The Lost Constitution (Peter Fallon #3) by William Martin

I always enjoy reading William Martin’s novels.  They have well-developed characters, interesting plots, and a writing style that makes then fun to dive into. His Peter Fallon series is a perfect blend of a couple of my favorite genres: historical fiction and modern day thrillers.

For those that have yet to experience one of the Peter Fallon books, let me summarize the approach. Peter is a rare-book and manuscript expert and businessman, specializing in collectables of historical significance. In these novels, he is a treasure hunter, following clues from many sources until, hopefully, he reaches a successful end to his journey. But what makes these books unique is that we readers get to follow along in history, joining the historical figures (both real and fictional) and their adventures with that very same treasure that Peter is hunting in the present day. It is really cool to jump back and forth and see how the events laid out in history transform into clues for Peter to follow.

This time, the treasure is nothing less than an original near-final draft of the US Constitution, with margin notes scribbled by the founding fathers. This novel was published in 2007 but is even more relevant today as Peter’s present day world is engaged in a nation-wide debate on the the right to bear arms. Gun violence has reached such a level that they are even considering a repeal of the 2nd amendment. ("A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."). What would happen if some of those margin notes provided further insight on what the framers of the US Constitution might have been concerned with?  Of course both sides of the issue have their thoughts and extremists in this novel are even willing to kill to either find the lost constitution or see it destroyed.

This makes for a fascinating tale and the book rises to the occasion. The historical chapters follow Will Pike and his descendants as the lost constitution is smuggled out of Philadelphia, sold, purloined, auctioned, and hidden for over two centuries. There are a lot of action sequences as the document's value grows over time and people fight over its location or ownership as well as a lot of family intrigue. I did feel some of the middle sections grew too long and other parts could have stood some pruning as well but overall it was a fully engaging story. It was also nice to see progress with Peter’s personal life as well.

I certainly recommend this series, particularly for those interested in historical America. The first two books in the series (Back Bay and Harvard Yard) were almost entirely set in the Boston area but this one found its way to all of the New England states. I always look forward to my next William Martin novel.

Harvard Yard (Peter Fallon #2) by William Martin

Every time I read a novel by William Martin, I feel so lucky to have found him and have long since elevated him to my favorite author list.  I’ve yet to read a bad or even an “OK” book by him. They all hold precious real estate on my best book shelf.  I can now add that his Peter Fallon series is among my favorite series of all…ever.  This series combines many of my favorite genres: historical fiction, historical mystery, and modern day thrillers, all in a single superb novel.  They can be read as stand alones but it would be better to read them in order.

This is the second of the Peter Fallon books (following the excellent "Back Bay" and the first thing I noticed is that we’ve jumped a number of years forward from the end of the last book.  Peter is now a well-regarded antiquarian book dealer and has stumbled across a clue to a long lost, never before known, Shakespearean play titled ‘Love’s Labours Won’, a companion to his well-known play with a similar name.  In the hands of a lesser author, such a premise would strike me immediately with thoughts like ‘here we go again’ and ‘haven’t I seen this before’ and I would most probably pass it by in search of a better book to read.  But since it is William Martin, I knew I was in for an amazing journey.

As in the first book of the series, chapters alternate between the present day Peter Fallon mystery/thriller plot where he hunts for further clues to the history behind the lost play, all the time being hounded by rivals willing to kill for such a valuable find, and the past whereby we get to witness history unfold and actually see what happened along the way. Every time Peter uncovers a new piece of the puzzle, we then get to go back and see how that actually came to be. This leads to a fascinating, page-turning read.

There are numerous historical characters in this novel, as you might imagine considering we get to travel through all of American history from 1605 to the present, following the fictional Wedge family and their caretaker approach to the Shakespearean manuscript.  In 1605, a good friend to Shakespeare, Robert Harvard, received the play as a gift and it is his son, John Harvard who was instrumental in founding the first college in America. The setting for most of this novel is Harvard University and, indeed, it really becomes a character in and of itself. So many major American historical figures graduated from Harvard or taught there, or both, and the novel benefits from all of them. Major events and eras such as the Puritan’s witch burning, the fires of the Civil War, the riots of the 1960s and famous figures such as Cotton Mather, heroes of the Boston Tea Party and the Revolutionary War, through the era of Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, Joe and Jack Kennedy, etc. etc. all play out on the Harvard stage. And through it all runs the thread of the lost Shakespearean play.

I must say, I have never been a huge fan of Harvard University. Not sure why really, other than a lifelong image of an old stodgy institution that seemed in a world all its own and so not for a common sort of fellow like myself. But this novel really opened up my eyes about Harvard and helped me to appreciate its history and what it stands for. Just the fact that Harvard (formed initially in 1636 and known as ‘New College’) was renamed for John Harvard in 1639 because of his gift of his personal library of some 400 books is awesome. And to see the school meander its way through history, witness its ups and downs, its triumphs and controversies, is really to watch the evolution of the entire country as well.

The patriarch of the fictional Wedge family and good friend to John Harvard, Isaac Wedge was fond of saying “A man is best known by his books”. That is a sentiment that I can certainly relate to and I am proud to count this book among my own library.

Back Bay (Peter Fallon #1) by William Martin

I had read three or four stand-alone books by William Martin and enjoyed them all so I thought it was high time I began reading his Peter Fallon series.  Back Bay is actually the first novel he published, more than 30 years ago.  And, as expected, I enjoyed it very much.

This is a complex story that weaves historical events with a contemporary thriller/mystery-type plot.  Peter Fallon is a present-day student/historian working on his PhD and becomes entangled in a 200-year-old mystery concerning a silver tea set crafted by Paul Revere.  What follows is a multi-generational treasure hunt that drives the other aspects of the plot. I love the way the historical parts of the story are woven in among the contemporary scenes, allowing us to follow the history of the tea set and its impact on one very important and prominent New England family, the Pratts.  Chapters are presented alternately, with a historical chapter taking place in, say 1789, followed by a contemporary one.  I've read novels written this way before and sometimes they can be disruptive or downright confusing.  But not so with this one. There are a lot of plot threads here that have to connect across time and Martin does a fantastic job of keeping them all straight and allowing us readers to follow along easily, building suspense and intrigue along the way.

I also have to mention the setting.  Boston, especially historical Boston has long been a favorite of mine, ever since I read "Johnny Tremain" back in the 7th grade.  So along with the history of the Pratt family and the tea set, we get to witness the town of Boston grow through its history.  I've found the biggest theme in all of Martin's books is that we are the products of history and of our own personal decisions; the seemingly insignificant choice of some ancestor who made one small decision and thereby changed the lives of generations yet unborn, and of course, of the grand movements of history that affect us all.