This Was a Man: The Final Volume of The Clifton Chronicles Kindle Edition

As always lots of twist and turns. Mostly happy endings. But in the end I cried. Now to find something else to read.

The finale to the Clifton Chronicles, Archer manages to keep you glued to the pages even though it's the seventh book. His character building and touches of humor and humanity keep you wanting more. The story takes a full U turn to create a curtain call on all the characters. Its raw, its humorous, its entertaining, its Archer

After Book 4 of The Clifton Chronicles, Be Careful What You Wish For, I posited that perhaps Jeffrey Archer was going to take the Chronicles far enough into the 20th century that DNA evidence would reveal if the Cliftons and Barringtons were related more closely than marriage. In the last 50 pages or so, the permanent secretary to Emma Clifton, now Minister of Health under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, mentions the new work coming out of America on DNA. The results are revealed later in a line or two and the story just continues.The finale covers 24 years concluding in 1992. At that point, does it really matter? Giles Barrington and Harry are 72, Emma 71. It was hard imagining them at that age.The last pages were written beautifully by Archer and I did shed a tear.However, as we went one last time through the lives of Sebastian and Samantha, the wild adventures of their now college-age daughter, Jessica, (and now there’s a second child, Jake); Giles and Karin (she lives after the cliffhanger end of Book 6, Cometh the Hour), Grace Barrington, Lady Virginia Fenwick, and Harry and Emma, I found myself wondering “so what?”This was particularly the case with the nefarious Fenwick. Her scheme to defraud a Louisiana businessman by having him pay support for her alleged child by him is uncovered. She is involved in two more schemes. One, Giles has to recruit her for Sebastian and Farthings Kaufman Bank, who decide to help the evil Demond Muller, who was imprisoned, while the “eviler” Adrian Sloane got off scot free in a scheme against the bank. Sebastian ends up having to go to Chicago in search of Muller’s estranged daughter, who is listed as the sole heir. He finds a woman with a child in an abusive relationship and rescues them. She and Fenwick have already worked out a plot.Even worse, Fenwick zeroes in on a widower duke at the wife’s funeral, in order to get money to pay a debt, and marries him, envisioning inheritance. The family gets the better of her, but somehow Virginia still ends up ahead. Why? When was she going to get her due? But, did we need any more of her in the penultimate edition? What did this add to the story?A nice thing happens to Freddie, the “fake child” she has stashed in a boarding school and had her brother tend to, never visiting. Giles and Karin adopt him, though Giles and Freddie’s love of cricket may have played a role. :)Another special moment is Emma and Giles debating the merits of the new health bill in the House of Commons, Emma from the Conservative view representing the government, Giles from the Labour side. Would Giles experience and oratory win out over Emma’s measured delivery and facts?The politics of the family fascinated me. Harry overcame his poverty as a child to attend good schools and become a world renowned writer of detective stories and advocate of an imprisoned Russian writer. Yet, he was a Conservative. Giles, raised in wealth, went to the Labour side. We never know if he was influenced by Harry’s life. Yet, the family worked in Giles’ campaigns and voted for him.Then Emma became enamored of Thatcher and vice versa. No one in the family joined Labour, though you couldn’t quite tell about Karin. Why? Archer is Conservative, which makes this aspect interesting.It was also impressive how much Archer knew about political protocol, ins and outs, banking and wills.At the end, what did we have after seven books and 72 years? Harry was de facto the main character, but breaking the books into sections about the different people, made the family the focus. Until the last section, Harry was in the background. At the end, you have a strong love story, of Harry and Emma. Emma picked out Harry after meeting him for the first time when she was 11 and he was 12. You also have the more than 60-year friendship of Giles and Harry. You have a family, despite being involved in so many public “trials” stuck together.Archer’s women characters are also inspirational. Harry’s mother, Maisie, worked herself from waitress to owning a restaurant, trying to earn enough money to pay the tuition for Harry to attend school. Before she dies she tells Emma she has the ability to do more with her life.Emma didn’t have to work. She became the first woman chairman of Barrington Shipping, building new liners despite the rise of air travel. Then, she chaired the board of a hospital, before joining Thatcher’s cabinet.The Barrington who doesn’t get much attention, Giles and Emma’s younger sister, Grace, is a well-respected professor.Karin was a spy, then double agent. She gets Giles to accompany her to Berlin to help in the destruction of the Berlin Wall. She also medals in a marathon.In the end, it comes back to Harry. (Avoiding spoiler).

