Only Time Will Tell (The Clifton Chronicles) (The Clifton Chronicles, 1)

Product Information

Only Time Will Tell is a first part of the seven in the Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer. The book was published worldwide in 2011. It was launched by Jeffrey Archer himself in Bangalore, India in March 2011, as the beginning of a global book tour. [1] Plot [ edit ] Maisie's sacrifices and the secret of Harry's parentage are the main focus of Only Time Will Tell. Harry has grown up thinking Arthur Clifton is his father and that he died in the war. Maisie knows the truth about Harry's parentage, and a few people know the truth about Arthur Clifton's death, but no one tells Harry anything. Jeffrey Archer was born in London and brought up in Somerset. He was educated at Wellington School, and Brasenose College, Oxford, where he was President of the University Athletics Club, and went on to run the 100 yards in 9.6 seconds for Great Britain in 1966. I was pleased to have fallen at the first hurdle. But as I was to discover, Miss Eleanor E. Monday didn't give up easily.

I didn't realize Mum had other plans for my future, which didn't include joining Uncle Stan in the shipyard. Archer’s latest saga introduces a bright young man facing an uphill battle. Harry Clifton is born in Bristol, England, in 1920 to Maisie and Arthur Clifton, a young working-class couple, but Arthur disappears mysteriously, and the boy grows up without a father. Maisie is illiterate, but she takes work as a waitress to support them, and she never gives up on making a better life for her talented son.The first book in a new series, a family saga called The Clifton Chronicles, slated to cover 100 years. Only Time Will Tell has many narrators: Harry’s mother, a young woman he loves, his best friend, his mentor, and a man who could be his father. Each tells the story from a different perspective. So we may know more about Harry’s past than he does – but not what Harry’s going to do when he finds out. Be prepared for surprising developments that upend all your expectations and keep you guessing. The Daily Telegraph I enjoyed the book and marvelled at both its pace and the imaginative cliffhanger ending, whetting our appetite for volume two The countdown is the thing; the pace, the pursuit, the what-next, the how-is-it-going-to-come-out…” — Boston Globe on SHALL WE TELL THE PRESIDENT? The economy and precision of Archer's prose never fails to delight. The criminal doesn't always get away with his crime and justice doesn't always prevail, but the reader wins with each and every story.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) on CAT O'NINE TALES

Starred Review.What appears at the outset to be a straightforward coming-of-age tale becomes, by the end, a saga of power, betrayal, and bitter hatred. The novel ends on a deliberately dark note, setting the stage for the sequel…An outstanding effort from a reliable veteran." - Booklist All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small. All things wise and wonderful…" A smile had appeared on Miss Monday's face long before I reached " the Lord God made them all."Maisie Clifton - Harry's mother who after sudden death of her husband Arthur, tries to make ends meet to support her family and Harry's education. She opened a hymn book, handed it to me and sat down at the piano. I smiled at the thought that I might still be able to make the second half of our Sunday morning football game. She began to play a familiar tune, and when I saw my mother glaring at me from the front row of pews, I decided I'd better go through with it, just to keep her happy. By the time I was seven it was clear to anyone who knew anything about the game of football that I was never going to get into the school team, let alone captain Bristol City. But that was when I discovered that God had given me one small gift, and it wasn't in my feet.

The epic tale of Harry Clifton’s life begins in 1920, with the chilling words, ‘I was told my father was killed in the war.’ Daily Telegraph I enjoyed the book and marvelled at both its pace and the imaginative cliffhanger ending, whetting our appetite for volume two The choir mistress turned a blind eye to the fact that I placed theft ahead of murder, couldn't spell "adultery," and certainly didn't know what it meant. Only after two other miscreants were summarily dismissed for lesser offenses did I realize just how exceptional my voice must be. Richly imagined and populated with remarkable characters, The Clifton Chronicles will take you on a powerful journey, bringing to life one hundred years of family history in a story neither you, nor Harry, could ever have dreamt of.Jeffrey Archer: The Chronicler". The Telegraph India. 12 March 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2011 . Retrieved 13 March 2011. From the internationally bestselling author of Kane and Abel and A Prisoner of Birth comes Only Time Will Tell, the first in an ambitious new series that tells the story of one family across generations, across oceans, from heartbreak to triumph. The first in the series, Only Time Will Tell takes a cast of memorable characters from the ravages of the Great War to the outbreak of the Second World War, when Harry must decide whether to take his place at Oxford, or join the fight against Hitler’s Germany.

But it will be another twenty years before Harry discovers how his father really died, which will only lead him to question who was his father?

Starred Review. General readers as well as Archer fans will enjoy this unforgettable tale, which abounds with cliff-hangers that propel its intriguing and intricate plot." - Library Journal