Part of The Clifton Chronicles, book 1
First published 2011
Harry Clifton grows up in 1920s Bristol believing his father died in the Great War. His mother works at a hotel while his uncle labors at the docks, expecting Harry to follow the same path after school. Everything changes when Harry receives a scholarship to an elite boys' school. The education opens new worlds, but it also reveals disturbing truths about his parentage. Harry learns his father may not have been Arthur Clifton, the stevedore, but rather the son of a wealthy shipping family. As World War II erupts, Harry faces an impossible choice between accepting his place at Oxford or joining the navy to fight Hitler. His decision will determine not just his own fate, but the trajectory of his entire family across generations.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, war, adventure, family-drama, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: chosen-one, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Bristol, Oxford
Period: 1920s, World War II
400 pages · Hardcover · St. Martin's Press