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Wheels of Anarchy – Max Pemberton Thriller on International Terrorism From 1908 Reprinted

First published in 1908, Wheels of Anarchy – The Story of An Assassin was written by Max Pemberton, a friend of Arthur Conan Doyle, from notes of another friend Bertram Fletcher Robinson. Fans of James Bond should take a look at this fascinating novel which makes Bond seem a little tame. Considering it was written at the turn of the last century, the subject of international terrorism is surprisingly modern. A recent review of the reprint is published in this month’s District Messenger.

“Robinson or Pemberton may have discussed the story with their friend Conan Doyle, but the narrator, Bruce Ingersoll, is no Sherlock Holmes. Like the heroes of those other unputdownable Edwardian thrillers The Riddle of the Sands and The Thirty-Nine Steps, he’s an ordinary, decent, educated man with an adventurous streak. The peril he faces is extraordinary and strikingly modern – international terrorism. It’s a gripping tale, grippingly told” Sherlock Holmes Society of London.

The book is available from Amazon USA, Amazon UK and all good bookstores.

Wheels of Anarchy

Wheels of Anarchy - Max Pemberton

 

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Rugby Football History – The Orgins vs The Game Today

I have to admit to being a late convert in life to the game of Rugby – well into my thirties. Coming from a football family I didn’t realise the huge gulf between the preening primadonnas and big money of the modern game of football, and the more gentleman’s game of rugby football. Every game I watch reinforces that it’s all about the game – not the hype around it.

It has been a delight to publish the re-release of ‘Rugby Football in the Nineteenth Century‘ originally published by the Isthmian Library back in the late 1800s when Rugby split into two codes. Here Graeme Marrs M.B.E comments on the book and how historian Paul Spiring has brought this amazing book back for today’s rugby fans:

It is both a privilege and a pleasure to write the Foreword to this fascinating addition to the library of Rugby Books. I am particularly delighted as Bertram Fletcher Robinson was a relation – admittedly much further up the family tree – but a relation nevertheless and one who obviously had the true ethos of the game very much in his heart.  I shudder to think what he would make of today’s game, with its professionalism and all the disadvantages that brings. I admit to being firmly in Will Carling’s ‘Old Farts’ camp. The ‘amateur’ game is for me, albeit one cannot stop progress.

Apart from family, I also connect with Bertram Fletcher Robinson in rugger terms.  He won three Rugby Football Blues for Cambridge University during the early 1890s:  today the Anti Assassins (periodically described as the poor man’s Barbarians!) play Cambridge University at Grange Road every year in the Lent Term:  I just happen to be the current Honorary Secretary of the AAs!

I can only describe this book as a thoroughly entertaining read – not only entertaining but instructive and it gives the reader a thorough insight into how the game was played and the spirit in which it was played at that time.  Paul Spiring has done a splendid job both in researching the subject and producing such a readable volume:  all credit to him.

I commend this book to all – one does not have to be a rugby enthusiast to derive enjoyment from the read, although it should be mandatory reading for all involved with the Rugby Football Union!

The book was released on the 16th February in Europe, USA, and Australia.

Rugby Football In The Nineteenth Century

Rugby Football In The Nineteenth Century

 
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Posted by on February 13, 2010 in Book Launches, Rugby History

 

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