Robert Goddard: Sea Change (USA 2016)

From the Publisher:
From a top historical thriller writer, a riveting novel about a destitute mapmaker who sets out on a dangerous mission in the midst of eighteenth-century financial mayhem.

Published for the first time in the United States, Sea Change is a deliciously complex thriller by Robert Goddard, the internationally bestselling author who has been called "a master of the clever twist" (Sunday Telegraph) and "a truly creative storyteller" (Guardian).

January, 1721. London is reeling from the effects of the greatest financial scandal of the age-the collapse of the South Sea Bubble, which plunged the nation into recession. William Spandrel, a penniless mapmaker, is offered a discharge of his debts by Sir Theodore Janssen, a director of the South Sea Company, on one condition: He must secretly convey an important package to Amsterdam.

With the package safely delivered, Spandrel barely survives an attempt on his life, only to discover that the recipient has been murdered, and that he himself is the prime suspect. Spandrel quickly realizes that he has become a pawn in a very dangerous game. British Government agents, and others, are on his trail, believing that the mysterious package contains secrets that could spark a revolution in England. Spandrel's only chance of survival is to recover the package and place its contents in the right hands. But what are the contents and whose exactly are the right hands?

Robert Goddard: Sea Change. Mysterious Press, ISBN: 9780802124777 (March, 2016), 480 p., $16.00.

Robert Goddard: Sea Change (UK 2011)

From the Publisher:
January, 1721. London is reeling from the effects of the greatest financial scandal of the age - the collapse of the South Sea Bubble. William Spandrel, a penniless mapmaker, is offered a discharge of his debts by Sir Theodore Janssen, a director of the South Sea Company, on one condition: he must secretly convey an important package to Amsterdam.

The package safely delivered, Spandrel barely survives an attempt on his life, only to discover the recipient has been murdered, and Spandrel is the prime suspect. Spandrel quickly realizes that he has become a pawn in several people's games - British Government agents, and others, are on his trail, believing that the mysterious package contains secrets that could spark a revolution in England.

Spandrel's only chance of survival is to recover the package and place its contents in the right hands. But what are the contents and whose exactly are the right hands?

Robert Goddard: Sea Change. Corgi Books; ISBN: 9780552164931 (December, 2011), 475 p., £7.99

Robert Goddard: Sea Change (UK 2001)

From the Publisher:
It is January 1721. London is reeling from the effects of the greatest financial scandal of the age, the collapse of the South Sea Bubble. William Spandrel, a penniless mapmaker, is offered a discharge of his debts by his principal creditor, Sir Theodore Janssen, a director of the South Sea Company, on one condition: he must secretly convey an important package to a friend of Janssen's, Ysbrand de Vries, in Amsterdam.

The package safely delivered, Spandrel barely survives an attempt on his life, only to be blamed for the murder of de Vries himself. When de Vries's secretary, his English wife and the package itself go missing shortly afterwards, Spandrel realizes that he has become a pawn in several people's games. British Government agents, and others, are on his trail, believing that the mysterious package contains secrets that could spark a revolution in England.

Spandrel's only chance of survival is to recover the package and place its contents in the right hands. But whose are the right hands? And what exactly are the contents?

Robert Goddard: Sea Change. Corgi Books, ISBN: 0552146021 (December, 2001), 476 p., £5.99.

Robert Goddard: Sea Change (UK 2000)

From the Publisher:
It is January 1721. London is reeling from the effects of the greatest financial scandal of the age, the collapse of the South Sea Bubble. William Spandrel, a penniless mapmaker, is offered a discharge of his debts by his principal creditor, Sir Theodore Janssen, a director of the South Sea Company, on one condition: he must secretly convey an important package to a friend of Janssen's, Ysbrand de Vries, in Amsterdam.

The package safely delivered, Spandrel barely survives an attempt on his life, only to be blamed for the murder of de Vries himself. When de Vries's secretary, his English wife and the package itself go missing shortly afterwards, Spandrel realizes that he has become a pawn in several people's games. British Government agents, and others, are on his trail, believing that the mysterious package contains secrets that could spark a revolution in England.

Spandrel's only chance of survival is to recover the package and place its contents in the right hands. But whose are the right hands? And what exactly are the contents?

Once again 'the master of suspense' draws the reader into a web of irrisistable narrative, this time set in an age remote from our own, yet in some respects strangely familiar.

Robert Goddard: Sea Change. Bantam Books, ISBN: 0593042743 (November, 2000), 405 p., £16.99.