Act of Oblivion explores the notorious Regicides Edward Whalley and William Goffe in 1660 following the murder of King Charles 1. They are identified as committing treason and regicide. They flee to the new world on a tedious journey to the unknown. They travel to Cambridge Massachusetts and Boston sheltering with sympathetic Puritans. They are pursued by Richard Naylor, Secretary of the regicide committee of The Privy Council is appointed to bring those deemed responsible for the King's murder -all 59 of them under the Act of Oblivion. Naylor is determined and driven Royalist with a personal grudge against Goffe & Whalley.
Religion is a backdrop and Harris captures the issues of the time within the story and really contextualises the differing views of the two sides. With a great eye for detail, he describes the awful conditions that individuals undertook travelling to America, not knowing if they would reach their destination.
A great insight into this period of history. Harris is a master storyteller who is the king of characters. Goffe and Whalley will stay with you long after you finish reading this. He never disappoints.

A full historical account of Colonels Edward Whalley and William Goffe following the restoration of the English monarchy in 1660. The council and King Charles II hunted down those who played a part in the death of CharlesI. Some fact, some fiction, all interesting.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

An exhilarating and totally satisfying read. I read it breakneck fast, such a brutally good page-turner. Yet another fine outing from a master of thrillers. It hits the ground running and the pace never misses a beat. An absolutely gripping thriller that will keep you reading late into the night, unable to put the book down for a second.

When I reviewed V2, I talked about the way Harris finds small snippets of history and turns them into remarkeable novels. With Act of Oblivion, he's done it again!

The novels about the Restoration of the monarchy, with the government hunting down and executing the people that signed Charles 1st death warrant.

The novel follows Richard Nayler, head of teh Regicide Committe, as he tracks down two Roundhead Colonels, Edward Whalley and William Goffe. It's a very personal story of revenge and obsession, sweeping across England, the American colonies and Europe as Nayler tries ot find the Colonels and mete out what he sees as justice.

The deeply held beliefs of the puritans and the life of colonials in America provide fascinating detail and richness to the novel.

Final verdict - highly recommended whether you're Rober Harris fans or not. The book also works even if you don't read historical fiction

At times this read more like non-fiction, which meant I didn't become as involved with the characters as I'd have liked to, but I did really enjoy the story, which was meticulously researched and about something I knew little about. Overall I enjoyed it very much.

A novel steeped in history, telling the story of one man’s quest to find the murderers of King Charles the 1st.
A mixture of fact and fiction, this is an interesting and exciting book by Robert Harris, who’s research is as meticulous as usual.
However, there was a lot of information to take in regarding the politics/religious views of the time as well as a lot of characters - so this took some concentration on my part!
The ending was most satisfying and I’d like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Having grown up thinking I knew a fair bit about the Roundheads and the Cavaliers it turns out that I was mistaken.
Act of Oblivion is a novel that was a real voyage of discovery for me. The subject matter is about what happened in the period after the execution of Charles I and one man’s pursuit of the signatories of the King’s death warrant. In England and Europe most of the culprits were brought to account and executed. Naylor, the story’s main protagonist, was charged with the task of hunting down two signatories, Ned and Will who it was thought had escaped to the colonies. Naylor’s vengeful quest to track them down is an adventure story which depicts the violence and danger of the times, but also the endless boredom of being hidden from sight and the ever present anxiety and fear of discovery. For me a thoroughly immersive and enjoyable read.

This is not my normal type of read but I have read this author before so I knew he was good. I found this book very heavy on the history but balanced out by the actual fart paced edge of your seat thriller. It isn’t a book you can read in little chunks. Take the time to sit down and immerse yourself in the story it’s so worth it. Very good indeed.

As usual it was well written and researched but not that exciting imo. And I disliked all the characters - religious fanatics and/or simply nasty on both sides. I like most of Robert Harris's books but this one left me cold.

