Only Time Will Tell: The Clifton Chronicles, Book  1

Written by: Jeffrey Archer

Narrated by: Roger Allam, Emilia Fox

Publisher: Macmillan Audio, August 2011

Length: 12 hours, 41 minutes

Only Time Will Tell is the first installment of a five part sweeping and ambitious work of fiction that purportedly will cover 100 years in history, starting in Bristol after  the end of “the war to end all wars” World War I, and taking us to the dawn of World War II.

The narrative is the intriguing life of Harry Clifton, with his humble and secretly burdened beginnings and  his family’s  intertwining fate  with the wealthy Barrington family. A multigenerational, many decade spanning chronicle  of two families, one from the lower end of society and the other at the top, intertwine and collide, and in fact, literally gallop back and forward in time during the 20 year period of 1920 to 1940.

The story, a young boy of unknown parentage who sets out into the world aided by secret benefactors, his history clouded by clandestine family skeletons–possibly the son of a lowly docker, possibly the heir to a more noble title and estate–is  certainly not new.  Furthermore there is a Dickensian note and influence here which cannot be missed.

However, that does not mean the ride Archer takes us on is a hackneyed journey of cliché.  Rather, it is a modern and enjoyable expedition through a classic theme. The fact is, Archer, like the aforementioned Dickens, is one heck of a storyteller.  It’s likely we see the next turn up ahead, but frankly we just don’t care, because in the hands of this master entertainer,  we are hooked and more than willing to settle in for the ride.

Harry Clifton’s tale begins with the fact that he was told his father was killed in the First World War, and he hopes that like his lamented father and his stevedore uncle, to eventually work on the docks, or even have a life of adventure on the sea.   Fate, and a few loving accomplices,  intervene when it is discovered that Harry has an angelic singing voice. This wins him a scholarship to a very proper and exclusive school,  thus placing  him on a journey that will forever change the path of his life.

His mother, Maisie, strives to make it as a single mother and afford the further costs of his education, and the mysterious and lurking Old Jack, a war weary veteran who haunts the docks in self-exile, both stoke the machinery of Harry’s childhood propelling him toward an unexpected future. There is the requisite villain, in the form of Hugo Barrington, the owner of the shipyards who thwarts Harry at every move.  He hates Harry for various reasons, not the least because he is afraid that Harry may just be his illegitimate son.  A possibility that, based on England’s laws of primogeniture,  may thwart the hierarchy of a future inheritance to Hugo’s legitimate son Giles.

Dual narrators Roger Allam and Emilia Fox do a truly wonderful job of bringing the story to  life. The bulk of the narration is done by Allam, who manages to invoke Harry, and an entire cast of champions and villains, through many different viewpoints including their own. Allam has the daunting task of relating major identical events from the personal perspectives of several different  characters throughout the novel. He manages to artfully inhabit each of these characters and, as in the case of our chief villain Hugo, allow us, if not to like the character, at least see events through his eyes with a breath of understanding.  In the hands of a lesser writer or narrator, this technique could become cumbersome, but here it gives depth to what may seem like stock characters; the golden child, the  evil wealthy tyrant, the poor but proud mother who lives only for her child, etc. Well-known British character actor Allam,  pulls this off  with ease, and as a result, is the perfect choice for the series.

Emilia Fox voices the shrewd and feisty Maisie Clifton, the matriarch of the story. Her lilting accent, and her ability to invest tones with a girlish openness at the beginning of the saga, and a womanly intelligence as the history of her life unfolds, is a joy.  She vocally imbues Maisie with just the right amount of innocence and resolve, simultaneously at points, and while we may not agree with all of Maisie’s moral decisions, we will never find her dull or unlikeable.

My only reservation with the audiobook/novel was that Harry seems for the most part, an anti-hero. He is such a sanctified golden boy–handsome, talented and beyond moral contention–and propelled on his life’s journey, not so much by any actions on his part but via the  kindnesses, deprivations, and intervention of others.

Through the writing and the narration, I was so involved with the story, that this point only niggled at me now and then. While I liked Harry, I couldn’t quite classify him as a typical hero. He rode his fate eagerly, but frequently without much effort on his part. However, the ending of book one, which takes us across the ocean and to New York City, changed my mind completely.  There is, it seems, backbone in the lad, and in the next book I am eager to see just how far that pluck will take him.

Only Time Will Tell is an enjoyable and artfully done listen. If you are a fan of family sagas, or of Jeffrey Archer in general, you won’t be disappointed.  However, listener be warned, you will have to wait until next year for the next installment,  so you may want to savor this one slowly.