7 reviews for The Sins Of The Father
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The Sins Of The Father
by Jeffery Archer
Description:
On the heels of the international bestseller Only Time Will Tell, Jeffrey Archer picks up the sweeping story of the Clifton Chronicles . Only days before Britain declares war on Germany, Harry Clifton, hoping to escape the consequences of long-buried family secrets, and forced to accept that his desire to marry Emma Barrington will never be fulfilled, has joined the Merchant Navy. But his ship is sunk in the Atlantic by a German U-boat, drowning almost the entire crew. An American cruise liner, the SS Kansas Star, rescues a handful of sailors, among them Harry and the third officer, an American named Tom Bradshaw. When Bradshaw dies in the night, Harry seizes on the chance to escape his tangled past and assumes his identity. But on landing in America, he quickly learns the mistake he has made, when he discovers what is awaiting Bradshaw in New York. Without any way of proving his true identity, Harry Clifton is now chained to a past that could be far worse than the one he had hoped to escape.
About The Author
Archer wrote his first book, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, in the autumn of 1974, as a means of avoiding bankruptcy. The book was picked up by the literary agent Deborah Owen and published first in the US, then eventually in Britain in the autumn of 1976. A BBC Television adaptation of the book was broadcast in 1990, and a radio adaptation was aired on BBC Radio 4 in the early 1980s.
Kane and Abel (1979) proved to be his best-selling work, reaching number one on The New York Times bestsellers list. Like most of his early work it was edited by Richard Cohen, the Olympic fencing gold-medallist. It was made into a television mini-series by CBS in 1985, starring Peter Strauss and Sam Neill. The following year, Granada TV screened a ten-part adaptation of another Archer bestseller, First Among Equals, which told the story of four men and their quest to become Prime Minister. In the U.S. edition of the novel, the character of Andrew Fraser was eliminated, reducing the number of protagonists to three.
As well as novels and short stories, Archer has also written three stage plays. The first, Beyond Reasonable Doubt, opened in 1987 and ran at the Queen’s Theatre in London’s West End for over a year. However, Archer’s next play, Exclusive, was not well received by critics, and closed after a few weeks. His final play, The Accused, opened at the Theatre Royal, Windsor on 26 September 2000, before transferring to the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in the West End in December.
Archer has stated that he spends considerable time writing and re-writing each book. He goes abroad to write the first draft, working in blocks of two hours at a time, then writes anything up to seventeen drafts in total. In 1988 author Kathleen Burnett accused Archer of plagiarising a story she’d written and including it in his short-story collection, A Twist in the Tale. Archer denied he had plagiarised the story, claiming he’d simply been inspired by the idea.
It has been suggested that Archer’s books undergo an extensive editing process prior to publication. Whilst Archer’s books are commercially successful, critics have been generally unfavourable towards his writing. However, journalist Hugo Barnacle, writing for The Independent about The Fourth Estate (1996), thought the novel, while demonstrating that “the editors don’t seem to have done any work”, was “not wholly unsatisfactory”.
Since 2010, Archer has written the first draft of each new book at his luxury villa in Majorca, called “Writer’s Block”.
In 2011, Archer published the first of seven books in The Clifton Chronicles, which follow the life of Harry Clifton from his birth in 1920, through to the finale in 2020. The first novel in the series, Only Time Will Tell, tells the story of Harry from 1920 through to 1940, and was published in the UK on 12 May 2011. The sixth instalment, Cometh the Hour, was published on 25 February 2016. The final novel in the series, This Was a Man, was published on 3 November 2016.
Archer’s next novel has been provisionally titled Heads You Win, and will be published in 2017, along with another volume of short stories.
Skryf Review
“Excellent Reading”
parth
Jeffrey Archer is the best at leaving you hanging and forcing you to buy his next book. I love this story. His characters wrap through history in this case WW II. When we last left Harry and Giles Harry was presumed dead and buried at sea. Emma has had Harry’s son but she just cannot accept Harry is really dead. Indeed he is not as that was another loose end from the last book. He had taken the name and identity of an american sailor who was actually the one that died and was buried at sea. Well unbeknownst Harry Tom Bradshaw is suspected of killing his brother. The story follows the fate of Giles, Harry, Emma, Sir Hugo, and Harry’s intrepid mother Maisie. Again in the end he has left a REALLY BIG cliff hanger.
arif
This is the BEST book I have read in the 16 years of my life. Sure I am an archer fan , but my expectations weren’t really high after the average only time will tell (with a stunning finish though) BUT OH MY GOD. I started reading the book at about 4 thinking I would read some chaps during the two hour power cut. Being lazy nowadays – I had convinced myself I am losing my appetite for books. But Archer just proved that my tummy is destined for unseen obesity levels!Like another reviewer wrote , the book just sucked me in and didn’t let me move an inch till the very last page , cursing the author for not writing more and now here I am waiting for the release of the next book.the sins of father , has everything a Jeffrey Archer book has. right from the prison accounts which are a trademark ever since the author’s brief stay in the prison to the war and political aspects which are found in almost all his books. There is also the ‘unseen’ romance like paths of glory and hell! EVERYTHING that you could ask for.
