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This Was a Man
683 pages
A sweeping, bittersweet farewell to a beloved family, packed with boardroom battles, political secrets, and emotional goodbyes.
What it feels like
Reading this final chapter of a sprawling saga feels like attending a grand, bittersweet reunion. The narrative moves at a brisk, page-turning clip, effortlessly weaving together high-stakes political maneuvering in Whitehall, cutthroat banking rivalries, and intimate domestic tragedies. The mood is both triumphant and nostalgic, colored by the inevitable passage of time and the weight of legacy. Archer's prose is characteristically accessible and plot-forward, keeping the momentum high with cliffhangers and dramatic reveals, yet it slows down to honor the emotional weight of a shocking terminal diagnosis. It is a deeply satisfying, tear-jerking conclusion designed for readers who love immersing themselves in the soapy, suspenseful, and historically rich lives of the British upper crust.
- Mood
- sweeping
- tense
- bittersweet
- triumphant
- Tone
- dramatic
- earnest
- suspenseful
- nostalgic
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- legacy and inheritance · political maneuvering · family loyalty · the passage of time · ambition and rivalry · facing mortality
- The writing
- Accessible, plot-forward, and dialogue-heavy, prioritizing narrative momentum over lyrical flourish.
- The arc
- Moves from high-stakes suspense and political intrigue to a deeply emotional, bittersweet culmination of a lifelong family saga.
- Who it's for
- Fans of sprawling, multi-generational British family sagas who love a mix of boardroom drama, political intrigue, and soap-opera twists.
Content notes
- terminal illness
- grief
- gun violence
- suicide
About the book
"This Was a Man opens with a shot being fired, but who pulled the trigger, and who lives and who dies? In Whitehall, Giles Barrington discovers the truth about his wife Karin from the Cabinet Secretary. Is she a spy or a pawn in a larger game? Harry Clifton sets out to write his magnum opus, while his wife Emma completes her ten years as Chairman of the Bristol Royal Infirmary, and receives an unexpected call from Margaret Thatcher offering her a job. Sebastian Clifton becomes chairman of Farthings Kaufman bank, but only after Hakim Bishara has to resign for personal reasons. Sebastian and Samantha's talented daughter, Jessica, is expelled from the Slade School of Fine Art, but her aunt Grace comes to her rescue. Meanwhile, Lady Virginia is about to flee the country to avoid her creditors when the Duchess of Hertford dies, and she sees another opportunity to clear her debts and finally trump the Cliftons and Barringtons. In a devastating twist, tragedy engulfs the Clifton family when one of them receives a shocking diagnosis that will throw all their lives into turmoil. This Was a Man is the captivating final installment of the Clifton Chronicles, a series of seven novels that has topped the bestseller lists around the world, and enhanced Jeffrey Archer's reputation as a master storyteller"--
Description from Open Library.
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