The Chosen Man
As war in Flanders drags on into another year, a Spanish count presents the Vatican with a means of disrupting the Dutch rebels’ booming economy. The idea seems trivial, frivolous, but it could do real damage. To be successful though, they need to choose the right man for the job.
See Historical Novel Society review.
"Beautifully written – beautifully crafted . . .” Eleanor Jackson, Literary Agent, New York
Author Reviews
J. G. Harlond is a real find.
The Chosen Man is a novel with everything going
for it: a cracking story centred on an intriguing and charismatic
hero...historical research that's thorough but lightly worn...a
thrilling and pleasingly un-tricksy narrative...and a writing style
that pleases without setting out to impress.
This book is both generous and traditional, in a good way - that
is, the author wants to pull you in and entertain you. And succeeds,
in this reader's case, triumphantly. I'm keeping my fingers crossed
there will be more.
Review by Sarah Harrison, multi-million best-selling author of
The Flowers of the Field Trilogy.
A compelling adventure filled with believable
and complex characters.
A compelling adventure which combines humour with a serious
subtext, The Chosen Man is filled with believable
and complex characters. Set at the time of the Tulip Mania, it concerns
a Vatican plot to undermine the Dutch economy and manipulate the
political landscape of Europe. A story with lessons for the modern
world.
Review by Ann Swinfen, author of the Christoval Alvarez Series,
Flood and This Rough Ocean
Fun and full of energy: an entertaining read.
This novel is fun and full of energy; black comedy abounds.
The wide-ranging historical background is also very intelligent
and well-informed, while in no way slowing down the swashbuckling
story.
The slow-burning romance between the two lively main characters,
Ludo the loveable rogue, and Alina, the feisty Spanish girl stranded
in a foreign country, adds to the enjoyment.
I've read 'Tulip Fever' so knew some of the historical background,
and was expecting this to be heavy, depressing and political, especially
in our time of 'financial crisis'. Not a bit of it! I found
The Chosen Man to be a very entertaining read and
I would definitely read another novel by this author.
Review by Jean Gill, prize-winning author of fiction, poetry, memoir
and travel writing; winner of the Global ebooks award for best Historical
Fiction for Song at Dawn.
The mark of a good book is the sense of loss
you feel when you reach the end.
I finished The Chosen Man yesterday and I´m
still thinking about the characters today! I hope the author does
a sequel. The characters are believable, and the plots wound together
faultlessly. I was fascinated to learn more about Tulip Mania and
the descriptions of the house and staff at Crimphele in Cornwall
were perfect. This book would make a very good film. A first class
read.
Review by Ricky Leach, journalist and reporter for SUR in English,
Spain.
New edition of the book now published by Penmore Press as the first of a trilogy.