Past Caring

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Combines the expert suspensemanipulation skills of a Daphne DuMaurier romance with those of a John Le Carre thriller.” New York Times A wonderful read …the satisfying climax weaves together the strands of past and present.…A poised telling of a complex tale.” Publishers Weekly This breathless and unending case takes Max to London from far North of Scotland and all the way to Paris, where the world’s government are still but bartering over the spoils right in the aftermath of the Great war. The stakes here are so high and it is a matter of life and death to everyone involved.

Into the Blue was adapted for television in 1997 and starred John Thaw in the lead role of Harry Barnett. Robert Goddard was not impressed with the adaptation. In an interview, he said "The TV version of Into the Blue was a travesty of the story I wrote and I am determined that any future adaptations should be more faithful to the original". From a collection of more than 20 mystery thrillers, that will indeed enthrall and satisfy you as a lover of such genre, to unprincipled chicanery and unforgiven betrayals as well as unforgotten jealousy, are just but part of the infinite capacity of imagination and intrigues that Robert Goddard books will present to you. Basically, Robert novels and especially his thrillers do have a historical settings and elements staged in some provincial English towns and cities bringing in a number of plots twists.Plus, his books always involve the lead character, gradually unraveling a conspiracy which for a very long time been kept as a secret, and through means of historical documents like the diaries or simply by word of mouth testimonies that have been handed down from one individual to another. The thing I loved the most about this book is that Goddard doesn't let himself be constrained by genre or genre expectations. There are so many different elements of this book that you wouldn't normally find together in one novel. I don't want to say too much for fear of spoilers but I was really impressed by this. The story actually felt more realistic due to this blending of different genres and tones; life doesn't abide by genre conventions after all.The narration is steady and clear and helps keep the plot focussed. This story is long so is good value for money and the ending is unexpected so you keep going all the way to the last few minutes. This is in no way a fast paced, regular thriller kind of book. This is well-written, being rather literary in places and is considered and smooth in its pace. This is a steady, delectable, slow burn of a book, yet it does not flag or become bogged down. Goddard's 1997 book Beyond Recall was nominated for the Edgar Award Best Novel prize but lost out to Mr. White's Confession by Robert Clark.

Past Caring is lengthy, but that is because it has to fit in the diaries of a long dead British minister as well as the historical research of the less than ideal Martin Radford. Radford is a failed academic and teacher who seems to enjoy drink more than books. A chance visit to Madeira leads him to hunt down the story of Edwin Strafford, a rising political star in 1910 who disappeared from politics for mysterious reasons. As he digs deeper, Radford finds that there are those who wish to keep the story buried along with Strafford. About three times during this book I found myself feeling that it was starting to drag. Each time, Goddard broke this feeling with a series of twists and revelations that nearly floored me on occasion, but I still feel this book could have done with a stricter editorial hand at the rudder. You could take virtually any passage from this book and it would read really well on its own, so I understand why you wouldn't want to cut any of it, but when you've got a pacing problem it's time to kill your darlings. At one point of this story, the protagonist is advised “nothing is as it seems”. That is a vast understatement in this tangled web of deceit, double-dealing and revenge. As with my prior outing with Goddard, I must work at not giving away any of the plot as spoilers would be difficult to avoid. Suffice it to say that there are few truly good people involved, and they are put upon badly by the self-serving villains whose bad deeds flow into and escalate over six decades, erupting when a young history researcher is given a commission to look into a memoir found in an old villa. The narrative is liberally dotted with familiar names from Edwardian parliamentary politics, and I did have to pay attention to keep up with political issues that I had only a passing familiarity with.

Summary

Thirdly, it is similarly inconceivable that Elizabeth would not have told Edwin. When first told herself, her initial reaction would have been one of utter disbelief - evidence notwithstanding. She would have been quite desperate to get to the truth of the matter. She would have gone through as many scenarios as she could imagine that would have exonerated her intended. Most of the first half of the book is spent on Stafford's story and it is engrossing. It is a story of love and shattered dreams. As a young politician, Stafford wanted to put his mark on the world and make a difference. It only takes one day for his life to be forever destroyed, leading to a series of repercussions that affects Radford in ways he could never imagine. However, nothing is quite as it seems and there are people who, even decades later, want to prevent the truth from ever coming out. It is at this point that one's patient reading pays off. It is a long book and not to be rushed and so good that every detail is important. PAST CARING is worth all the careful attention a reader can pay it. Goddard has his masterpiece here. The premise of the book is wonderful. Set during the time of the Suffragette movement and Herbert Asquith as prime minister in 1910. He actually served as prime minister between 1908 and 1916. We are concerned with the fictional Home Secretary, at that time, called Edwin Strafford. Strafford had fallen in love with a suffragette, Elizabeth, but for reasons unbeknownst to us and Strafford himself, Elizabeth will not marry him due to something that Edwin had done and that he had kept from her. What was it? Into the Blue (May 1990), ISBN 0-593-01808-7. (Harry Barnett, Book 1) (adapted as a TV film in 1996 starring John Thaw) Robert William Goddard (born 13 November 1954 in Fareham, Hampshire) is an English novelist. [1] Life and career [ edit ]

The reason for the 4* rather than a 5* review is because some of the supporting characters are simplistically either good or evil, and are not developed in any level of sophistication, sympathy or understanding - there are too many Martin is offered a job—to return to England and investigate the rise and fall of Strafford, an ambitious young politician whose downfall, in 1910, is as mysterious as the strange deaths that still haunt his family. I did guess, almost immediately from whence came the villainy of the events of 1910, and what crime would have been committed, against the upstanding and moral Cabinet member Radford is researching in the 1970s. Not to mention the veritable army of untrustworthy souls in the 70’sAt a lush villa on the sun-soaked island of Madeira, Martin Radford is given a second chance. His life ruined by scandal, Martin holds in his hands the leather-bound journal of another ruined man, former British cabinet minister Edwin Strafford. What’s more, Martin is being offered a job—to return to England and investigate the rise and fall of Strafford, an ambitious young politician whose downfall, in 1910, is as mysterious as the strange deaths that still haunt his family.

He is given the opportunity of lifetime when he is asked to come to the island of Madeira, off the Portuguese coast, to listen to a proposal by a man named Leo Sellitt. He has bought an estate that used to belong to Edwin Stafford, appointed Home Secretary in 1908, who disappeared from politics under mysterious circumstances. Stafford left a journal behind that might shed light on his life.

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Goddard's 1990 book Into the Blue was the inaugural winner of the W H Smith Thumping Good Read Award, presented to the best new fiction author of the year. Why did I think it was important to read this book again? Because my feelings about it have remained unresolved for two decades. How could a man so good, kind, and noble as Edwin be so betrayed? What kind of love does not even give the benefit of the doubt, does not even offer the chance for an explanation? So for the second time, I've read this book and my feelings remain unresolved. After this second read, I'm angry at all the characters for what they did to Edwin, and for thinking that any of the fruits of those betrayals were worth protecting. I hate that people kept preying on Edwin's goodness and his love for Elizabeth, and it tears me apart that someone he loved so much never even stopped to ask herself 'what if.' Many years ago, when I was a teenager, my father read this book and was very moved by the story. I read it too, and like the Hardy poem the author quotes, I've felt haunted by this story for a long time, even after forgetting the name of the book and the names of the main characters. Strafford himself, his family and his life’s many secrets and discoveries are by far more noteworthy and remarkable than the markedly tarnished Radford, whose flaws Goddard uses to make him credible if not altogether likable.