Kalgi
The Sins of the Father is Book 2 in The Clifton Chronicles. It is better if you read – Only Time Will Tell Book 1 first for better understanding and hence more enjoyment of Book 2.If you haven’t tried Jeffrey Archer before, I highly recommend trying this new series. You’ll discover why Jefrrey Archer is Britain’s top selling author. Even if you only read the classics or what is often termed “literature”, give this series a try for a darn good, well-written story that keeps you wanting more. I myself can’t wait for the next one.
pankti
Jeffrey Archer at his best in this, the second in the Clifton heptalogy, picking up where he left off. The reader learns a great deal more about some of the key characters that fill the plot lines leading into the Second World War. Harry, who took on another man’s identity after a military incident, soon learns that his gamble did not pay off and he finds himself incarcerated in New York. Harry spends that time honing his writing skills in jail and is eventually drafted into battle with US Forces. Meanwhile, Emma is a new mother and learns of Harry supposed ‘death at sea’ but refuses to believe it. She travels over the Atlantic to investigate for herself, discovering Harry’s writing and goes in search of the love of her life. While she is not able to locate him, she soon becomes is literary advocate and continues to track him down, only to discover that Harry’s been shipped off to Europe. Giles finds himself on the continent as well, fighting the Germans before he is captured and sent to a POW camp. Hugo, who’s been banished from his own family, is causing havoc and sowing his seed with another unwitting woman while still trying to plot the downfall of anyone Clifton. Maisie is his most recent target, as he tries to bully her into selling the land on which her teashop once stood. In the end, he meets his demise, but the question of Harry’s paternity takes centre-stage as the Barrington inheritance must be decided. Newly elected Labour Member of Parliament Giles Barrington watches on as the House of Lords debates the rightful heir, even though Harry wants nothing to do with it. Another stellar cliffhanger leaves Archer fans cursing, but applauding all at the same time. Wonderful continuation of the series sure to keep readers up late into the night.
Helly
This is the second of the Clifton Chronicles series. We catch up with Harry Clifton as he disembarks the Kansas Star in America,only to be promptly arrested for murder.He had assumed the identity of Tom Bradshaw, a Navy officer who perished in the U-Boat attack. And now he’s in a mess.Meanwhile Emma Barrington, Harry’s love and mother to his son, has embarked on a quest to find out what happened to Harry. Her quest leads her to the States,where she finds she is truly out of her element as she wends her way through the brash new world that is New York City.Confused? Well, you need to read the first book in the series, Only Time Will Tell. This is not a stand alone book. You need the background or you will be lost through most of the book.Lord Archer’s attention to detail is a double edged sword. While I appreciate the details that help me understand the ins and out of English society, the droning on and on about who was going to inherit the family title in the last pages made me do some serious skimming. I know he was setting up for the big finish/cliffhanger, but he almost lost me.
I did appreciate the humor in Emma’s experiences in NYC.The colloquial and societal differences made for some much needed humor in a tense but drawn out situation, as she tries to find out what happened to Harry.I look forward to continuing the series. Jeffrey Archer is a master at bringing history to life.
Krish Vinod (M No 16943)
An amazing book really. Im amazed by the art of Jeffrey archer by the way he keeps you hanging like that of on a cliffhanger. The clifton chronicles has given 2 very amazing books :the sins of the father and best kept secret which surpassed all my expectations. After reading these 2 books im really looking forward to the 3rd book. Mr archer really makes u think of yourself as one of the characters and u find yourself in the book. This may not be better than the first one but it indeed has the original’s flair and flamboyance.
I myself am pretty impressed with the way the characters:maisie clifton, jack tar, Emma Barrington, giles Barrington and harry clifton have been panned out. As the antagonist hugo Barrington was pretty good.
But what surprised me about this book as how much the characters have developed. Unlike books like harry potter , hunger games ,etc.
Jeffrey archer really wrote boldly andi hopethe next book is goona be even better. KUDOS TO ARCHER.👍👍