Parson Kelly
In the snowy winter streets of Paris, a retired colonel and a clergyman with a gift for finding trouble become entangled in the most dangerous game in Europe: the Jacobite cause. Nicholas Wogan, bold as brass, and Parson Kelly, whose pious name masks a cunning mind, navigate a world of secret meetings, coded messages, and false friends. A. E. W. Mason, better known for The Four Feathers, crafts a witty tale of political intrigue where the fate of kingdoms hangs on the whims of two unlikely heroes whose friendship survives counter-espionage, imprisonment, and the endless scheming of exiled Stuart claimants. It's a romp through the early 18th century, where comedy of manners clashes with high stakes, and no one is quite what they seem.
Editions
X-Ray
“For the funds will fall and be the ruin of thousands, and when England is sunk into a salutary wretchedness and discontent, then our opportunity will come.””
— A. E. W. Mason
“Her character, Mr. Wogan, is a tender and delicate plant. It will not grow under glass, but in a dark room, where I believe it flourishes most invisibly.””
— A. E. W. Mason
“It is not in truth very difficult to befool a man who does half the fooling himself.””
— A. E. W. Mason
“A Whig is a sort of third sex by itself that combines all the failings of the other two.””
— A. E. W. Mason
“Just as great valorous deeds are the consequence of swords,' here he paused to snuff the candle with his fingers, 'so great philosophic thoughts are the consequence of pens.””
— A. E. W. Mason
