Secret Protocols

Set in wartime Estonia, this was the last novel by Peter Vansittart, one of the greatest historical novelists of the 20th century.

Erich's odyssey begins when his Estonian childhood is ended by the outbreak of World War II. He arrives in 1945 Paris, where his life seems full of promise. But a love affair drives him to England to work for the Estonian government-in-exile. His imagined island of monarchs, Churchill, and gentlemen evaporates into one of scornful youth, insular adults, and an underground of spies, political crooks, and fanatics. Sojourns in Europe further underline that war and corruption are not extinct and that, in his own life, the most profound shocks are those of friendship and love. Beneath the drift towards a united Europe, Erich realizes that treaties do not always end war, that solemn rites cannot guarantee love, and that the inevitable can fail to happen.

A historical novel focusing on the life of one man beginning at the start of World War II.

Peter Vansittart was the author of 29 novels as well as several works of non-fiction including his autobiographical work, Paths from a White Horse. In 1969, he won the, "Society of Authors Traveling Scholarship," and in 198,1 he was one of six recipients of the first, "Writers' Bursaries" awarded by the Arts Council. Before his death in 2009, he was awarded an "O.B.E." for services to literature and his mastery over historical fiction.