Rory Clements' new novel, Corpus, made it to bookshelves late last month, and the man responsible for the page-turner will be appearing at Waterstone's, Midsummer Place on February 24.
'At the heart of Corpus lies the desperation of the leaders of the Third Reich to forge an alliance with Britain. The Nazis saw Edward VIII as their greatest friend, a man with whom they could do business. When it became clear that the new King would be forced to abdicate, Hitler was appalled: this is the story of his ruthless plan to prevent this happening.
It is also the story of the seven and a half tons of gold that went missing during the early days of the Spanish Civil War. How might this gold - a treasure that has never have been accounted for - be linked to a deadly plot to keep Edward on the throne?'
But for all its international background, Corpus starts – and ends - at Cambridge University with an unconventional history professor named Tom Wilde. In creating this new character Clements has not strayed far from his authorial roots - for Wilde’s own specialism is the Tudor spy network of Sir Francis Walsingham.
It is a discipline that informs his every move as he is drawn into a web of intrigue that unleashes the first shots in the coming war.
The 1930s is an age that is both familiar and unfamiliar. Cambridge in 1936 was a town blackened by soot, a town full of serious young men in college gowns with scarcely a woman in sight, a town of fierce debate between Left and Right. Communist or Nazi? It seemed there was no other option…
Corpus is a superbly atmospheric, accomplished and original novel that marks the beginning of a major new series from bestselling author Rory Clements.
He is also the name behind the John Shakespeare series of novels which are currently in development for TV by the team that brought us Poldark and Endeavour.
"He is an eloquent, engaging and insightful speaker and I think that this will be a fascinating event!" says Waterstone's Nikki Bloomer.
Tickets for the talk are a snip at £3, and that price is redeemable against the price of the book at the event.
