art by Ileana Hunter. Design by Ash Collins
The Kensington Quartet; Four Charlotte Holmes mysteries set in Europe during the Great War.
Europe - 1918.
The Great powers convene in Versailles to decide the fate of Germany and Charlotte attends, with Dr Watan, as a delegate to assist the British envoy in the negotiations.
Complications arise when the conference is disturbed by the appearance of Princess Anastasia, the last remaining Romanov, who asserts her right to be recognised
as the head of the Russian state.
Our investigators are tasked with proving her identity whilst dealing with the return of Prof. Schaeffer, their arch nemesis from Munich, who is advising the German delegates.
Branwell returns to India with his family and is charged by the Maharajah of Lahore to take his grandson to the Golden Temple in Amritsar for anointment as heir. Secret agents are plotting to kill the would-be heir and Branwell must use all his guile to outwit them.
Little do they realise they are travelling to a rendezvous with history, a spark that will consume the Empire.
Revenge lights the fuse for continued European conflict and the demise of the British Raj.
Author's Notes - Spoiler Warning
The story picks up two years after the events of book 7, A Summer at the Somme, and deals with the outcome of the Great War.
In this book I wanted to explore the Treaty of Versailles which sowed the seeds for World War 2 by using the device of the resurrected Grand Duchess Anastasia. This also allowed me to explore Emily's character by re-introducing an old flame of hers and her clashes with Charlotte. In addition it allowed me to develop Charlotte's character further & set her up for the next quartet of books.
The second strand dealt with Branwell as he returned to India to find himself displaced, this was a continuing theme to strip him of his certainities as a means to rebuild the character. His, Lauren & Durga's journey ends at a critical point in Indian history, the Amritsar massascre, leading to a fundemental change in the characters relationships.
The main theme here was change, though the Great War heralded the demise of the Austro-Hungarian, the British didn't realise it was also the start of the decline of their Empire, marked by the Amritsar massacre.
Enjoy!
