Allan Massie je skotský autor, který se vyznačuje zájmem o vzdálenou minulost. Jeho bohatá a rozmanitá tvorba zahrnuje přes dvacet románů, v nichž mistrně propojuje historická témata s osobitým literárním stylem. Massieho psaní je ceněno pro hloubku vhledu do lidské povahy a historických událostí.
Historický román o zavraždění Julia Caesara v podobě fiktivních vzpomínek Caesarova vraha Bruta. Fiktivní vzpomínky Caesarova vraha Bruta na okolnosti vraždy. Čtenář se z románu dovídá podrobnosti z historie Římské říše, z Caesarovy politické kariéry, ze setkání s egyptskou královnou Kleopatrou aj.
První část volné trilogie z prostředí starověkého Říma líčí děj od vraždy Julia Césara po konec vlády Augusta. Román je psán formou vlastních pamětí tohoto císaře, které autor „rekonstruuje“ po objevení rukopisu. Vyprávění je psáno velmi přístupně a barvitě přibližuje čtenáři dávné děje.
In this personal history and celebration of Glasgow, Allan Massie uses contemporary accounts to trace the history from its 6th century founding, through its Victorian heyday and 20th century decline, to its current resurgence, marked by its selection as the 1990 Cultural Capital of Europe.
There are days, even in the bad times, even the worst, when you can still
believe in the future, like that six o'clock in the morning three weeks ago
when the bell rang and Dominique was there. Dominique, pale, wretchedly thin,
exhausted, his hair cropped, but nevertheless Dominique. Lannes held him in
his arms, neither able for a moment to speak.
'David comes alive in this novel as a fascinating, divided self, but you also feel on finishing it that you have understood a little more about the extraordinary world of the Middle East from which so much of our own Judaeo-Christian religion and civilisation spring. Modern parallels are never forced - Massie to too subtle a writer for that - but this world of sex, intrigue, war and religious mania suggests constantly to the reader not memories of the Bible but events in the newspapers in that very Hebron where David ruled as king' AN Wilson, Evening Standard
Death in Bordeaux is the first in a trilogy that will take Lannes through the
war and up to the grisly, but inevitable purge of those found guilty of German
collaboration. However, this is also a novel that explores the moral
complexity of France's time of trial, and the reasons why it has taken its
people so long to emerge from the shadow of war.
"Compelling...A masterly feat...A magnificent, sweeping, authoritative, warm yet wry history." --The Wall Street Journal In this fascinating and intimate portrait of the Stuarts, author Allan Massie takes us deep into one of history's bloodiest and most tumultuous reigns. Exploring the family's lineage from the first Stuart king to the last, The Royal Stuarts is a panoramic history of the family that acted as a major player in the Scottish Wars of Independence, the Union of the Crowns, the English Civil War, the Restoration, and more. Drawing on the accounts of historians past and present, novels, and plays, this is the complete story of the Stuart family, documenting their path from the salt marshes of Brittany to the thrones of Scotland and England and eventually to exile. The Royal Stuarts brings to life figures like Mary, Queens of Scots, Charles I, and Bonnie Prince Charlie, uncovering a family of strong affections and fierce rivalries. Told with panache, this is the gripping true story of backstabbing, betrayal, and ambition gone awry.
This is a survey of contemporary British fiction. Focussing primarily on the distinctive achievement and personality of each writer, the author also discusses the contribution of British fiction to such genres as women's writing, the political novel, spy and crime fiction. It addresses questions such as the rise of mass market publishing and the emergence of an international readership in assessing the role of the modern author as we approach the twenty-first century.
A diplomat's daughter, Marian Sutro is an outsider - half French, half British. When she is recruited by SOE, her hybrid status and fluent French will be of service for her to go undercover in wartime France on a dangerous cause. Trained in sabotage, dead-drops, how to perform under interrogation and how to kill, Marian parachutes into south-west France - officially as a Resistance courier. But her real destination is Paris, where she must find Clement Pelletier, a family friend, once the focus of her adolescent desires. A nuclear physicist, Pelletier is engaged in the race for a new and terrifying weapon and of urgent significance to her superiors. Marian struggles towards this reunion, understanding that war changes everything, and neither love nor fatherland may be trusted.
Die Lebensgeschichte des Marc Anton, Nachfolger Cäsars in Rom und in Kleopatras Armen: Nach seiner Niederlage gegen Octavian bei Actium zieht Marc Anton sich nach Alexandria zurück und diktiert seinem treuen griechischen Sekretär Critias den letzten Band seiner Memoiren. Es soll eine Gegendarstellung zu den Verleumdungen Octavians werden, die dieser seit geraumer Zeit in Rom gegen Marc Anton in Umlauf bringt. Marc Anton erzählt von der Ermordung Cäsars, vom ersten Treffen mit Cäsars Adoptivsohn Octavian und von der Gründung des Triumvirats. Schließlich kommt es zu der schicksalhaften Begegnung mit Cäsars Geliebter Kleopatra, deren Reizen Marc Anton ebenso erliegt wie sein großer Vorgänger.