Only Time Will Tell
Jeffrey Archer
The first novel in the Clifton Chronicles, an ambitious new series that tells the story of a family across generations and oceans, from heartbreak to triumph, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jeffrey Archer
The epic tale of Harry Clifton's life begins in 1920, with the words "I was told that my father was killed in the war." A dock worker in Bristol, Harry never knew his father and expects to continue on at the shipyard, until a remarkable gift wins him a scholarship to an exclusive boys' school, and his life will never be the same again...
As Harry enters into adulthood, he finally learns how his father really died, but the awful truth only leads him to question: Was he even his father? Is he the son of Arthur Clifton, a stevedore, or the firstborn son of a scion of West Country society, whose family owns a shipping line? From the ravages of the Great War and the docks of working-class England to the streets of 1940 New York City and the outbreak of the Second World War, this is a powerful journey that will bring to life one hundred years of history to reveal a family story that neither the reader nor Harry Clifton himself could ever have imagined.
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Publishers Weekly
With his latest, Archer (Honor Among Thieves) delivers another page-turning, heart-stopping saga, with delightful twists, and a surprise ending. This first title from the Clifton Chronicles introduces readers to Harry Clifton, a boy growing up in Bristol whose father mysteriously died a full year before his birth, supposedly killed in WWI. Though Harry dreams of becoming a stevedore like his Uncle Stan, crazy Old Jack Tar shows Harry the truths of the stevedore life and becomes his surrogate father. After hearing an angelic treble voice, Harry decides to join the choir and learns to read. The choir in turn gains him a scholarship to boys' boarding school St. Bede's—a gateway to the life his mother wants for him, far from the harbor and shipping industry. He meets scholarly Deakins and wealthy Giles Barrington, who become his best friends, and the three strive to gain acceptance to Bristol Grammar School. Though Giles' father has a particular aversion to Harry, the boys' friendship proves stronger than any paternal dictates. While Archer hasn't revealed how many books will make up this saga (which will span one hundred years), readers will surely wait for the next with bated breath. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
Archer delivers another page-turning, heart-stopping saga, with delightful twists, and a surprise ending… readers will surely wait for the next with bated breath.” Publishers Weekly“General readers as well as Archer fans will enjoy this unforgettable tale, which abounds with cliff-hangers that propel its intriguing and intricate plot.” Library Journal (starred review)
“What appears at the outset to be a straightforward coming-of-age tale becomes, by the end, a saga of power, betrayal, and bitter hatred. The novel ends on a deliberately dark note, setting the stage for the sequel…An outstanding effort from a reliable veteran.” Booklist (starred Review)
“I was utterly hooked. It was an absurdly enjoyable read.” Anthony Horowitz, Daily Telegraph (London)
“A dynamite commercial novel…Archer brings it off with panache.” The Washington Poston A Prisoner of Birth
“A compelling read…The pace never flags.” Newsday (New York) on A Prisoner of Birth
“A storyteller in the class of Alexandre Dumas.” The Washington Poston A Twist in the Tale
“Kane and Abel…that classic of modern literature.” The Times (London)
Library Journal
Internationally best-selling British storyteller Archer (A Prisoner of Birth) launches his most daunting literary project—a five-volume, semiautobiographical, multigenerational epic. In 20-year segments sweeping through the 20th century and into the 21st, Archer's creative page-turner features the precocious Harry Clifton, an intellectually gifted youth from the Bristol dockyards mingling in the grand estate of a millionaire shipping magnate and challenged by secrets, mysteries, growing pains, and life-changing decisions regarding his own paternity and destiny. In this first volume, the memorable cast of heroes and villains takes readers from 1920 to the outbreak of World War II—the first 20 years of Harry's life. The second volume, Tempered by War (coming in 2012), will span the next two decades, and so forth with the remaining three volumes in the series. VERDICT General readers as well as Archer fans will enjoy this unforgettable tale, which abounds with cliff-hangers that propel its intriguing and intricate plot (in the style of his Kane and Abel). Order multiples. Readers will eagerly anticipate the upcoming volumes.[250,000-copy first printing; major marketing campaign.]—Jerry P. Miller, Cambridge, MA
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