Pomeroy : An American Diplomat

Meet John Stockley Pomeroy, black sheep scion of an aristocratic Tennessee family, cardsharp, adventurer, seducer - the thoroughly winning new rakehell hero of this high-spirited tale of intrigue and skullduggery set against the gilded splendor of Edwardian London. A radical departure from the author's most famous book Straw Dogs, or even his earlier grittily realistic Big Morning Blues or The Camp, Gordon Williams decided to have fun shaking up Edwardian society with a ne'er do well American hustler. From New York Times review: 'Pomeroy is a historical mystery - or, rather, espionage novel - set in the London of 1903.

The hero, John Stockley Pomeroy, is the disreputable son of a good family in Tennessee.

He is smart, full of charm, unethical and a card sharp.

But even he can get into trouble, and when the American Government picks him up and offers him a spy job, or else, he has no option.

Mr. Williams has gleefully researched the period, and the book is a catalogue of The Good Old Days.

There are some effective thumbnail sketches, especially one of Theodore Roosevelt.

Mr. Williams has fun with Teddy, making him a sharp fathead (if those two opposing elements can be juxtaposed), and yet curiously endearing.

Pomeroy has to deal with a dumb American Ambassador in London, a heel-clicking German aristocrat who is a master spy, assorted crooks, toffs and hoods.

One rather looks forward to Pomeroy's next adventure. ' Review from The Times 'The American Flashman, a dare-devil back sheep in the clothing of a gentleman wolf - brisk, amusing and exciting.' Pomeroy was first published in 1983.