Robert Harris is, without a doubt, the master writer of political thrillers of our times – the author of contemporary classics like Fatherland, Enigma and Pompeii. His latest, Act of Oblivion, is a stunning story of a divided nation – England in the wake of the English Civil War, the Protectorate and the Restoration of the Monarchy. It’s the story of a historical manhunt, with two of its central characters, Puritan colonels Edward Whalley and William Goffe, who were signatories to the death warrant of King Charles 1, pursued across America by an obsessed Royalist determined to bring them to justice. It’s a novel that brings the complex history of a country torn about by extreme political and religious factionalism to thrilling life, making it a story that seems relevant to our own times as well as the 17th century period in which it’s set.
‘I’ve always been interested in the Civil War but it’s not been treated much in novels,’ says Robert, speaking to WM via Zoom. A lot of us have Zoom backgrounds filled with bookshelves, but behind Robert there is a vast, magnificent library, complete with a regal figure of a golden eagle on a stand – afitting symbol for the author of Pompeii. The former political journalist turned global bestselling writer is approachable, keenly engaged – and urbanely, effortlessly, authoritative. His words, always impeccably-chosen, carry weight.
‘There aren’t a lot of novels set in that period because it’s so complicated,’ he continues. ‘The structure of the chase seemed to give me the opportunity to tell it in a way that drew the reader in – you can’t beat a good chase.’
The thought of the two fugitives being pursued across New England was what set Robert on the trail of retelling the true story of Whalley and Goffe. ‘My eye was caught
