Simon Fonthill
1 primary work • 7 total works
Book 5
North West India, July 1897. Simon and Alice Fonthill are travelling with their old friend Jenkins to Marden, India for an anniversary party with the Guides Corps. But when they are ambushed on their journey, they realise that the land may not be as peaceful as they first believed. On arrival at Marden their suspicions are confirmed when they are told of fresh trouble from the Pathans leading Simon and Jenkins join the charge to protect a nearby Fort. Their respite is short-lived when Simon is tasked by Viceroy Elgin to deliver a very important letter to the Amir in Kabul; it is agreed that Alice will accompany them as far as fort Landi Kotal in the Khyber Pass. With Simon in Kabul, the Pathans attack the Pass and Alice is kidnapped by the Mullah leading the revolt, so Simon must battle against time and incredible odds to rescue his wife.
The year is 1900 and China is plunged into barbaric chaos. The Boxers, a cult of young peasants who blame the foreign barbarians living in their country, particularly the missionaries, for the nation's ills, are rampaging through the country, killing foreigners. China's Dowager Empress The Dragon Lady secretly encourages them into this maelstrom land, Simon, Alice and Jenkins, as they are enroute to visit Alice's uncle, a country missionary. Threatened by the Boxers, the three escort the missionary and his family to the safety of Peking. En route, the party is attacked by the red-bannered Boxers and the missionary is killed. The survivors reach Peking only to find that the capital is no sanctuary. The Legations of the foreign ministers within the city is surrounded and the Siege of Peking begins. Fonthill, Jenkins and Chang, the missionary's adopted son, volunteer to slip through the enemy lines to bring help. It proves to be Fonthill's most dangerous mission...
1903. The British Empire has reached its probable apogee: so much of the world map is coloured red and the sun never set on its boundaries. But Lord Curzon, the ambitious Viceroy of India, has different views. Tibet, the mountainous region on the Raj's borders, irritates him: the Dalai Lama never replies to his letters and border disputes multiply.He decides to invade and recruits Simon Fonthill, veteran of so many of 'Queen Victoria's Little Wars,' to lead 2000 men over the ice-bound Himalayan passes to Lhasa. Fonthill sets out on another expedition with his wife Alice, reporting for the Morning Post, and his old comrade, '352' Jenkins.It is machine guns against muskets as the cruel and brave monks, fighting on their own terrain among the clouds, oppose the invasion. When Alice is captured, treachery is revealed, and Fonthill and Jenkins must gallop to her aid in their most arduous and thrilling adventure yet.
1914. Simon Fonthill, a fit 59-year-old, is visiting his farm in Northern Rhodesia when the Great War breaks out. With him, as always, is his wife Alice, but also his old comrade and former batman, 352 Jenkins, holidaying with them after the marriage of his two step-daughters in South Africa. Fonthill immediately cables his old boss Kitchener, the newly appointed Minister for War in the British Cabinet, offering his services in the fight against the Kaiser's Germany. However, he is instructed to remain in Africa in case of warfare in German East Africa. When war does break out, Fonthill proves his worth in a battle that proves to be equally frightful to the one in Europe and, indeed, to last even longer than that on the Western Front.
1900. South Africa. Simon Fonthill, along with his wife Alice, old friend Jenkins, and tracker Mzingeli, is travelling across the continent to Pretoria to meet with General Kitchener. When their train is derailed by hostile Boer forces the quartet are forced to continue their journey on horseback, but are quickly targeted and surrounded by Boer commando leader General de Wet and his soldiers. Fonthill must rejoin the British military and prove his ability as a commander, as he leads the battle to find and capture the elusive Boer leaders.
Simon Fonthill, his wife Alice and trusty '352' Jenkins are bound from the Chinese port of Tientsin for Durban, South Africa at the urgent request of Kitchener. The rusty tub that is to take them across the sea does not inspire confidence and, more worryingly, neither does the captain. When matters come to a head, all three must pull together to ensure that their plans and lives aren't wrecked.