{"title":"Books by Imogen Robertson","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781785768477","title":"King of Kings","description":"BOOK 6 IN THE BALLANTYNE SERIES, BY INTERNATIONAL SENSATION WILBUR SMITH'Best historical novelist' - Stephen King 'A master storyteller' - Sunday Times 'Wilbur Smith is one of those benchmarks against whom others are compared' - The Times 'No one does adventure quite like Smith' - Daily MirrorDIVIDED BY WAR. UNITED BY LOVE.   On a beautiful September day, General Penrod Ballantyne and his fiancée, the successful travel writer, Amber Benbrook, stroll hand in hand through the busy streets of Cairo. The future is theirs for the taking. But when Penrod's jealous former lover, Lady Agatha, plants doubt about his character, Amber leaves him and travels to the wilds of Abyssinia with her twin sister, Saffron, and her adventurer husband, Ryder Courtney. On a mission to establish a silver mine, they make the dangerous journey to the new capital of Addis Ababa, where they are welcomed by King Menelik II, the King of Kings. He knows of a plot to invade his beloved Abyssinia, and he needs the Courtneys to help him win.    Back in Cairo, a heartbroken Penrod seeks oblivion in Lady Agatha and the city's opium dens, descending into ruin. He is rescued from himself by an old friend, who is now in the Italian army, and offered the chance restore his honour and to join the military efforts. Italy has designs on Abyssinia, and there are rumours of a plan to invade . . .  With storm clouds gathering, and on opposing sides of the conflict, can Penrod and Amber find their way back to one another - against all the odds?An epic historical adventure of love, betrayal, courage and war. King of Kings brings together two of Wilbur Smith's greatest families, the Courtneys and the Ballantynes in this sequel to his worldwide bestseller, The Triumph of the Sun (Sunday Times, Jul 2018).   The adventures of the Ballantynes and Courtney's continue in Book 7 of the Ballantyne series, Fire on the Horizon, available now.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205052072114,"sku":"9781785768477","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781785768477.jpg?v=1786025603"},{"product_id":"9780751578805","title":"The House","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A prescient page-turner about secrets, lies, ruthless ambition and betrayal' SARAH VAUGHAN\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A rare view from the inside of the Machiavellian machinations for power  . . . Fascinating' HARRIET TYCE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn their remarkable debut political thriller, Tom Watson, former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, and Imogen Robertson open the doors to The House, a place of ambition, hope, friendship . . . and betrayal.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOnce allies, Labour MP Owen McKenna and Conservative Minister Philip Bickford now face each other across the House of Commons as bitter enemies. Then the reappearance of a figure from their past forces them to confront the choices that led to the tragic downfall of their former housemate, Jay.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLate one night, Owen receives a visit from a lobbyist who promises to protect him from the consequences of his actions in exchange for one, small favour - or to have his reputation and career utterly destroyed if he refuses. But that favour will sell out everything Owen believes in.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs rivals gather and whispers of wrongdoing fill the corridors of Westminster, it's clear that someone knows the truth about Jay's Icarus-like fall from grace. Now, the former friends must face one terrible truth...\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSomeone is responsible, and a reckoning is overdue.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ePolitics red in tooth and claw. Watson and Robertson capture, with scalpel precision, the neurotic allure of the Westminster power game\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e' LUKE JENNINGS \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'F\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eew people know more about what goes on behind the political scenes than Watson, and it is all unveiled here, in a snappy, twisty page-turner' HOLLY WATT \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43206078628018,"sku":"9780751578805","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780751578805_b036f57e-079d-4137-a299-137666b9edaa.jpg?v=1786015960"},{"product_id":"9781838776886","title":"Fire on the Horizon","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA BATTLE FOR THE HEART OF A COUNTRY AT WAR WITH ITSELF\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePraise for Wilbur Smith\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A \u003cb\u003emaster storyteller\u003c\/b\u003e' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'No one does\u003cb\u003e adventure \u003c\/b\u003equite like Smith' \u003ci\u003eDaily Mirror\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Best historical novelist\u003c\/b\u003e' Stephen King  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSouth Africa, 1899 - the smouldering hostility between the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State and the British colonies of the Cape and Natal is about to burst into flame. War is coming and no one can prevent it. Colonel Penrod Ballantyne, hero of Abu Klea and Omdurman, is sent to Mafeking, 'the place of stones', to recruit and train men for the fighting ahead. Amber, his wife, the successful novelist, accompanies him - eager to see more of the country her husband is about to risk his life for. But when war is declared, Amber must flee with their baby son and pray for her husband's survival against impossible odds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEight hundred miles to the south, in Cape Town, Ryder Courtney - adventurer, maverick, industrialist - is using his wealth and connections to bankroll the British war effort. His artist wife Saffron, frustrated by stuffy Cairo society, has joined him with their three children. There is peace in the Courtney household, or so Saffron believes, until their eldest son, Leon, stows away on a train to the front line, determined to join his distinguished uncle, Penrod Ballantyne, in changing the course of history. Saffron and Ryder have no choice but to leave the safety of the Cape Colony and follow. Leon is convinced that his parents are without honour and courage. Little does he realise that he has no chance of escaping the people they used to be.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwo families torn apart, caught up in a battle for the heart of a country at war with itself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA NEW BOOK IN THE LONG-RUNNING EPIC HISTORICAL SAGA OF THE COURTNEY FAMILY FROM WILBUR SMITH IN WHICH THE COURTNEYS AND THE BALLANTYNES COME TOGETHER ONCE AGAIN IN THE SEQUEL TO WORLDWIDE BESTSELLERS THE TRIUMPH OF THE SUN AND KING OF KINGS.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReaders are loving FIRE ON THE HORIZON:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e'Gripping, thrilling and heartwarming'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReader review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Great book, hard to put down'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReader review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Nobody knew the history of Africa like Wilbur did'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReader review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Absolutely brilliant from beginning to end with a nice twist'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReader review\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":55205977489781,"sku":"9781838776886","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":57685751136629,"sku":"9781838776862","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781838776886_8b7cb30c-d96d-4e15-b0f9-7bf87670bf3f.jpg?v=1792598924"},{"product_id":"9780755348411","title":"Instruments of Darkness","description":"\u003cp\u003e'Makes you want to read every word...serpentine and satisfying' \u003ci\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThornleigh Hall, seat of the Earl of Sussex, dominates its surroundings. Its heir is missing, and the once vigorous family is reduced to a cripple, his whore and his alcoholic second son, but its power endures. \u003cbr\u003eImpulsive Harriet Westerman has felt the Hall's menace long before she happens upon a dead man bearing the Thornleigh arms. The grim discovery cries out for justice, and she persuades reclusive anatomist Gabriel Crowther to her cause, much against his better judgement; he knows a dark path lies before those who stray from society's expectations. That same day, Alexander Adams is killed in a London music shop, leaving his young children orphaned. His death will lead back to Sussex, and an explosive secret that has already destroyed one family and threatens many others.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56298763092341,"sku":"9780755348411","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780755348411_ee3bec38-6eed-4896-b4de-f4340236b7b8.jpg?v=1786016000"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-imogen-robertson.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}