The Assassins
By Alan Bardos
Audiobook narrated by Jack Bennett
1914.
Tensions are reaching boiling point in Europe and the threat of war is imminent.
Johnny Swift, a young and brash diplomatic clerk employed by the British embassy is sent to infiltrate the ‘Young Bosnians’, a group of idealistic conspirators planning to murder Franz Ferdinand. The heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, in a bid to liberate their country from the monarchy’s grip.
Swift has been having an affair with his employer’s wife, Lady Elizabeth Smyth. Sir George Smyth dispatches the agent on the dangerous mission, believing that it will be the last he will see of his young rival.
The agent manages to infiltrate the Young Bosnian conspirators’ cell, helped by Lazlo Breitner, a Hungarian Civil Servant.
However, Swift soon realises that he may be in over his head. His gambling debts and taste for beautiful women prove the least of his problems as he struggles to survive on his wits in the increasingly complex - and perilous - world of politics and espionage.
Desperate to advance himself and with the lives of a royal couple unexpectedly in his hands, Swift tries to avert catastrophe.
Publication Date: (current edition) 15th February 2021
Publisher: Sharpe Books
Page Length: 376 Pages
Genre: Historical Thriller
Guest Post
Everyone learns at school that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, in Sarajevo was the spark that started the First World War. Franz Ferdinand and Sophie’s tumultuous love story is perhaps less well known. Or that the events leading up to the assassination were a breathtaking catalogue of errors and missed opportunity, which allowed a group of schoolboys to carry out a world shattering tragedy.
It was this combination of tragedy and incompetence that drew me to the story and inspired me to write The Assassins. I hope it will also draw people to the novel and keep turning the pages or listening despite knowing the ending.
The heart of the story is Franz Ferdinand and Sophie’s relationship, which when it came to light caused a scandal in court circles. They had to overcome the objections of Emperor Franz Josef who forbade the marriage, as Sophie was a former Lady in waiting and not of Royal blood. Certainly not a fit bride for the Heir to the Habsburg throne. Franz Ferdinand fought for the woman he loved and forced a compromise, whereby they could be married if Franz Ferdinand swore a morganatic oath, renouncing his wife and their descendant’s claim to the throne.
The Habsburg court was steeped in protocol and subjected Sophie to numerous slights. She was not even permitted to ride in a carriage with her husband on state occasions. Their visit to Sarajevo, on 28th June 1914 gave them the opportunity to ride together in the same car through the streets of Sarajevo and poignantly the visit was to take place on the anniversary of Franz Ferdinand making the morganatic oath.
Bosnia was a colony of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy at the time and a powder keg of nationalism. The Archduke’s visit was seen as extremely provocative and it also fell on Vidovdan, the Serbs' national day. The resulting threats were ignored by the Austro-Hungarian Government. They did not believe the nationalist movements in their Balkan provinces posed any form of threat. Therefore no attempt was made to counter them, or to provide sufficient protection to Franz Ferdinand and Sophie.
This is the main theme I wanted to explore in The Assassins, through my two lead fictional characters. Johnny Swift, a feckless British diplomat and Lazlo Breitner, a methodical Hungarian official.
Breitner is well aware of the threat from the assassins and does everything he can to persuade the authorities of the danger posed by nationalist movements, brining him into conflict with his superiors.
He is forced to take drastic measures to convince them and coerces Johnny into joining the conspirators, embedding him in their boarding house. Johnny who has been sent to Bosnia in a state of disgrace is eventually glad of the opportunity to redeem himself.
Johnny manages to ingratiate himself with the assassins and joins in their reckless behaviour that should have got them caught. He discovers their plans and motivations; but Johnny’s decadent nature ensures that he fails to make use of the information.
On the morning of the Archduke’s visit Johnny realises the enormity of his error and tries to foil the assassination plot. Then the tragedies of 28th June 1914 come into play and Johnny and Breitner must face their own personal tragedies.
This novel is on #KindleUnlimited for your reading pleasure.
Alan Bardos
Alan Bardos is a graduate of the MA in TV Script Writing at De Montfort University, he also has a degree in Politics and History from Brunel University. Writing historical fiction combines the first great love of his life, making up stories, with the second, researching historical events and characters. Alan currently live in Oxfordshire with his wife… the other great love of his life.
Despite the amount of material that has been written about the twentieth century there is still a great deal of mystery and debate surrounding many of its events, which Alan explores in his historical fiction series using a certain amount of artistic license to fill in the gaps, while remaining historically accurate. The series will chronicle the first half of the twentieth century from the perspective of Johnny Swift, a disgraced and degenerate diplomat and soldier; starting with the pivotal event of the twentieth century, the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in ‘The Assassins’.
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