A Set of Lies

A Set of Lies is a gripping historical novel and complex page-turner, taking the fate of one of Europe’s greatest historical figures, Napoleon Bonaparte, and changing everything we thought we knew about him... 15 July 1815. Napoleon Bonaparte, a celebrated but controversial figure, and one of the greatest wartime commanders, reluctantly surrenders to the British. From here, as generations of history students know, he is exiled to St Helena and lives out his life as a captive. However, what if Bonaparte was too valuable an asset for the English to exile to a remote colony? What if, instead, an audacious plan was enacted, with approval from the highest level of Government – substituting Napoleon for a double and thereby changing the course of history? And what if the agent behind the daring plan felt compelled to leave his own record of events in a secret diary? One that could only be discovered if the three clues contained within his notebook, letter and locket could be found and deciphered? And what would happen if this secret was discovered by chance, over 200 years later...? Napoleon is quoted as saying, ‘‘History is a set of lies agreed upon’ – and as the novel progresses, the set of the lies starts to unravel...

Originally from the Wirral, Cheshire, Carolyn McCrae now lives and works on the Isle of Wight with her husband and cat. She has been an extra in a number of Bollywood films, has raced cars (overtaken by Ayrton Senna several times) and has flown solo (once was enough). She is the author of The Last Dance, Walking Alone, Runaways, Highly Unsuitable Girl (all published by Matador) and Her Parents’ Daughter (published by New Generation).