WILLIAM SAVAGE’S LATEST BOOK
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The Adam Bascom Mysteries: Book 6
There were many wild, womanising Georgian rakes — and then there was Frederick Dalston: a young man hellbent on bringing total ruin to himself and his family. Yet when his body is found one morning on a lonely Norfolk road, matters take a more sinister turn. Is it a case of a highway robbery gone wrong? Revenge taken by one of the scores of people he had harmed? A random killing by a maniac? A punishment inflicted by a ruthless gang of freetraders?<
There were many wild, womanising Georgian rakes — and then there was Frederick Dalston: a young man hellbent on bringing total ruin to himself and his family. Yet when his body is found one morning on a lonely Norfolk road, matters take a more sinister turn. Is it a case of a highway robbery gone wrong? Revenge taken by one of the scores of people he had harmed? A random killing by a maniac? A punishment inflicted by a ruthless gang of freetraders?
The local coroner and magistrate quickly give up hope of finding the murderer. Then William Dalston, the dead man’s father, comes to see newly-married Sir Adam Bascom to plead for his help in finding who killed his son and heir.
Adam threads his way through the wreckage of Frederick Dalston’s life, finding Dalston had gone out of his way to make bitter enemies on every side. At last, after many false turns, the discovery of the schemes of a shadowy figure in Norwich’s criminal underworld, followed by an emotional confrontation in a country house, reveal the shocking truth about the true causes of Frederick Dalston’s death
“The Reluctant Heir” is the latest instalment in a series of historical mysteries which has drawn rave reviews from both sides of the Atlantic.
August 2020 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 This month’s posts
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Category Archives: Politics
Same Old, Same Old?
Studying 18th-century British history provides clear proof that we have learned almost nothing in the 250-odd years since then. The problems we grapple with today are the same ones our ancestors were trying to solve in the 1780s and 1790s. Then, … Continue reading
Radicalism, Constitutional Reform and the French Revolution
My series of books about Dr Adam Bascom, Norfolk physician and solver of mysteries, are set in the period after the French Revolution, when the ideas and attitudes spawned in its turbulent birth were sweeping across Europe, unsettling regimes that … Continue reading
The Independents, Precursors of Radicalism
To eighteenth-century Britons, the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688 and the Bill of Rights of 1689 were more than simple historical and political events. They were the foundations of British political stability, the guarantors of freedom from arbitrary rule. Under the … Continue reading
All ISN’T Fair in War
Here’s a fascinating piece from the Norfolk Chronicle of 21st October, 1780. In the course of the present war, humanity hath found a distinguished friend in Lord Viscount TOWNSHEND. His behaviour does honour to the dignity of his rank and … Continue reading
Norwich Election Riot. September 23rd, 1786
An account from the Norfolk Chronicle of an election riot in Norwich. I’ve noted before that Norwich elections tended to be turbulent, especially towards the end of the 18th century. However, this one seems to have drawn in nearly all … Continue reading
The Gordon Riots of 1780
This is an insider’s view of days of mob violence in late Georgian London. Laetitia Hawkins was more or less in the middle of things and her father, Sir John, was a local magistrate and thus responsible for trying to … Continue reading
Conservative Propaganda in the 18th Century
It’s fair to say that pro-government forces during the latter part of the 18th century proved better than the anti-government ones at manipulating public opinion against the radicals who demanded political and social reform. Governments of the day worked hard … Continue reading
The Language of 18th Century Politics
Many people today never encounter the English of the Authorised (King James) Version of the Bible of 1611 or the Book of Common Prayer of 1662. This is a huge gap in their literary education. Not just because both are … Continue reading
‘Straights’, ‘Splitters’ and ‘Plumpers’
No, these are not esoteric sexual orientations; nor are they descriptions of carrots or any other root vegetables. They are the different voting strategies available to eighteenth-century voters throughout most of England. Forget ‘floating voters’ or tactical voting. These are … Continue reading
Dr. Sylas Neville’s Radical Outlook on Life
In my first set of extracts from Dr. Sylas Neville’s diary, I concentrated on events in his life. While an understanding of his life is necessary as background, I find the most fascinating parts of his diary are his many … Continue reading
