Amidst a web of half-hidden alliances where rumour and reality interweave, an idealistic young journalist uncovers secrets kept by the British Government...
The Blue Pencil
A thrilling story of Nazi sympathy and appeasement at the highest levels of British government.
Recovering from the horrors of war and the Great Depression, Britain clings to dreams of peace as Europe slides towards Fascist dictatorship. Amidst a web of half-hidden alliances where rumour and reality interweave, Roger Martin begins his career in Fleet Street journalism. As he is drawn deeper into the murky world of international politics, he quickly realises that discovering the truth is only half of the challenge…
This compelling story follows an idealistic young journalist from his first steps along Fleet Street to the dark and dangerous heart of 1930s Nazi Germany as he uncovers the secrets kept from us by the British Government.
My novel, set between 1936 and 1939, has eerie echoes of today. From May 1937, Neville Chamberlain’s government restricted access to Downing Street press briefings to those newspapers and journals supportive of the appeasement policies which were at the heart of the Prime Minister’s foreign policy. Similarly, there have been suggestions, backed by hard evidence, that Boris Johnson’s team have not been altogether open in their dealings with newspapers and journals opposed to the UK leaving the European Union.
While social media increasingly influences people’s views on just about everything, the daily and evening papers retain a strong influence. Thus, in the recent General Election, a majority of the newspapers supported the Tories.
Back in the 1930s, things were much worse and Chamberlain was aided and abetted by a senior civil servant as they attempted to control the written, sound and film media...