A well written and interesting depiction of 17th century England and the New World colonies in America. England had been through such turbulent times with Civil War and the execution of Charles I and then everything switched round again and the heroes became the villains. Two of the men who signed the death warrant for Charles I are still at large and Richard Naylor is tasked with finding them and putting them to a terrible death as decreed under the Act of Oblivion. The historical details are remarkable giving a real insight into life in Connecticut then as well as England, and just what people will endure for their faith.

This is a serious study of the search for two of the regicides, the men who signed the execution warrant for Charles 1. On one side is the hunter a government official in Charles 11 court given the task of hunting down and bringing to a grisly end each of the miscreant names. Virtually all are captured and their demise is graphically described. Two of the men escape to the new colonies of America and their lives in hiding form the main part of the tale which basically consists of hiding in various rooms then moving on when a hint of discovery arises. Somewhat turgid at times but some details of Oliver Cromwell, the plague and Great Fire of London liven it up. Not the author’s best work but ultimately interesting.

Robert Harris has a knack for finding lesser known bits of history and weaving fascinating stories out of them. This time he has chosen the aftermath of the English civil war and restoration of the monarchy. With a king back on the throne, those who signed the execution warrant of Charles 1st are now in line for brutal capital punishment themselves. Whilst most are captured, two managed to escape to America - at that time a fledgling colony. The two men - Ned and Will - must rely on the help of strangers to evade their pursuers. On the other side, Richard Nayler (the only completely fictional major character, according to Harris) is the man in charge of hunting them down. Nayler is not just following orders - he has a personal vendetta against the pair.

The novel is told from multiple viewpoints, although mainly those of Ned, Will, Nayler, and Frances - the daughter of Ned and wife of Will. The narrative has an irritating habit of switching between them without clear signposting (a new chapter or even an asterisk) which can be confusing and jarring. None of the men is wholly sympathetic or wholly villainous - in fact, by the end I felt like both sides of the whole royalist/parliamentarian battle were in the wrong. The more moderate, gentler Ned was my favourite of the three. The narrative has plenty of descriptions of the horrible things done by both sides in general. The question that came to my mind - and indeed ultimately to at least one of the characters - was that none of it had been worth it.

Harris does have a gift for creating exciting, tense stories out of what should be fairly dull material - his trilogy of books about Cicero being great examples. Oddly though in this case, he manages to do the opposite, and produce a rather slow narrative despite the eventful nature of the source material . Perhaps because I didn't strongly identify with any of the characters I felt less invested and anxious about their fates. Whilst the writing style is always well crafted and readable - you'd expect nothing less of Harris - it often felt a bit of a chore to read and I had to tell myself to pick it up rather than eagerly diving in.

Certainly it has increased my knowledge of a period of history I know nothing but the most bare of facts about. The bits about the early days of America were also very interesting and how the hunt for the regicides impacted on certain critical events that shaped the country we know now (or at least, as Harris tells it, they did). As I had no knowledge of the real history, I didn't know what would happen, and I resisted reading anything factual about what really took place that might spoil the plot.

If you enjoy historical fiction, this is a bit different from many of the novels in that genre in terms of setting. It is slow, and I miss the tension and excitement of many of Harris' other books. If you like thrillers, you might feel let down by this particular novel (try Harris' 'The Ghost' or 'The Fear Index' instead). Nevertheless, I felt I learned something from it and it was quite readable.

Unfortunately not the best Robert Harris book that I have read despite him obviously having done a huge amount of research. It starts well, but based on fact, it then becomes slow and repetitious. Harris uses Whalley's memoire to add more interest especially his re-evaluation of his blind faith in doing God's will. The story is basically about 2 men hiding in various attics or cellars for 20 years hardly seeing anybody.
I'm sure many people will enjoy it from a historical viewpoint but not enough story for me. I still look forward to Harris's next book as I have really enjoyed them in the past.

Set shortly after the Restoration, Act of Oblivion focuses on the pursuit by the new government of anyone who had a hand in the execution of Charles I, and, in particular, the former military leaders, Edward Whalley and, his son-in-law, William Goffe.

