The Republic of Virtue, the first novel in the series
ABOUT THE NOVEL
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.
Read an interview with the author.
The Boston Trader, the second novel in the series
ABOUT THE NOVEL
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.
AVAILABLE FEBRUARY 2015
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jefferson Flanders has been a sportswriter, columnist, editor, and publishing executive. He is the author of the critically-acclaimed First Trumpet trilogy (Herald Square, The North Building and The Hill of Three Borders) and of two short story collections.
Copyright © 2014 Jefferson Flanders
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