The Richard Davey Chronicles
3 primary works
Book 1
'Needing Napoleon' is a remarkably original feat of imagination: an irresistible adventure that spirits the reader from present-day Paris to the battle of Waterloo and beyond.
Can you change what has already happened? As a history teacher, Richard Davey knows the answer. At least, he thinks he does. On holiday in Paris, he stumbles across a curious antiques shop. The eccentric owner reveals a secret Richard dares not believe. Richard's conviction that Napoleon Bonaparte should have won the Battle of Waterloo could be put to the test. Accurate historical detail collides with the paradox of time travel as an ordinary twenty-first-century man is plunged into the death throes of the French empire.
Can you change what has already happened? As a history teacher, Richard Davey knows the answer. At least, he thinks he does. On holiday in Paris, he stumbles across a curious antiques shop. The eccentric owner reveals a secret Richard dares not believe. Richard's conviction that Napoleon Bonaparte should have won the Battle of Waterloo could be put to the test. Accurate historical detail collides with the paradox of time travel as an ordinary twenty-first-century man is plunged into the death throes of the French empire.
Book 2
‘Serving Shaka’ is a dramatic evocation of Zulu nation-building, immersing the reader in vivid battle scenes, poignant relationships and tense political machinations.
Having masterminded Napoleon Bonaparte’s escape from St Helena with his friend Emile Béraud in Needing Napoleon, history teacher Richard Davey now finds himself stranded on the African coast. Richard and Emile encounter Shaka Zulu, a leader even more ruthless and ambitious than the former French emperor. Richard’s secret, that he is from the future, is revealed; Bonaparte seeks to outmanoeuvre Shaka; and Emile joins the nascent Zulu army. Buffeted by the birth pangs of nation-building, Richard tries to exert his influence and retain his sense of self, relying on half-remembered lectures from two hundred years in the future.
Having masterminded Napoleon Bonaparte’s escape from St Helena with his friend Emile Béraud in Needing Napoleon, history teacher Richard Davey now finds himself stranded on the African coast. Richard and Emile encounter Shaka Zulu, a leader even more ruthless and ambitious than the former French emperor. Richard’s secret, that he is from the future, is revealed; Bonaparte seeks to outmanoeuvre Shaka; and Emile joins the nascent Zulu army. Buffeted by the birth pangs of nation-building, Richard tries to exert his influence and retain his sense of self, relying on half-remembered lectures from two hundred years in the future.
Book 3
‘Rescuing Richard’ is a breathless quest that sweeps the reader from the blood-soaked battlefields of Zululand to the corridors of power in Regency London.
Richard is astonished when Shaka appoints him to his inner council, where he vies for influence with his friend, Napoleon Bonaparte. Drawn to a feisty, intelligent young Zulu woman, Richard wrestles with his conscience while confronting betrayal and colonial adventurers exploiting the land he is sworn to protect. Having helped equip the Zulu army with artillery, he is sent as ambassador to the court of King George, where he defends Zulu interests while trying to help an old acquaintance escape an abusive relationship.
Richard is astonished when Shaka appoints him to his inner council, where he vies for influence with his friend, Napoleon Bonaparte. Drawn to a feisty, intelligent young Zulu woman, Richard wrestles with his conscience while confronting betrayal and colonial adventurers exploiting the land he is sworn to protect. Having helped equip the Zulu army with artillery, he is sent as ambassador to the court of King George, where he defends Zulu interests while trying to help an old acquaintance escape an abusive relationship.