A gripping espionage thriller about an establishment plot to take control of 1970s Britain, by a writer who is 'poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carre'

'Edward Wilson seems poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carre' Irish Independent

'More George Smiley than James Bond, Catesby will delight those readers looking for less blood and more intelligence in their spy thrillers' Publishers Weekly

March, 1976. A secret plot unfolds on both sides of the Atlantic to remove the British prime minister from power.

1947: As a hungry Britain freezes through a harsh winter, a young cabinet minister makes a deal with Moscow, trading jet engines for grain and wood.

1951: William Catesby executes a Nazi war criminal in the ruins of a U-boat bunker. The German turns out be a CIA asset.

Both men have made powerful enemies in Washington, and their fates become entwined as one rises through MI6 and the other to Downing Street. Now the ghosts of the past are returning to haunt them. A coup d'etat is imminent, and only Catesby stands in its way.

'A fantastic read' Culture Matters

'Le Carre fans will find a lot to like' Publishers Weekly

'The best espionage story you'll read this year or any other' Crime Review

Praise for Edward Wilson:


'Stylistically sophisticated . . . Wilson knows how to hold the reader's attention' W.G. Sebald

'A reader is really privileged to come across something like this' Alan Sillitoe

'All too often, amid the glitzy gadgetry of the spy thriller, all the fast cars and sexual adventures, we lose sight of the essential seriousness of what is at stake. John le Carre reminds us, often, and so does Edward Wilson' Independent

About the Author
Edward Wilson is a native of Baltimore. He studied International Relations on a US Army scholarship and later served as a Special Forces officer in Vietnam. He received the Army Commendation Medal with 'V' for his part in rescuing wounded Vietnamese soldiers from a minefield. His other decorations include the Bronze Star and the Combat Infantryman's Badge. After leaving the Army, Wilson became an expatriate and gave up US nationality to become a British citizen. He has also lived and worked in Germany and France, and was a post-graduate student at Edinburgh University. He now lives in Suffolk where he taught English and Modern Languages for thirty years.


Book Information
ISBN 9781529426144
Author Edward Wilson
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Arcadia Books
Publisher Quercus Publishing
Weight(grams) 260g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 128mm * 26mm