Past Caring [Hardcover]

Robert Goddard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1987

Why should distinguished Edwardian Cabinet minister Edwin Strafford resign at the height of his parliamentary career and why should the woman he loves reject him? Who, 70 years later, should try to prevent the truth from being revealed? Martin Radford, history graduate, decides to find out.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Written in clear, resonant prose, Goddard's first novel, nominated for the Booker prize, is a poised telling of a complex tale. A fascinating "could this be true?" story within a story is reminiscent of Josephine Tey's Daughter of Time, while Thomas Hardy's tragic characters are deliberately echoed in the Edwardian British politician Edwin Strafford and the troubled historian Martin Radford, who has been chosen to research Strafford's tormented life. Radford finds a memoir that contains hints of a political and moral crime, past but not forgotten, so devastating that even in 1977 it reverberates through the corridors of power. As he reads the memoir, Radford eventually comes to regard the dead Home Secretary as a friend, even as his search uncovers corruption and murder. The novel's subtlety is reflected in the different meanings of its title, and the satisfying climax weaves together the strands of past and present. In one sense a historical thriller, and in another a romantic novel of a love affair gone disastrously wrong, this is, in any case, a wonderful read.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Unemployed and disenchanted, Martin Radford is delighted to accept an old schoolmate's invitation to visit him in Madeira where not only the climate but an offer of funded research from his friend's employer revives this historian manque. Leo Sellick gives Martin the memoir of the previous owner of his estate, former British consul and member of Asquith's cabinet Edwin Strafford, hoping he will unearth the reason for Strafford's abrupt dismissal by his suffragist fiancee and his political peersa mystery that baffled Strafford as much as anyone. Exploring the sudden downfall of the rising politician, Martin enters a maze of lies and intrigue that forces him to confront his own past as well as Strafford's. Psychological drama and intricate plot will entice readers.Cynthia Johnson Whealler, Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, Mass.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 501 pages
• Publisher: St. Martins Press; 1st edition (January 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312001738
• ISBN-13: 978-0312001735
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #761,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of Robert Goddard's best, October 27, 2007

By 

HORAK (Zug, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Past Caring (1930's Trilogy) (Audio CD)

Martin Redford is an unemployed and divorced ex-schoolteacher of foundered promise and dismal prospect. So when Alec Fowler suggests that Martin comes to visit him on the island of Madeira with the promise of a prospective job offered by his South African friend Leo Sellick, he eagerly accepts.

It turns out that when Sellick became the owner of his house, the Quinta do Porto Novo, he came across a manuscript written by its previous owner, Edwin Strafford. Strafford had been appointed Home Secretary in 1908 at the age of thirty-two. Why did he resign two years later without explanation before becoming British Consul on Madeira? Why was he abruptly rejected by his fiancée, suffragette Elizabeth Latimer? Who or what betrayed Edwin Strafford in 1910? It is going to be a twisty path for Martin Redford, now Leo Sellick's employee, to find the answers to these questions and many others.

A good plot and a sound historical background are the qualities of this entertaining adventure story. Paul Shelley is the excellent reader of this novel for BBC Audiobooks.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from Goddard, December 24, 2001

By 

Dolphin (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Past Caring (Paperback)

Yet another fantastic story from Robert Goddard, and that's what it is A STORY - so all the historians out there who don't like history being tampered with, should remember that it's fiction!
You really feel for Martin, the central character, who is a historian down on his luck when he is offered an opportunity of employment in researching former cabinet minister Edwin Stafford's memoir. As is typical with Robert Goddard there are plenty of twists in the tale, this is a brilliant book and I'd recommend it to anyone who just wants a good read.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Past Caring, December 2, 1999

By 

A. Freeman "a_freem" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Past Caring (Paperback)

Past Caring was brought to me from England by my sister years ago.It is now available here.For years it was not.

This novel is one of my favorite books.I read all of Goddard's books, but Past Caring remains my FAVORITE.