Very good indeed. A history of the runn up to WW1 themed around the monarchs of Britain, Russia and Germany, culminating in the cousin King, Tsar, andVery good indeed. A history of the runn up to WW1 themed around the monarchs of Britain, Russia and Germany, culminating in the cousin King, Tsar, and Kaiser who presided over the mess. This is the opposite of a Great Men of History book: it's more a demolition of the concept of monarchy by demonstrating how these untalented, unimaginative, self-centred charisma voids didn't even make the best of their limited capacities.
Wilhelm is probably the worst, being not entirely sane, uttterly unreliable, ego-crazed, profoundly damaged by terrible parenting, and an absolute shocker at administration. Nicholas would probably have been harmless if he hadn't been born into a position to do an incredible amount of harm by a combination of insane self regard and horrendous inaction. George comes out relatively sympathetic if only because he did occasionally get over himself long enough to try to do a decent job.
It's terrifically written with deadpan humour and some actual laugh out loud moments, and it conveys the complex family structures and wildly shifting politics extremely well. Highly recommended. ...more
Well. Tommy Hambledon, who drowned in the terrific Drink to Yesterday, turns out to have survived (with amnesia, and quietly becoming significantly yoWell. Tommy Hambledon, who drowned in the terrific Drink to Yesterday, turns out to have survived (with amnesia, and quietly becoming significantly younger now he's the MC, sssh). He is washed up in Germany 1918 and, with no idea who he is and speaking fluent German, establishes a life there. He lives through the horrific 1920s period of hyperinflation, which is tremendously well conveyed, and--yeeesh--joins the Nazi party because although Hitler is a frothing nutter, he is at least proposing to do something about the economic calamity. Tommy then rises to become chief of police under the Nazi regime--yeeeeeeeesh--before he gets his memory back in the mid 30s and realises he is in fact a British secret agent.
This was written in 1940, and it shows--the hero finds the Nazi obsession with Jews pointless, cruel, and stupid, but not a dealbreaker if the party offers Germany a way out of the economic hell of the 20s, and he has a couple of vaguely antisemitic passing thoughts himself. From a modern perspective, or even a perspective of the later 1940s, this obviously does not fly, and in later books, the authors retcon Tommy to have been sickened and disgusted to wake up and realise he was a Nazi. We see the Nazi leadership as lawless, vicious, greedy (the persecution of Jews is presented as largely a spiteful money grab), venal, cultish, and in some cases insane, but there's a total failure to see where the antisemitism is leading, though the thudding of constant propaganda is well described. It seems weird to describe this book as innocent, given the extremely high body count and multiple vengeance-murders carried out by the hero, and the grimy realpolitik, but it does in fact read as innocent in the context of what was to come.
Yes. Well. Fascinating historically, and the depiction of Tommy double-agenting is well done, but for the modern reader, it's overwhelmingly saturated with what the authors didn't know. ...more
Absolutely cracking thriller of British spies in Germany in World War I. Tommy Hambledon makes his first appearance as a schoolteacher who lures youngAbsolutely cracking thriller of British spies in Germany in World War I. Tommy Hambledon makes his first appearance as a schoolteacher who lures young Michael into a life of espionage. Great detail as ever, but what's really good is the desperate bleakness and bravado, Michael's increasing drinking, the mistakes, the paranoia, the shame and guilt, the friendships developed with Germans that are real for all the false pretences. Much more serious than the rest of the books by this authorial team, and thoroughly compelling. You can tell that one of the authors had experience of living a double life, the weird shifting of identities and what it does to its people. ...more
Not my fave Manning Coles. There's a complicated multi part plot set in post war Berlin, with missing jewels and stolen plans. It has quite a strong eNot my fave Manning Coles. There's a complicated multi part plot set in post war Berlin, with missing jewels and stolen plans. It has quite a strong espionage vibe and a great sense of place but lacks the charm of the best books. ...more
Hugely enjoyable if slightly bonkers post WW2 thriller, in which Tommy Hambledon is in Cologne chasing down a ring of resurgent Nazis. As ever he has Hugely enjoyable if slightly bonkers post WW2 thriller, in which Tommy Hambledon is in Cologne chasing down a ring of resurgent Nazis. As ever he has law-avoidant amateur backup. In this case, it is an obvious gay couple: Campbell and Forgan, who live together happily making model trains (this is Manning Coles shorthand for intense homosocial at least relationships, apparently), always speak of 'we', finish each other's sentences, banter like kings, know all the nightlife everywhere, do a LOT of crimes, and are generally just sodding brilliant. Making model trains is literally their job and they just do dangerous spy work for a laugh. I wish we had like ten Campbell and Forgan books.
Leaving C&F aside this is basically okay (it's hugely enjoyable because of them). There's a great revelation of what the Nazis are up to at the end, but tbh it's kind of thrown away, needed better structure to really use it rather than plonking it in at the end very much as if you'd thought of it at the last minute Manning Coles. ...more
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