or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
22 used & new from £2.29
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
A Conspiracy of Violence: Chaloner's First Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Series)
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

A Conspiracy of Violence: Chaloner's First Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Series) (Hardcover)

by Susanna Gregory (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
RRP: £17.99
Price: £17.09 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £0.90 (5%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

7 new from £10.48 12 used from £2.29 3 collectible from £16.50
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Audio CD (Audiobook) £56.50 £56.50 Order it used
Audio Cassette (Audiobook) £50.95 £50.95 Order it used

Frequently Bought Together

A Conspiracy of Violence: Chaloner's First Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Series) + Blood on The Strand: Chaloner's Second Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Series) + The Butcher of Smithfield: Chaloner's Third Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Mysteries)
Price For All Three: £29.43

Show availability and delivery details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Blood on The Strand: Chaloner's Second Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Series)

Blood on The Strand: Chaloner's Second Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Series)

by Susanna Gregory
4.8 out of 5 stars (4)  £6.37
The Butcher of Smithfield: Chaloner's Third Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Mysteries)

The Butcher of Smithfield: Chaloner's Third Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Mysteries)

by Susanna Gregory
4.0 out of 5 stars (5)  £5.97
To Kill or Cure: The Thirteenth Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew (The Matthew Bartholomew Series)

To Kill or Cure: The Thirteenth Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew (The Matthew Bartholomew Series)

by Susanna Gregory
4.0 out of 5 stars (4)  £5.48
The Tarnished Chalice (Matthew Bartholomew Series)

The Tarnished Chalice (Matthew Bartholomew Series)

by Susanna Gregory
5.0 out of 5 stars (4)  £5.48
The Devil's Disciples: The Fourteenth Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew (Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles)

The Devil's Disciples: The Fourteenth Chronicle of Matthew Bartholomew (Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles)

by Susanna Gregory
4.5 out of 5 stars (4)  £5.47
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 512 pages
  • Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group; First Edition edition (19 Jan 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0316731102
  • ISBN-13: 978-0316731102
  • Product Dimensions: 22 x 14.2 x 4.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 88,785 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #19 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > G > Gregory, Susanna

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Product Description

The dour days of Cromwell are over. Charles II is well established at White Hall Palace, his mistress at hand in rooms over the Holbein bridge, the heads of some of the regicides on public display. London seethes with new energy, freed from the strictures of the Protectorate, but many of its inhabitants have lost their livelihoods. One is Thomas Chaloner, a reluctant spy for the feared Secretary of State, John Thurloe, and now returned from Holland in desperate need of employment. His erstwhile boss, knowing he has many enemies at court, recommends Thomas to Lord Clarendon, but in return demands that Thomas keep him informed of any plot against him. But what Thomas discovers is that Thurloe had sent another ex-employee to White Hall and he is dead, supposedly murdered by footpads near the Thames. Chaloner volunteers to investigate his killing: instead he is despatched to the Tower to unearth the gold buried by the last Governor. He discovers not treasure, but evidence that greed and self-interest are uppermost in men's minds whoever is in power, and that his life has no value to either side.


About the Author

Susanna Gregory is a Cambridge academic. She is the creator of the popular Matthew Bartholmew series

