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, but he learns about life on the docks from his uncle, who
expects Harry to join him at the shipyard once he's left school. But
then an unexpected gift wins him a scholarship to an exclusive boys'
school, and his life will never be the same again.
As he enters into adulthood, Harry 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 who spent his whole life on the docks, or the firstborn son of a scion of West Country society, whose family owns a shipping line?
This introductory novel in Archer's ambitious series The Clifton Chronicles includes a cast of colorful characters and takes us from the ravages of the Great War to the outbreak of the Second World War, when Harry must decide whether to take up a place at Oxford or join the navy and go to war with Hitler's Germany. From the docks of working-class England to the bustling streets of 1940 New York City, Only Time Will Tell takes readers on a journey through to future volumes, which will bring to life one hundred years of recent history to reveal a family story that neither the reader nor Harry Clifton himself could ever have imagined.
As he enters into adulthood, Harry 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 who spent his whole life on the docks, or the firstborn son of a scion of West Country society, whose family owns a shipping line?
This introductory novel in Archer's ambitious series The Clifton Chronicles includes a cast of colorful characters and takes us from the ravages of the Great War to the outbreak of the Second World War, when Harry must decide whether to take up a place at Oxford or join the navy and go to war with Hitler's Germany. From the docks of working-class England to the bustling streets of 1940 New York City, Only Time Will Tell takes readers on a journey through to future volumes, which will bring to life one hundred years of recent history to reveal a family story that neither the reader nor Harry Clifton himself could ever have imagined.
When it was reported that Jeffrey Archer had gone to prison and was then publishing his prison diaries, I said I wouldn’t read a book by him. I thought he was just some trumped up author cashing in, when he had clearly done something wrong. Anyhow I was in work and saw the Clifton Chronicles Volume 1 and 2 and then the others started appearing him, when Volume 6 (Cometh the Hour) was released. The covers drew me and you know how I like a saga…… I relented and bought it. Read it. And I bought the rest…… Only Time Will Tell starts as ‘typical’ bildungsroman (coming of age story – sorry for the big word it’s my English Literature degree kicking in). Young Harry Clifton goes to a top educational establishment. The book is divided into character arcs, which intertwine and start with the first person perspective, before the third person perspective kicks in for the rest of the arc. These arcs end with a duff duff (EastEnders cliff hanger – from my years of watching soap operas), which keeps the reader reading.
The characters are well written and well formed. It’s very Dickensian in part, but it works and works well. Never Say Never …. You might just lose out.
The characters are well written and well formed. It’s very Dickensian in part, but it works and works well. Never Say Never …. You might just lose out.
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