Only Time Will Tell (The Clifton Chronicles series Book 1)

Product Information

The narration of the audiobook was absolutely superb. The primary narrator is Roger Allam, with shorter sections by Emilia Fox. She reads the female first person narratives. Allam does American and English dialects wonderfully. He does the upper class and the lower class characters so you hear each one’s social class in how they speak. He speaks very clearly and with strength so you miss nothing. When he impersonates Churchill, I couldn't help but smile. The narration could not have been better. 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. Therein lies the proof of amazing writing and a thorough understanding of how people think. These characters are extremely well developed. We are even given a chance to look into the world through the eyes of the book's villain. Each character's story fills in gaps left in previous issues because either that character didn't think it was that important or because the previous narrator didn't know. This gives the story a mild sense of mystery and a huge sense of the inter-connectedness of people. Deep things to think about, deep character portrayal, lots of historical details are not what you will find served in this book. Action and finding out what is going to happen, that is what you read the book for. 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."

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. If Miss Austen had been able to go to university, she might never have written a novel, and even if she had, her work probably wouldn’t have been so insightful. The author goes to great lengths to convince us that yes, the Main Character is indeed a brilliant child/man with unseen depths and superb intellect. We must believe this because of the great lengths other characters go to ensure that the Main Character has the means to build on his future, and the same supporting characters are always engaged in conversation talking about how brilliant Main Character is and conspiring to make sure a tiny kid does not know that everyone is working in collusion to get him to accept opportunities unavailable to other, lesser children of his socioeconomic class. Since Main Character is brilliant, but would refuse the help of those who love him. I have to admit that I was not looking for a long series of books about these characters and presumably their descendents. I would have preferred to simply have the questions posed throughout the book answered and be on my way to another book. In fact, I would sort of like it if someone just answered my questions so I wouldn’t have to read the next book(s). The direction the story took right at the end was not as intriguing to me as everything that came before and I can’t say that I’m all that interested in plowing through the trials and tribulations introduced in the last 25 to get the answers to the questions posed in the first 25. Only Time Will Tell was a relatively fast read and I did like quite a few of the characters very much, but not quite enough for another (or 4 more) books about them. Archer chooses to tell his story through several different characters. Each segment begins with a short chapter told in the first person by whomever we are going to be hearing from, then goes into third person focusing on the new “narrator”. Each character has slightly different – or more – information than the others, so as we switch perspective we also slowly begin to piece together the real story of Harry’s life, the death of his father, his journey through school and his relationships with family and friends. The style takes a little getting used to, but is very effective. The plot slowly unravels as we learn how each character reveals what they know and what they have done and how it all affects Harry and his family.During this period he also began his political career. Between 1967 and 1970, he served as a Councillor in the Greater London Council. He went on to become Member of Parliament for the constituency of Louth under the Conservative Party. He had an eventful political career amidst allegations of fraud and much apprehension at his ability to be a leader.

I was thrilled when I saw Harry walk through the school gates on the first day of term. I’d spent the summer hols at our villa in Tuscany, so I wasn’t in Bristol when Tilly’s was burnt to the ground and didn’t find out about it until I returned to England the weekend before term began. I had wanted Harry to join us in Italy, but my father wouldn’t hear of it. He came to tea at the Manor House to celebrate my brother’s twelfth birthday. He was so quiet and reserved that I wondered how he could possibly be Giles’s best friend. The other one, Deakins, was really strange. He never stopped eating and hardly said a word all afternoon.

Thinking about all the cliche tropes* isn't this the same story we read everywhere ? The same cliche trope , the same dialogues , the same situation , I mean Mr. Archer I excepted something new and i have full right to feel cheated ! Story gets monotonous to the core, author could have simply finished the book in a trilogy manner but now there are 6 more books in the series, the plot is lost, the story too predictable. And I don't think I want to waste any more time reading this shit ,*BOOK*. Almost every predictable situation is there. The all sacrificing mother. A villain/bully in the hostel, and the girl's father who would go to any length to prevent the marriage. 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. Percy was as desperate to be offered a place at Eton as I was to be rejected, so I saw this as no more than an opportunity for both of us to achieve our purpose. I didn't realize Mum had other plans for my future, which didn't include joining Uncle Stan in the shipyard.