The Wide World Trilogy

3 primary works Complete

The Ways of the World

by Robert Goddard

Published 4 July 2013

1919. The eyes of the world are on Paris, where statesmen, diplomats and politicians have gathered to discuss the fate of half the world's nations in the aftermath of the cataclysm that was the Great War. A horde of journalists, spies and opportunists have also gathered in the city and the last thing the British diplomatic community needs at such a time is the mysterious death of a senior member of their delegation. So, when Sir Henry Maxted falls from the roof of his mistress's apartment building in unexplained circumstances, their first instinct is to suppress all suspicious aspects of the event. But Sir Henry's son, ex Royal Flying Corps ace James 'Max' Maxted, has other ideas. He resolves to find out how and why his father died - even if this means disturbing the impression of harmonious calm which the negotiating teams have worked so hard to maintain. In a city where countries are jostling for position at the crossroads of history and the stakes could hardly be higher, it is difficult to tell who is a friend and who a foe.And Max will soon discover just how much he needs friends, as his search for the truth sucks him into the dark heart of a seemingly impenetrable mystery.

The Corners of the Globe

by Robert Goddard

Published 3 July 2014

In the second thriller in Robert Goddard's skillfully plotted World War I-era series, The Corners of the Globe, Max is sent on his first mission for legendary German spy Fritz Lemmer--the man who claims responsibility for the murder of Max's father. But as Max travels to Scotland's remote Orkney Islands to collect a mysterious gray file from a German navy captain, he must keep his true allegiances in mind. Meanwhile, in Paris, Max's trusty sidekick and friend Sam Twentyman has been promoted to chief mechanic for the British diplomatic fleet of cars. All is going well until he receives warning that a nefarious element in the Japanese delegation is stirring up trouble--and has reason to believe Sam can help him get what he wants.

With the Germans about to enter the Paris peace negotiations, the need for reconciliation among nations is greater than ever. But there is one secret so explosive that it threatens to endanger the whole treaty, and Max, playing a double-game, is intent on finding out what it is.

The Ends of the Earth

by Robert Goddard

Published 2 July 2015

From the internationally bestselling author and "master of the sly double- and triple-cross" (Seattle Times), Robert Goddard, The Ends of the Earth is the third installment of the James Maxted thriller series, starring a charismatic Royal Fly-ing Corps veteran-turned-spy.

It is 1919, the Treaty of Versailles has been signed, and a team assembled at Max's behest now anxiously awaits his arrival in Tokyo. Max had traveled to Paris after the end of the Great War to investigate the suspicious death of his diplomat father, Sir Henry Maxted, and was soon plunged into a treacherous game of cat and mouse with the people behind the murder: German spymaster Fritz Lemmer and the dark horse of the Japanese diplomatic contingent, Count Tomura. It is in Japan--the country of Max's birth, where Sir Henry worked early in his career--that Max hopes to finally uncover the truth behind his father's de-mise and take down Lemmer's spy network once and for all. But what Max's co-hort doesn't know is that his own story seems to have come to an end in France. Stuck in limbo, the team decides to pursue their only lead--right into Lemmer's den.

Loaded with death threats, knife fights, a kidnapping or two, and a coded list that has the power to dismantle whole governmental hierarchies, this is a masterful work of historical cut-and-thrust that tests the bonds of family and country to their very limit.