by Rob Griffith
Author’s Note
This story is interwoven with historical fact. The portrayal of the Alien Office, The Grand Conspiracy, Robert Fulton and his inventions, and the imprisonment of British nationals by the French on the resumption of the long war between the two countries are all reasonably accurate. For those wanting to know more about the Alien Office I would recommend Elizabeth Sparrow’s Secret Service: British Agents in France, 1792-1815.
The impetus behind writing this novel came from researching Sir Sydney Smith and Captain John Wright, both real people who appeared briefly in Forty Centuries Looking Down, my first novel. Britain’s secret war against Bonaparte is much less well known than perhaps the earlier clandestine campaigns against the Revolutionaries fictionalised by the famous Scarlet Pimpernel, and you’ll note that the Pimpernel’s calling card of a pressed flower was in fact used as a means of identification by the Alien Office and their Royalist allies.
This revised edition of For Our Liberty was prompted by feedback from literary agent Jane Judd. She gave me many useful pointers and, despite the fact that she didn’t take me on as a client after the revision, I would like to thank her for invaluable comments. I would also like to thank my wife, Natalie, once again for her proof-reading and comments. I couldn’t have revised this book without her. Also I would like to thank those readers of the first edition who enjoyed it and spurred me on to try and make it even better, especially my Auntie Pat.
Blackthorne’s next adventure will take him far from the shores of England to South America where he will take an important, if reluctant, role in the British capture of Buenos Aires in 1806. A military operation unauthorised by the government and that, despite initial success, led to a humiliating defeat and ultimately played a part in the creation of the nation of Argentina.
Rob Griffith
Warwick
2013