The Candlemass Road
 First edition (UK) | |
| Author | George MacDonald Fraser |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | historical fiction |
| Publisher | Harvill Press (UK) HarperCollins (US) |
Publication date | 1993 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Pages | 156 |
The Candlemass Road is a historical novel from George MacDonald Fraser set in the time of the Border Reivers, a period Fraser had earlier written about in The Steel Bonnets and would later return to in The Reavers.[1][2]
Fraser later described it as "a rather dark morality tale - at least I meant it to have a moral - in what I hope was a reasonable imitation of Elizabethan English".[3]
The author said he had another purpose in writing the book, to emphasise the decline in law and order. "We're becoming a nation of broken men," he told a journalist. "Now that the law fails to protect us, people have just got to look out for themselves - within the custom of the country, which is not necessarily within the law."[4]
The book is mentioned in the film All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane.
Reception
The Washington Post said "Readers who enjoy a snatch of history brought to life will enjoy this brief but fascinating tale. However, the slightness of the plot, along with the old-fashioned treatment of point of view and the lack of character development, will leave those looking for a satisfying story disappointed."[5]
References
- ^ Stanley Reynolds, "George MacDonald Fraser: He created Harry Flashman, tormentor of Tom Brown turned comical anti-hero", The Guardian, 4 January 2008 accessed 23 November 2012
- ^ Books: Reiving up on the Borders Cameron, David. The Daily Telegraph09 Oct 1993: 27.
- ^ George MacDonald Fraser, The Light's On at Signpost, HarperCollins 2002 p311
- ^ Lord, Graham (11 December 1993). "Writing on the border line". The Daily Telegraph. p. 69.
- ^ "FICTION: THE CANDLEMASS ROAD By George MacDonald Fraser Harvill/HarperCollins. 180 pp. $20". The Washington Post. 22 January 1995.
External links
- Review of novel at Washington Post
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Works by George MacDonald Fraser
- Flashman (1969)
- Royal Flash (1970)
- Flash for Freedom! (1971)
- Flashman at the Charge (1973)
- Flashman in the Great Game (1975)
- Flashman's Lady (1977)
- Flashman and the Redskins (1982)
- Flashman and the Dragon (1985)
- Flashman and the Mountain of Light (1990)
- Flashman and the Angel of the Lord (1994)
- Flashman and the Tiger (1999)
- Flashman on the March (2005)
- Mr American (1980)
- The Pyrates (1983)
- The Candlemass Road (1993)
- Black Ajax (1997)
- The Reavers (2007)
- Captain in Calico (2015)
- The General Danced at Dawn (1970)
- McAuslan in the Rough (1974)
- The Sheikh and the Dustbin (1988)
- The Steel Bonnets (1971)
- The Hollywood History of the World (1988, revised 1996)
- Quartered Safe Out Here (1992)
- The Light's on at Signpost (2002)
- The Three Musketeers (1973)
- The Four Musketeers (1974)
- Royal Flash (1975)
- The Prince and the Pauper (1977)
- Force 10 from Navarone (1978) (uncredited)
- Ashanti (1979) (uncredited)
- Superman II (1980) (uncredited)
- Octopussy (1983)
- Red Sonja (1985)
- Casanova (1987) (TV)
- The Return of the Musketeers (1989)
