I am on tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club, and today's I have the utmost pleasure in interviewing historical fiction author, Alan Bardos. But before you read the interview, check out Alan's book.
Tensions are reaching boiling point in Europe and the threat of war is imminent.
Johnny Swift, a young and brash diplomatic clerk employed by the British embassy is sent to infiltrate the ‘Young Bosnians’, a group of idealistic conspirators planning to murder Franz Ferdinand. The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in a bid to liberate their country from the monarchy’s grip.
Swift has been having an affair with his employer’s wife, Lady Elizabeth Smyth. Sir George Smyth dispatches the agent on the dangerous mission, believing that it will be the last he will see of his young rival.
The agent manages to infiltrate the Young Bosnian conspirators’ cell, helped by Lazlo Breitner, a Hungarian Civil Servant.
However, Swift soon realises that he may be in over his head. His gambling debts and taste for beautiful women prove the least of his problems as he struggles to survive on his wits in the increasingly complex - and perilous - world of politics and espionage.
Desperate to advance himself and with the lives of a royal couple unexpectedly in his hands, Swift tries to avert catastrophe.
Praise for Assassins
‘A cracking read, highly recommended’ - Roger A Price
‘Written with polished panache, it kept me gripped from the first to last. Five stars from me!’ - A.A. Chaudhuri
‘Part historical fiction, part thriller and part love story, this is a compelling and entertaining read’ - Gary Haynes
What inspired you to start writing?
I’ve always loved stories and history but as I’m dyslexic I had trouble learning to read and so I used to make up my own historical stories. It was also a great way of escaping the reality of having to go to school. It just felt natural to start writing historical stories.
What was the hardest part about writing this book?
The Balkans in 1914, when the book is set, had a very complex history and to understand the events in the novel they had to be shown in the context of the history of the region and the people involved. Trying to capture that accurately and show the various points of view, without turning the novel into too much of a textbook, was very difficult.
Does one of the main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?
That’s a very difficult question to answer, as there are 5 main characters who I hold very dear. My wife wants me to say Lady Elizabeth Smyth, who is a very forthright woman to say the least, but I have to say Johnny Swift my lead character. He’s a social outcast born on the wrong side of the sheets, who constantly gets knocked down, largely in circumstances of his own making, he is brash, reckless and self centred; but he never gives up or gives in. He always keeps trying even if he does occasionally make things worse.
If your book was to be made into a movie, who are the celebrities that would star in it?
Johnny Swift - George MacKay who played William Schofield in 1917, or Josh O'Connor who was Larry in The Durrell and Prince Charles in the Crown. They have the vulnerability, brutality and charm.
Sir George Smyth - Benedict Cumberbatch would be perfect as a Civil Service Napoleon.
Lazlo Breitner - Rami Malek he’d make a great ruthless, misfit and genius.
Lady Elizabeth Smyth - Lily James from Downtown, independent, single minded and aristocratic.
Kati Weisz - Liv Lisa Fries who played Charlotte Ritter in Babylon Berlin, a free spirited, sassy woman with plenty of va va voom.
What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
I’d like a reader to learn something while being entertained, which I think is the aim of every writer of historical fiction. However what I’d really like is for people to have a greater understanding of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie who were extraordinary and complex people, who deserve more than just to be known as people whose deaths started the First World War.
Buy this Book
This book is available to read on #KindleUnlimited
Alan Bardos
Alan Bardos is a graduate of the MA in TV Script Writing at De Montfort University, he also has a degree in Politics and History from Brunel University. Writing historical fiction combines the first great love of his life, making up stories, with the second, researching historical events and characters. Alan currently live in Oxfordshire with his wife… the other great love of his life.
Despite the amount of material that has been written about the twentieth century there is still a great deal of mystery and debate surrounding many of its events, which Alan explores in his historical fiction series using a certain amount of artistic license to fill in the gaps, while remaining historically accurate. The series will chronicle the first half of the twentieth century from the perspective of Johnny Swift, a disgraced and degenerate diplomat and soldier; starting with the pivotal event of the twentieth century, the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in ‘The Assassins’.
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