The Stack - Softcover

Dodd, R J

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1478181567 ISBN 13: 9781478181569

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013

Synopsis

In the chaos of Gallipoli, two young English soldiers stumble upon a fortune in gold — and a secret that will echo across generations.

When Cumberland farm boys Will Murphy and Horatio Tallentire enlist in 1915, they expect mud, blood, and glory in the Great War.

Instead, amid exploding shells on the war-ravaged Turkish peninsula, they seize a life-changing opportunity: a Turkish bank vault blown open, its hoard of freshly minted gold coins waiting to be claimed.

Surviving the trenches of France, they retrieve their hidden treasure and sail for a new life in Australia. There, they carve out two vast forest empires — The Stack and Wongon — raise families, and build prosperous legacies.

But war spoils carry a curse. Decades later, the dark secret they buried in that Gallipoli vault resurfaces, threatening everything they hold dear: their land, their loved ones, and the fragile peace they fought so hard to find.

A sweeping historical family saga of adventure, greed, romance, treachery, and redemption — inspired by two true stories.

About this title

About the Author

A professional Director of Photography, Richard has been working in the Film and TV industries for more than 50 years. Writing has always been his great passion and recently he has taken up the challenge of turning some of his own movie scripts into novels. A cinematic sense and the feel of the original screenplays are very much present in all his work.
Richard lives and works between the UK and Italy.

From the Back Cover

The Stack

Robbing a Turkish Bank, on the war ravaged peninsula of Gallipoli, of its hoard of gold, was not the uppermost thought in the minds of two young men from Cumberland when they joined the British army in 1915.

After their return from The Great War, via a spell in the trenches of France, they decide to retrieve the hidden gold and continue down to Australia to live a free life in the New World.

They buy two large adjoining tracts of forest land, The Stack and Wongon, both massive one million acre estates, raise families and prosper.

Then the dark secret that they left in the Turkish bank vault comes back to haunt them and threatens their families.

This family saga and adventure is full of danger, travel, romance, misplaced love, treachery, greed, infidelity and tribal honour and is based on two true life stories.

This story is taken from the Screenplay "The Stack" by Chelsy Swann.

From the Inside Flap

FOREWORD by R J Dodd
The Stack originated from a film script written by Mary Lou Clarke and myself under the joint pen name of Chelsy Swann. Recently we decided to turn this family saga into a novel and in doing so we increased the number of characters and went further back in time to detail the family history of the main characters..
The story begins in Cumberland, England, in 1914 where two young men decide to join millions of other teenagers in fighting a terrible war. Their subsequent adventures take them and their offspring off around the world, for the most part Australia and the USA.
Both Mary Lou and I have an abiding affection for Australia and we have visited the USA many times.
The main story and characters are based on two true stories.

Edition details

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1478181567
• ISBN 13: 9781478181569
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 264