel William Goffe board a ship in London bound for the New World and an uncertain future in exile. They are wanted for the 1649 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 ten years after Charles’ beheading, the royalists returned to power. Under the provisions of the Act of Oblivion, the fifty-nine men who signed the king’s death warrant have been found guilty in absentia of high treason. Some parliamentarians, including Oliver Cromwell, are dead; others have been captured, hung, drawn, and quartered. A few are imprisoned for life. But Whalley and Goffe escaped to New England. In London, Richard Nayler, secretary of the regicide committee of the Privy Council, is charged with bringing the traitors back home to justice and will stop at nothing to find them. A substantial bounty hangs over their heads for their capture – dead or alive. Encompassing a period of tremendous upheaval in English history the novel brings alive pivotal moments including the Black Death and the Great Fire of London as Nayler closes in on the exiles. Act of Oblivion is an epic story of religion, vengeance, and of power – and the costs to those who wield it.
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      July 25, 2022
      Harris (Munich) again turns a historical event into a canny page-turner. Following the restoration of the Stuart Dynasty to the throne of England, King Charles II and his court seek revenge for the execution of the monarch’s father, Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649. The task of identifying and locating those involved falls to Richard Nayler, “one of those shadows who move, anonymous, along the private passages and through the council chambers of every nation in every age.” Nayler has a personal grudge against his quarry; his wife died giving birth to their stillborn son after Cromwell’s soldiers arrested him for participating in an illegal prayer service. After Nayler tracks down the death warrant ordering Charles I’s beheading, he devotes himself to finding the 13 signatories still at large. The bulk of the narrative focuses on his Javert-like search for Edward Whalley and his son-in-law William Goffe. The fugitives live desperate lives in New England, constantly fearful of betrayal even from those who shelter them. Harris humanizes the hunter and the hunted, and brings to life an obscure chapter in colonial American history. This further burnishes Harris’s reputation as a talented author of historical suspense. Agent: Suzanne Gluck, WME Entertainment.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Tim McInnerny narrates this remarkable historical novel with solid credibility. He chronicles the extraordinary-but-true manhunt for two signatories of the death warrant for King Charles I. In an English accent, he describes the dangerous journey of the regicides, Edward Whalley and his son-in-law, Will Goffe. This is an exciting story, as well as one that is largely accurate. McInnerny makes the duo's tribulations, religiosity, and longing for home and family very real and comprehensible. This is a thrilling look at a time, place, and people caught up in political intrigue in the wilderness of colonial New England. McInnerny's vocal prowess and excellent characterizations make this a top-notch listening experience. D.L.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

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  • English

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