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

A Conspiracy of Violence: Chaloner's First Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Series)
32% buy
A Conspiracy of Violence: Chaloner's First Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Series) 3.1 out of 5 stars (9)
£5.97
A Conspiracy of Violence: Chaloner's First Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Series)
25% buy the item featured on this page:
A Conspiracy of Violence: Chaloner's First Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Series) 4.4 out of 5 stars (5)
£17.09
The Butcher of Smithfield: Chaloner's Third Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Mysteries)
17% buy
The Butcher of Smithfield: Chaloner's Third Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Mysteries) 4.0 out of 5 stars (5)
£5.97
Blood on The Strand: Chaloner's Second Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Series)
14% buy
Blood on The Strand: Chaloner's Second Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Series) 4.8 out of 5 stars (4)
£6.37
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A superb new character from Gregory, 31 Mar 2006
Pseudonymal Susanna Gregory finally takes the step of having a new character and a new setting. However, it is the familiar gripping plots, eloquent style and descriptive powers, taut narrative and fine characterisation that remain. Her Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles are a fine example of the medieval murder mystery and it is fair to say she ranks alongside Ellis Peters at the top of the genre.
So, Thomas Falconer, a.k.a Tom Heyden, disgraced clerk, recently returned from his career in Holland, desperately seeking a reference from the old Parliamentarian power, Thurloe, and finding himself immediately embroiled in a chase through the streets of Restoration London hunting the killers of a delivery boy, Storey and Snow, hired incompetent thugs of Kelyng, a fanatical royalist and hunter of regicides.
Very quickly, Chaloner finds himself serving three masters. The first is Thurloe, the ex-Parliamentarian, with his sister Sarah and brother-in-law Dalton, who asks Chaloner to discover who murdered John Clarke, a spy he had recommended to Chaloner's second master. This is the Lord Chancellor, Lord Clarendon, who also commissions him and his aide, the military man who fears the entire animal kingdom, Evett in another search for the hidden gold of the Tower of London that was placed there by the regicide Barkstead. This brings him into contact with Wade and Robinson who previously had assisted excavations in the Tower. His third master is to be Dalton, employed as a clerk.
Before long Chaloner is embroiled with the Brotherhood. A collective of the Leybourn brothers, his mendacious ex-master, Downing, Livesay (who was blown up), Ingoldsby, Barkstead (the executed regicide) and Hewson (who was murdered by Kelyng's men at the very beginning. Their plan to prevent the extremes of royalist and parliamentarian and the talk of the original seven men who tried to prevent the Restoration leads Chaloner into a murky plot of political intrigue where the phrases praising the son of God and number seven figure prominently.
Thrown into the mix is his personal life as his relationship with Metje, his Dutch lover, causes issues with his landlord, North, his wife Faith and Temperance, his daughter. To this home brew is added the fanatical Preacher Hill who's fire and brimstone faith is causing no end of vandalism to their local church.
In true Gregory style we are taken on a trail that twists and turns alarmingly at time as we are thrown red herring after red herring, ghostly clue after tantalising glimpse of fact until we are thoroughly confused. Only then is Chaloner allowed to locate the keystone to the mystery and a lot of questions resolved themselves rapidly as we uncover not a dastardly plot to kill a restored King, but a tale of terrible familial revenge and hidden treasure. With our shockingly fiery conclusion, Gregory wraps us to a neat end but opens us up to a series that will rival Bartholomew's fourteenth century Cambridge in plot, characterisation, sleuthing prowess and historical craftsmanship. It is no surprise to find in the author's note that all the characters bar our hero are based on real people and the society and politics described very close to the truth. What this isn't is a repeat of the hugely successful Bartholomew series and we can only eagerly look forward to a new sleuth from the pen of an author at the height of her genre.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Change of Scenery, 2 Aug 2006
By J. Chippindale (England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   
A change of lead character, a change of century and a change from Cambridge to London. Will it work, is it too much too soon. The reader need have not fears Miss Gregory carries it all off with consummate ease. The book is still beautifully written, the character are strong and soon become like old friends and the author proves that she is as knowledgeable about restoration London as she is about 14th century Cambridge.

England at last has a monarch back on throne, Charles II is ensconced in his Whitehall Palace and the dreary, drab days of Oliver Cromwell are fast fading to a distant memory. The capital is starting to breathe again after the stifling days of the Protectorate. But those difficult days have left their mark on the Londoner's, many have lost their means of employment. One such man Thomas Chaloner has become a spy for John Thurloe, the feared Secretary of State.

Thomas has recently returned from the Low Countries and is in desperate need of employment Thurloe has many enemies at court and recommends Thomas for a post with Lord Clarendon. In return he expects to be kept informed of any plots against himself.

While there Thomas finds out that Thurloe has already sent one of his ex-employees to the court and the man is dead, supposedly by footpads.

Thomas begins to uncover the greed and corruption that is rife among the men of power and soon finds that his own life has little value in the court of Charles.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars A Better Thriller than a Crime Novel?, 24 Jan 2007
I had never read a Susannah Gregory book before but had an interest in crime fiction set in Restoration London. I found that the author was good at three things: creating a detective that I cared about, re-creating 17th century London and propelling the reader through a thrilling set of adventures. She knows how to pile on the agony as she places the spy, Thomas Chaloner in dangerous, surprising and nail-biting predicaments.

There are weaknesses in her writing style and readers may find it difficult to suspend their belief and get over those irritations. A lot of the background information about characters, political shenanigans, relationships and motives are conveyed in dialogue. This means that conversations with allies, enemies and complete strangers are over-loaded with facts, stilted and unconvincing. Secondly, the plot is convoluted and some of the devices for keeping Chaloner away from the solution just don't stand up to scrutiny. Thank goodness there were lots of interludes where Chaloner mulls over The Story So Far and provides the reader with a summary of what's what. Lastly, every character apart from Chaloner is a caricature - the villains are bad and the good people aren't good enough to warm to.

I forgave Gregory these faults, even though I groaned and rolled my eyes when the plot, dialogue and wooden characters seemed laboured. I forgave her because I enjoyed the setting, because I wanted Chaloner to succeed and because she writes a good thriller.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Change of Scenery

A change of lead character, a change of century and a change from Cambridge to London. Will it work, is it too much too soon. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2007 by J. Chippindale

5.0 out of 5 stars A Change of Scenery

A change of lead character, a change of century and a change from Cambridge to London. Will it work, is it too much too soon. Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2007 by J. Chippindale

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject



















i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.