The hunt for the fugitives is pursued obsessively by Richard Naylor, secretary to the Regicide Committee, who bears a personal grudge against the two men. The action takes place both in England where Frances, daughter of Edward and wife to William, remains with her children, and America to which the wanted men have fled.

As usual, Harris has based his fiction on meticulous research and he succeeds in bringing the world of seventeenth century England and America vividly to life, particularly the close-knit Puritan community, once so powerful in England, now marginalised and under suspicion.

What I found particularly interesting was the insight the novel offered into the lives of the early settlers in America and their close links with the communities they had left behind in England, links which inclined them to provide assistance to the regicides even at great personal cost.

Nail-biting from the very first page, and Harris’s best book for a long time in my opinion, Act of Oblivion is a rich and compelling examination of a fascinating chapter of English history.

I have read most of Robert Harris's books and found this one slightly hard going by comparison with most of his others. It is a very detailed historical account of the escape to a fledgling America of two of the (actual) Puritan signatories to Charles 1's death warrant and their somewhat repetitive attempts to remain in hiding from their Royalist pursuers, headed by the fictional Richard Nayler. The novel is extraordinarily well researched but stretching the time frame over nearly twenty years means things drag on a bit. The ending when it comes seemed something of an anti-climax to me, as if the novel had just suddenly ground to a halt.

Nonetheless, it well worth a read, even if not one of Robert Harris's very best. Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for providing a pre-publication review copy.

I'm a huge fan of Robert Harris and this one doesn't disappoint. It is a story of pursuit, determination, perserverence, hardship and family. Cromwell supporters and fugitive regicides pursued across decades and continents. The rise and fall of Cromwell and the Civil Wars brilliantly told and fast paced. Historical fiction isn't usually my first choice, but this one certainly is, it is superb.

This was a fantastic epic tale based in the 1600’s of a chase which spanned the world.

Incredibly well written and researched - it was incredible to read. A truly unique novel.

A good piece of historical fiction that will appeal to people who like his other works. A very good introduction to the Civil War and Restoration period in England and the New England colonies. Perhaps slightly weak in narrative in places which is more a result of the long time period being covered and paucity of source material. The plot is based around the hunt for two of the regicides that signed the death warrant for Charles I.
A few tracts lost interest like the repeated running away from trouble but overall a good read

Immersion into lived history : The Civil War, and the Restoration

For me, Robert Harris is at his absolute best when he writes novels about closely researched, highly dramatic moments or periods of history.

As he does here. I was as thoroughly gripped by this as by my up-till-now favourite, An Officer and A Spy. It’s neck and neck for me, with these two.

This one is a visceral manhunt, both violent and hugely thoughtful, philosophical.

The period covered is the English Civil War, the trial and execution of Charles 1st, the Interregnum, the Restoration and beyond to 1674. The main thrust of the book is the search for, capture and brutal killings (public hanging, drawing, quartering) of some of those who had been involved in the bringing to trial, judgement, and execution of the king. The search for those involved spread over many years, outside the UK, to Protestant Europe where some of the Puritans had fled, and, in this book, primarily to America, to Connecticut, New Haven and Massachusetts.

In his foreword, Harris tells us that all the characters existed – except for one of the 3 main characters, the obsessive Richard Naylor, Royalist, leading the manhunt for personal reasons. As Harris points out though, the Manhunt itself went on, he has just invented one character to give us personal thrust and character to the story of the search for two high ranking officers in Cromwell’s New Model Army, Edward Whalley, and William Goffe who had secretly fled to America, and were pursued over many years.

This has the intensity of a thriller, with the fact that ‘this really did happen’ only adding to the tension.

I learned a lot of history along with reading this wonderfully dramatic, immersive, novel.

Highly, highly recommended. I received this as a digital ARC, from the publishers, via NetGalley

Robert Harris as always writes with authority and pasion about events and takes me into a part of history that I had no idea had taken place.
This book is a totally absorbing account of the hunt to track down those who signed the death warrant of King Charles 1st.
Told with compassion, Harris takes us through the strain of a life on the run, the bravery of those who help and the doubts of Colonel Whalley as he looks back on his life with Cromwell.