Act of Oblivion

Professional historians generally steer away from historical novels set in their own area of expertise. Still, I made an exception for the Act of Oblivion, which is painstakingly researched as well as beautifully written.

The title references the pardon offered at the Restoration to all who fought against the king in the English Civil War but which exempted the ‘regicides’ – those who signed the death warrant of Charles I.

The story follows two of them, Colonel William Goffe and his father-in-law, Colonel Edward Whalley, to the American colonies after 1660, with a vengeful royalist agent determined to… show more.

I have long been a fan of Robert Harris, beginning with his first work of fiction Fatherland where he introduced us to a world where Germany had won the Second World War. Since then he has moved far and wide across some of the more traditional territory of historical fiction – especially in his books on ancient Rome, and lately in Medieval England.

In Act of Oblivion Harris deploys his considerable narrative skill (matched by meticulous historical research) to tell a fascinating story about one consequence of the death of Charles I (and of the Restoration under Charles II). Harris’… show more.

Unremitting tension, an elegant premise, an enthralling grasp of history, and a brilliantly vivid evocation of early Colonial New England make this story leap off the page.

Throw in that the two fugitives, despite their strong connection to each other, quarrel dangerously, forcing the reader to wonder whether radical political action—in that age or this—can ever deliver on its promise. A triumph.

The most recent publication on this list, this book hit me this year like a brick, and surprisingly, that is a good thing.

I picked this book at a time when I needed to escape the world, and it truly offered that escape. Inspired by the true events of trying to track down those responsible for the beheading of Charles I, this is a powerful tale that leaves you questioning who exactly you’re supporting. An adventure that takes place both in England and America in 1660, it is a slow burn.

So yes, we have a degree of setting up,… show more.

Having brought us Fatherland (which deserves its own entry, of course) Robert Harris’s new thriller is set in the 1660s and centres on the hunt for the regicides, the men who signed the death warrant of King Charles I in 1649. The story focuses on two regicides in particular – Colonel Edward Whalley and his son-in-law, William Goffe, who fled to the Puritan colonies of New England to escape capture. The dark heart of the story is a fictional official named Richard Naylor – a man with a grudge who leads the hunt for Whalley and Goffe and pursues them… show more.