Nicholas Shakespeare writes with a distinctive style that explores profound human desires and the complexities of relationships. His works are characterized by insightful explorations into character psychology, often delving into themes of identity and one's place in the world. As a storyteller, he masterfully weaves intricate plotlines that draw readers into rich and atmospheric settings. His writing is celebrated for its literary craft and its ability to evoke powerful emotional responses.
Exploring the life of Ian Fleming, this biography delves into the complexities of the man behind James Bond, revealing how his upbringing and career in Naval Intelligence shaped his literary ambitions. Fleming's experiences during pivotal historical moments and his connections with influential figures provide rich context for understanding his work and the evolving cultural significance of Bond. Biographer Nicholas Shakespeare utilizes exclusive access to Fleming's archives, offering a fresh perspective on a man whose quest for 'completeness' influenced both his life and his iconic character.
'A remarkable contemporary thriller - with shades of Graham Greene and Le Carre about it - but also a profound and compelling investigation of a hugely complex human predicament. Brilliantly observed, captivatingly written, grippingly narrated - a triumph' William Boyd When John Dyer returns to Oxford from Brazil with his young son, he doesn't expect to find them both in danger. Every day is the same. He drops Leandro at his smart prep school and walks to the library to research his new book. His time living on the edge as a foreign correspondent in Rio is over. But the rainy streets of this English city turn out to be just as treacherous as those he used to walk in the favelas. Leandro's schoolmates are the children of influential people, among them an international banker, a Russian oligarch, an American CIA operative and a British spook. As they congregate round the sports field for the weekly football matches, the network of alliances and covert interests that spreads between these power brokers soon becomes clear to Dyer,. But it is a chance conversation with an Iranian nuclear scientist, Rustum Marvar, father of a friend of Leandro, that sets him onto a truly precarious path. When Marvar and his son disappear, several sinister factions seem acutely interested in Marvar's groundbreaking research at the Physics Faculty, and what he might have told Dyer about it, given Dyer was the last person to see Marvar alive.
London, May 1940. Britain is under threat of invasion and Neville Chamberlain's government is about to fall. It is hard for us to imagine the Second World War without Winston Churchill taking the helm, but in Six Minutes in May Nicholas Shakespeare shows how easily events could have gone in a different direction. It took just six minutes for MPs to cast the votes that brought down Chamberlain. Shakespeare moves from Britain's disastrous battle in Norway, for which many blamed Churchill, on to the dramatic developments in Westminster that led to Churchill becoming Prime Minister. Uncovering fascinating new research and delving into the key players' backgrounds, Shakespeare gives us a new perspective on this critical moment in our history.
London, early May 1940: Britain is on the brink of war and Neville Chamberlain's government is about to fall. It is hard for us to imagine the Second World War without Winston Churchill taking over at the helm, but this book shows how easily events could have gone in a different direction
"Nicholas Shakespeare's collected stories take us around the globe and into the intimate lives of his characters and the dilemmas and temptations they face. The opening novella, 'Oddfellows', tells the little-known history of the only enemy attack on Australian soil during the Great War, when, in January 1915, the outback town of Broken Hill was rocked by horrifying events. From this dramatic First World War encounter, we are taken to the faded glamour of 1960s Bombay, to a Bolivian mining town in 1908 where civic folly is running amok, and to an Argentinian farm presided over by a former air stewardess and her husband. Across ocean and continents, these are stories of connection and disconnection, misunderstanding and missed opportunities, identity and displacement."
The astonishing true story of a young woman's adventures, and misadventures,
in the dangerous world of Nazi-occupied France. He began investigating the
rumours that she had escaped a prisoner-of-war camp and fought for the
Resistance - and he finally unearthed the truth behind suspicions of
disreputable love affairs and far darker secrets.
Andy Larkham is late. He is due at the funeral of his favourite school teacher. It's especially hard for Andy - stuck in a dead-end job, terminally short of cash and with a fiancee who is about to ditch him. When the funeral leads to unexpected consequences, Andy has to ask himself: how far will he go to change his life?
Following the death of his parents in a car crash, eleven-year-old Alex Dove is torn from his life on a remote farm in Tasmania and sent to school in England. Twelve years on, he must return to Australia to deal with his inheritance. But the timeless beauty of the land and his encounter with a young woman, whose own life has been marked by tragedy, persuade him to stay. They marry, and he finds himself drawn into the eccentric, often hilarious dynamics of island life. Longing for children, the couple open their home to a disquieting guest, a teenage castaway, whose presence on the farm begins to unravel their tenuously forged happiness, while at the same time offering the prospect of a much greater fulfilment. Secrets of the Sea is Nicholas Shakespeare's finest novel to date.
In this fascinating history of two turbulent centuries in an apparently
idyllic place, Shakespeare effortlessly weaves the history of this unique
island with a kaleidoscope of stories featuring a cast of unlikely characters
from Errol Flynn to the King of Iceland, a village full of Chatwins and,
inevitably, a family of Shakespeares.
Thomas Wavery is the new Consul General at Abyla on the tip of North Africa. A career diplomat, Wavery was once a high flyer, but an affair with a younger woman has dashed his dreams of ambassadorship. He arrives in Abyla with his wife suing for divorce, his passport stolen by a Gibraltarian ape and precious little enthusiasm for the task ahead. His one hope of redemption is a visit from his new love.
