Past Caring

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Martin Radford is a floundering, unemployed historian with a dim future who jumps at the chance to research the memoirs of Edwin Strafford, a young Edwardian cabinet minister and contemporary of Churchill and Lloyd George with a promising career that went mysteriously astray. Radford’s own blunders will unfold on this journey as he investigates Strafford’s past in this blended mix of politics, romance and historical thriller. I’ve read Robert Goddard’s Long Time Coming which I also recommend. I am looking forward to reading more of his entertaining and thought-provoking novels. I did guess, almost immediately from whence came the villainy of the events of 1910, and what crime would have been committed, against the upstanding and moral Cabinet member Radford is researching in the 1970s. Not to mention the veritable army of untrustworthy souls in the 70’s

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Why did I think it was important to read this book again? Because my feelings about it have remained unresolved for two decades. How could a man so good, kind, and noble as Edwin be so betrayed? What kind of love does not even give the benefit of the doubt, does not even offer the chance for an explanation? So for the second time, I've read this book and my feelings remain unresolved. After this second read, I'm angry at all the characters for what they did to Edwin, and for thinking that any of the fruits of those betrayals were worth protecting. I hate that people kept preying on Edwin's goodness and his love for Elizabeth, and it tears me apart that someone he loved so much never even stopped to ask herself 'what if.'Goddard's 1997 book Beyond Recall was nominated for the Edgar Award Best Novel prize but lost out to Mr. White's Confession by Robert Clark. Combines the expert suspense manipulation skills of a Daphne DuMaurier romance with those of a John Le Carre thriller.” New York Times I have read a few Goddard's novels now and have enjoyed them all and this is no exception. There is a reason though for the three stars rather than four. Let me explain. At a lush villa on the sun-soaked island of Madeira, Martin Radford is given a second chance. His life ruined by scandal, Martin holds in his hands the leather-bound journal of another ruined man, former British cabinet minister Edwin Strafford. What’s more, Martin is being offered a job—to return to England and investigate the rise and fall of Strafford, an ambitious young politician whose downfall, in 1910, is as mysterious as the strange deaths that still haunt his family. Edwin’s memoir covers his time as a politician and his experiences of the women’s suffrage movement. I found this to be very interesting reading, though as it’s a time of history I don’t know much about I couldn’t comment on it’s historical accuracy.

Past Caring by Robert Goddard: 9780385341172

A wonderful read …the satisfying climax weaves together the strands of past and present.…A poised telling of a complex tale.” Publishers Weekly The setting and concept are interesting. I always love a story within a story and with Stafford's Memoir we get exactly that. The parts of the book set in 1910, even though they do not concern real people, ring true and conjured Edwardian London in all of its tumultuous glory. For me, Martin's part of the story read a little historical as well, as it's set two years before I was born. It was funny to read about a world where not only did not everyone have a mobile phone, but not everyone had a land line either. The juxtaposition between the contemporary feel of the narrative and those reminders that this was 1977 instead of 2007, never once truly jarred me out the story, it is more a testament to Mr Goddard's wonderful writing. Strafford left an unpublished memoir which is much of the novel’s first half. The more Martin reads, the more invested he becomes in his subject. He uncovers an intricate far-reaching web of intrigue, including his present-day connection to events started decades before. He becomes friends with Edwin’s intended, Elizabeth and together they try to right the wrongs of the past, the stakes of which are higher than either could’ve imagined.Goddard's 1990 book Into the Blue was the inaugural winner of the W H Smith Thumping Good Read Award, presented to the best new fiction author of the year.

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Although I enjoyed this book immensely, it was let down by the absurdity of it's main premise: That two people who were very much in love could be broken up by a lie, in the way it was presented here. Martin’s investigations trigger a violent series of events, throwing him straight into the path of those who believed they had escaped punishment for crimes long past but never paid for . . . And Martin himself may find that he must risk his life to discover the truth. Toupee for a Bald Tyre. (Harry Barnett). Included in The Detection Collection ISBN 978-0-00-756971-7 (Orion, 2005)

Many years ago, when I was a teenager, my father read this book and was very moved by the story. I read it too, and like the Hardy poem the author quotes, I've felt haunted by this story for a long time, even after forgetting the name of the book and the names of the main characters.

Past Caring by Robert Goddard | Goodreads

Martin is offered a job—to return to England and investigate the rise and fall of Strafford, an ambitious young politician whose downfall, in 1910, is as mysterious as the strange deaths that still haunt his family.

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

The thing I loved the most about this book is that Goddard doesn't let himself be constrained by genre or genre expectations. There are so many different elements of this book that you wouldn't normally find together in one novel. I don't want to say too much for fear of spoilers but I was really impressed by this. The story actually felt more realistic due to this blending of different genres and tones; life doesn't abide by genre conventions after all. The premise of the book is wonderful. Set during the time of the Suffragette movement and Herbert Asquith as prime minister in 1910. He actually served as prime minister between 1908 and 1916. We are concerned with the fictional Home Secretary, at that time, called Edwin Strafford. Strafford had fallen in love with a suffragette, Elizabeth, but for reasons unbeknownst to us and Strafford himself, Elizabeth will not marry him due to something that Edwin had done and that he had kept from her. What was it? Strafford himself, his family and his life’s many secrets and discoveries are by far more noteworthy and remarkable than the markedly tarnished Radford, whose flaws Goddard uses to make him credible if not altogether likable. So, for the first half of the book one is continually wondering what revelation could possible cause her (and Asquith) to behave in the way they did, and for the second half one is incredulous at the frankly bizarre and insipid behaviour of two people supposedly deeply in love.