Jersey-Stratagem-Tagman-press

A special 40th anniversary edition of Norfolk author Anthony Grey’s first novel, originally called Some Put Their Trust in Chariots, is published by The Tagman Press as The Jersey Stratagem on Thursday 1 August 2013 in paperback, price £8, www.tagmanpress.com

Meet Anthony Grey at The Holt Bookshop, North Norfolk on Saturday 3 August from 11am to 12.30pm.

This fast-paced Cold War thriller remains highly topical today, with its focus on the international super-rich and their schemes to evade tax. The 2013 edition includes a new postscript, in which Anthony Grey explains the origins of the novel, revealing it to be based on a true-life situation. 

The novel was written in summer 1972, when Anthony and his late wife Shirley were living on Jersey. The Grey’s spent three years on the island, while Anthony recuperated from the experience of being held in solitary confinement in Beijing for more than two years, by Mao Tse-Tung’s Red Guards, during China’s chaotic Cultural Revolution. Anthony had been a Reuters foreign correspondent and went to China following a stint in the then East Germany.

The Jersey Stratagem draws heavily from Anthony’s time on Jersey, including a motoring holiday to the south of France, and his experience as a Cold War journalist. 

Some Put Their Trust in Chariots/The Jersey Stratagem 1973 reviews

‘The story moves swiftly from first to last…” Jersey Evening Post

“Anthony Grey’s first novel contrasts sharply with his earlier works…good swashbuckling stuff told at a snappy pace.” Eastern Daily Press 

“With the constant world monetary crises as his inspiration, Anthony Grey has woven the fabric of his tale with threads of great detail and plausability… a fast-moving story.” The Natal Witness, South Africa

“Urbane, quick-moving, different chase-and-flight thriller…would make an interesting movie.” The Province, Canada 

Anthony Grey began his career in journalism with the Eastern Daily Press in Norfolk, where he was born and educated. He was the only British journalist resident in the Chinese capital in 1967, and became the focus of worldwide headlines when the Red Guards seized him as a hostage. 

After writing Hostage in Peking on his release, a factual account of his ordeal, Anthony established himself as a radio and television presenter and bestselling historical novelist – Saigon and Peking, were translated into nine languages and sold in 15 countries. He went on to become an independent publisher and established The Tagman Press in Norwich in 1998. The Tagman Press is publishing a new book of Anthony Grey short stories, Resurrection in Guatemala, in October.