Assassins - Softcover

Mosley, Nicholas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0749398566 ISBN 13: 9780749398569

Publisher: Random House UK, 1997

Synopsis

As one of the characters in Assassins says, "Tolstoy was right, you can't beat the Gods. It's the small things - the warp and woof - that make up the pattern. And how much influence do we have over the small? Now that's a theme for a modern writer." And Nicholas Mosley is this writer. Part political thriller and part love story, Assassins explores the "small things" that give shape and meaning to the "big events."

About this title

About the Author:

Born in London, Mosley was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford and served in Italy during the Second World War, winning the Military Cross for bravery. He succeeded as 3rd Baron Ravensdale in 1966 and, on the death of his father on 3 December 1980, he also succeeded to the Baronetcy. His father, Sir Oswald Mosley, founded the British Union of Fascists in 1932 and was a supporter of Benito Mussolini. Sir Oswald was arrested in 1940 for his antiwar campaigning, and spent the majority of World War II in prison. As an adult, Nicholas was a harsh critic of his father in "Beyond the Pale: Sir Oswald Mosley and Family 1933-1980" (1983), calling into question his father's motives and understanding of politics. Nicholas' work contributed to the 1998 Channel 4 television programme titled 'Mosley' based on his father's life. At the end of the mini-series, Nicholas is portrayed meeting his father in prison to ask him about his national allegiance. Mosley began to stammer as a young boy, and attended weekly sessions with speech therapist Lionel Logue in order to help him overcome the speech disorder. Mosley says his father claimed never really to have noticed his stammer, but feels Sir Oswald may have been less aggressive when speaking to him than he was towards other people as a result.

Review:

"Mosley writes with a delicate ruthlessness, an acute sense of aftermath; the impression is of a great fund of energy passing through fastidious controls." -- Guardian

"The novel is thoroughly imagined. It is crowded and detailed, yet, Mr. Mosley is able to satisfy the reader that there is no routine padding. The child Mary, awkward, inarticulate, blown here and there by the strong winds of policy, yet demonstrating that there is a sense in which she is somehow stronger than they, makes Mr. Mosley's points for him, and is most movingly realized." -- Times Literary Supplement

"When unmistakably brilliant writing is combined with natural insight, the result is likely to be most impressive. Nicholas Mosley writes realistically, with an admirable craft and surging talent." -- New York Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House UK
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0749398566
• ISBN 13: 9780749398569
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256