Alex E. Robertson

Riot and Retribution is an historical fiction novel set in Bath and Bristol in October of 1831. The historical backdrop of the book is the great Reform Bill of 1831. The government has pledged to give the vote to the wealthy middle class, and the poor are hoping that democracy will also extend to them, but the House of Lords is determined to oppose the Bill. Lord Melbourne, Home Secretary in Lord Grey’s Whig government, sends Nathaniel Parry to the West Country to report on popular unrest by the working class citizens. Additional sub-themes revolve around the opium trade to China and trafficking in young girls, which was a problem of the times.

Nathaniel arrives in Bath to start his investigations. He is introduced to his relatives residing there, and to some of the influential characters in the city. He begins to establish himself.

Matters become complicated by the murder of a senior clerk at one of Bath’s leading banks. The owner of the bank has ties to the Parry family through mutual acquaintances, and Nathaniel is soon drawn into the investigation, as it appears that the murder is related to influential figures who have the ear of the government. A shadowy international master criminal lurks in the background, pulling strings.

As Nathaniel investigates the state of potential civil unrest, as well as the murder, some of the complicated relationships between the main characters becomes clearer, and the depths of government complicity in both the opium smuggling and white slavery starts to emerge. Nathaniel’s immediate superior is revealed to be less than honest, and more interested in lining his own pockets and keeping the opium runs secure than in the cause of political reform. Life is further complicated by Nathaniel’s attraction to three of Bath’s leading beauties.

The story progresses through the initial rejection of the reform bill in Parliament and the ensuing riots. The complicity of the bank’s owner in the murder becomes apparent to Nathaniel, as is his role in other illegal activities. As Nathaniel investigates these crimes and the state of civil unrest, he must wend a careful path, because many of the powerful figures are protected by senior members of the government.

The story combines elements of history, mystery, action thriller and romance in a compelling tale. The characters are a combination genuine historical figures and the fictional ones. Overall, it presents an engrossing tale of political intrigue combined with a dose of the history of the time.