I wrapped up The Clifton Chronicles by finishing "This Was a Man" this morning.I would be lying if I did not admit I had tears rolling down my cheeks while reading the last chapter. This book is a very good conclusion to a very good series which is excellent in most part. Some of the last book is in Sir. Archer's favorite territory - politics where it pits a brother who is a leader of the Labor party against the sister who is the minister for the Tories. Very enjoyable to read.This book brings closure to the primary question the series started with - did the two primary protagonists committed incest or not. To find the answer to this question, we go nearly seven decades, four generations, true friendships, constitutional crisis and many mega villains to find the answer.I read these books as they were released, so there was a gap of many months or an year between them. That made the experience better, in my opinion, since it brings me to the one negative about this series.I think this series had three books too many. I think this was a three series book, like Kane and Abel, may be four. I know that Sir.Archer started with a five series book and expanded it to seven, and I think that was a mistake. Some of the characters appear repetitive, some of the plot points appear just to extend the series.Having the break between the books made this more palatable. The really nice thing about these books is they can also stand alone - Sir. Archer provides enough context for series readers to remember what happened and a new reader just enough information to move on. However, I suspect that if you binge read all seven books in one go, as some of my friends are planning to do, you might find it laborious.I admit, I will miss the Cliftons and the Harringtons.

All 7 books in the Chronicles were so good to read. Jeffrey Archer is a recent find for me and I’m looking forward to reading many more.

Outstanding! This is not a review of just "This Was A Man", but rather the whole series, The Clifton Chronicles. Archer's characters are larger than life, but somehow also become old friends and real people. Even the "bad guys" are interesting and engaging. You actually look forward to finding out what Lady Virginia's next con job will be. Some of you may have read my review on Ken Follett's series, The Century Trilogy. Both cover much of the same time periods and world events. In Follett's series, historical events are presented through the eyes of the characters, who are often flawed and sinister and not perticularly likeable. Archer's focus is the lives and development of his characters, with history as a rather passive backdrop. His characters are the story. Follett's characters may be realistic, but Archers are far more interesting and more endearing. They strive to make the world a better place and represent the best (and worst) of humanity. You cheer them on and wish them the best, and feel their anguish when things go awry. An uplifting and engaging series, and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

The first 5 books in the series were great and interesting. Very disappointed in the last book. Some characters stores were not completed. And a couple chapters described scenes that were completely unnecessary ( ie) the blow by blow description of a cricket game. And lengthy court trials. This last book of the series was not worthy of the Author's talent.

A remarkable and captivating story from beginning to end. I loved all seven books and wept and laughed intermittently. Thank you Jeffrey Archer!

I’ve just read the Clifton Chronicles for about the 5th or 6th time, and I’ve enjoyed it as much as the first time. With so many relatable characters that are so excellently drawn, I feel at the end as though I really know and understand them. I want to know what happens next in their lives but that will have to be a task for my imagination, not Jeffrey Archer’s.At least I have the consolation of the William Warwick series and can’t wait for the final one! Thank you Lord Archer!

I loved this last of the seven books. Harry Clifton captured my attention immediately from the first book! Every character in all of the Clifton Chronicles has been well crafted but it's Harry that stands out in a brilliantly simple way. From the back streets of the docks to international best selling author and political human rights activist! Harry travels through life as one of the most humble of men, but leaving a gigantic impression and human example of compassion and gentleness wherever he travels. He truly came alive through Archer's pen and soon became parte of my everyday life as I read one book after another. All the other characters in the Clifton chronicle books were written just to build him up and support his story as his life progresses. I read all seven books in about 10 days and recommend them to those who enjoy family sagas...especially those that are enhanced and supported by the world's real history being played out on the pages of Archer's novels! I'm not ashamed to say that I shed quite a few tears as I read the last chapter realizing just how much I had become involved in Harry Clifton's life story.These are not just books to read but they are stories that drag you deep into the plots until you've become part of all seven of them, standing on the outside looking in and living each scene through Harry and his love story with Emma, through their family and their friends!!!A great experience and not just a simple read!!!

Como todas las novelas de Jeffrey Archer te envuelven en su trama, cual crisálida para que formes parte de la transformación. Al final te deja un extraño sentimiento de felicidad y satisfacción porque sus personajes son como cualquier humano en busca de la excelencia.

The end of a series, unfortunately, although a great way to end it. I've followed all of Archer's books since his first release, and the Clifton Chronicles has been excellent throughout. This book is no different: it's in the same vein as the others in the series, drawing you in to the plot and the characters quickly, and keeping you engrossed. I meant to read this book over a week or so, but as usual with Archer's books I got drawn in and spent two intense and enjoyable days reading through it.The book pulls you in quickly, and keeps you engrossed. The story, while perhaps not as deep and clever as some of the other books in the series, does a great job of tidying up the various plot elements, without giving too much away in the process, but drawing the series to a tearful conclusion. I greatly enjoyed reading This Was a Man, and while it's sad to see the series end, I have to hope Archer will follow up with something equally as interesting. Although, if the hints towards the end of this book are anything to go by...