Only Time Will Tell (The Clifton Chronicles) (The Clifton Chronicles, 1)

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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. Archer's prose isn't all that stylish. There are some compelling moments,but at times the book is also a drag.There is plenty of filler material.It took me a good long while to read. We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to start a discussion for Time Will Tell ...then take off on your own:

I promised my mum I'd be on time for the first choir practice, even though I knew it would be my last, as Miss Monday would soon realize I couldn't read or write. And it would have been my last, if it hadn't been obvious to anyone listening that my singing voice was in a different class to that of any other boy in the choir. In fact, the moment I opened my mouth, everyone fell silent, and the looks of admiration, even awe, that I had desperately sought on the football field, were happening in church. Miss Monday pretended not to notice. The examination papers were not as demanding as the ones I’d sat a fortnight earlier for Bristol Grammar, and I felt I’d done more than enough to ensure that Percy would be returning to Eton in September. However, they were difficult enough for me to feel confident that his lordship would not let me down. On the day before the examination was due to take place my father drove me to Eton in his swish new Bugatti, which could do a hundred miles an hour, and once we hit the A4 he proved it. We spent the night at the Swann Arms, the same hotel in which he had stayed over twenty years before when he took the entrance exam. Over dinner, Papa didn’t leave me in any doubt how keen he was that I should go to Eton and I nearly had a change of heart at the last moment, but I had given my word to Percy Bridport, and felt I couldn’t let him down.The family were all staying at our villa in Tuscany that summer when Giles took me to one side and said he needed to ask my advice. He only ever did that when he wanted something. But this time it turned out to be something I wanted just as much as he did. Only Time Will Tell covers the years from 1920 to 1940, and includes a cast of memorable characters that The Times has compared to The Forsyte Saga. Volume one takes us from the ravages of the Great War to the outbreak of the Second World War, when Harry must decide whether to take up a place at Oxford, or join the navy and go to war with Hitler’s Germany. It spans twenty years,from World War I to the start of World War II. War is a familiar theme in Archer's work,as he himself was a child of World War II.

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. The plot was engaging and original and kept my interest the entire time. The writing flowed beautifully and the author writes everything so masterfully that I had no choice but to devour this amazing book. When Giles was driven to the grammar school on his first day, I begged my mother to let me go along, but only because I wanted to meet Harry. But my father wouldn’t hear of it, and despite my bursting into controlled tears, they still left me standing on the top step with my younger sister Grace. I knew Papa was cross about Giles not being offered a place at Eton, something I still don’t understand, because a lot of boys more stupid than my brother passed the exam. Mama didn’t seem to mind which school Giles went to, whereas I was delighted he was going to Bristol Grammar, because it meant I’d have a better chance of seeing Harry again. Murder and a high-stakes art-world theft are cleverly blended [in this] exciting...global thrill-ride.” — Vancouver Sun on FALSE IMPRESSIONThe epic tale of Harry Clifton’s life begins in 1920, with the chilling words, ‘I was told my father was killed in the war.’ What's the significance of the novel's title, "Only Time Will Tell"? How does it apply to events in the story? The Clifton Chronicles series is an international bestselling series written by one of the well known British authors named Jeffrey Archer. There is a total of 6 books in the series published between the years 2011 and 2016. All the novels of the series are based on the mystery and thriller genres. Author Jeffrey Archer has set the time frame of the series during the early 20th century and has depicted the life story of the central character named Harry Clifton throughout the series. Each of the novels of the series show the struggles that Harry Clifton had to face right from his childhood and up to the time of attaining his adulthood. I didn’t discuss my plan with Harry or Deakins. Harry would undoubtedly have disapproved, he’s such a morally upright fellow, and Deakins wouldn’t have been able to understand why anyone would want to fail an exam. Sometimes you read a book everyone else seems to loveLoveLOVE and then wonder if you bought the same book everyone else did because as far as you're concerned, it stank. For me, that would be this book.

On Sundays I was transported into another world, but I feared this state of delirium could not last forever. Ten days later, I received an I’m sorry to have to inform you letter from Eton. I had only managed 32 per cent. Percy scored 56 per cent and was offered a place for the Michaelmas term, which delighted his father and was met with incredulity by the Frob.

I didn’t press the point with my old man, as I’ve never exactly covered myself in glory in his eyes. I nearly got myself expelled from my prep school for stealing – heaven knows how he managed to fix that – and after that I let him down by failing to get into Eton. I told Papa when I came out of the exam that I couldn’t have tried harder, which was the truth. Well, half the truth. I would have got away with it if my co-conspirator had only kept his mouth shut. At least it taught me a simple lesson: if you make a deal with a fool, don’t be surprised when they act foolishly. Personal note :- Read synopsis before buying a book , no matter what just read the synopsis and save money The biggest reason I enjoyed this book is all of the family secrets. Oh, there are some doozies in here. I don't want to give anything away but there are a lot of secret connections between Harry and some of the other characters in the book and I loved seeing them unraveled throughout the book.

But it will be another twenty years before Harry discovers how his father really died, which will only lead him to question who was his father? 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. In fact I must have seen him at least a dozen times during the next three years, but he was never able to recall any of those occasions, until we met up in Rome. 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. His first novel was written when he was thirty four years of age. Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less was first published in the US and later in Britain by Deborah Owen, a literary agent. This book turned to be the silver lining in the cloud when at the brink of bankruptcy, Jeffrey Archer was able to make quite a fortune from sales. Between the early 80s and 90s this novel went on to be made into both TV and radio adaptations which were aired in BBC television and Radio 4 respectively. Harry Clifton was told that his father was killed in World War I.But later discovers there is more to the story. Could he be the son of someone else,not as poor as he himself was ? Kudos Mr. Archer for this wonderful introduction, with a number of great cliffhangers and dramatic twists. Bring on the next volume, posthaste.