In this series of historical novels, Jefferson Flanders tells the story of the Tarkingtons, a Boston family of merchant-traders deeply involved in the building of the new American Republic.
Critics have praised the books for their mix of historical detail and compelling action, describing them as “brilliantly drawn,” “gripping,” “well-crafted,” and “riveting and spectacularly researched.”
The Republic of Virtue
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Kirkus Reviews has praised the first in the series as a “gripping historical novel” and “a well-crafted page-turner.”
Revolutionary France, 1793. When Calvin Tarkington, a young Boston merchant-trader, arrives in Paris on July 4th, he finds a city in turmoil, riven by quarrels between revolutionary factions and threatened by advancing Coalition armies. Calvin’s brother Alexander, the family firm’s representative in France, has disappeared, suspected by a powerful Jacobin official of spying for the British.
As Calvin seeks to clear his brother’s name, his quest for the truth takes him from elegant townhouses to squalid gambling dens to the secret chambers of the Masonic Lodge of the Seven Sisters. Drawn into a shadowy world of intrigue and betrayal, Calvin becomes the hunted as France lurches toward the Reign of Terror.
Rich in historical detail and suspense, The Republic of Virtue tells a compelling story of love, courage, and loyalty set in a dangerous place at a dangerous time—the darkest days of the French Revolution.
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The Boston Trader
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BestThrillers.com has praised the novel as: “A brilliantly drawn historical thriller set in 18th century China that delivers ample doses of action, danger and even romance.”
Kirkus Reviews says: “A sequel that stands firmly on its own, brimming with political intrigue and historical drama.”
Imperial China. When Calvin Tarkington arrives in Peking in the winter of 1795, he becomes the first American merchant to experience the sights and sounds of this exotic Imperial capitol: blue-jacketed Chinese, masked against the sweeping Northern winds, crowd outdoor markets filled with the riches of Asia; proud Manchu bannermen patrol the wide boulevards and narrow alleys; and behind the vermillion walls of the Forbidden City, mandarins, nobles, eunuchs, and concubines serve their aging Emperor, Ch’ien-lung, the Son of Heaven.
Yet Calvin cannot enjoy this moment: he has been brought to Peking to face trial on trumped-up murder charges after witnessing the assassination of an Imperial investigator in the port of Canton, the sole city open to the foreign devil taipans, a killing that is somehow linked to the growing, but illicit, opium trade.
Calvin must prove his innocence by unmasking the real killers and their connection to the corruption, misrule, and hidden treachery threatening the very stability of the Dragon Throne. He can rely only on a Manchu general and an elderly French Jesuit astronomer for help as he confronts the powerful dark forces intent on delivering him into the hands of the Imperial executioners.
The Boston Trader tells a compelling story of deception and desire, of love and betrayal, and of courage and conviction. It paints a memorable portrait of China at a turning point in its history, as the fate of the Celestial Empire hangs in the balance.
Read an interview with the author.
The Northwest Country
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BestThrillers.com raves: “With The Northwest Country, Flanders establishes himself as one of America’s best active American historical fiction writers. Highly recommended.
Northwest Territory, 1798. Merchant-trader Calvin Tarkington leaves behind his comfortable life in New York when he journeys to the frontier to assist an old friend who has fallen ill. Once across the Ohio River, he is drawn into the struggle between abolitionists and slaveholders. As a winter storm descends upon western Kentucky, Calvin and a group of fugitive slaves find themselves on the run, hunted by a band of ruthless slave catchers.
The third installment in the Tarkingtons series, The Northwest Country delves into the history of the emerging crisis over slavery in the early American Republic.