Book Feature: The Proposition by Jan Selbourne
They met on the eve of a battle. One enlisted to avoid prison, the other enlisted to avoid the money lenders. On the bloodied fields of France, Harry Connelly collapses beside the corpse of Andrew Conroy. It is a risk, a hanging offence—and his only hope for a future. Harry swaps identity discs.
Now as Andrew, he is just another face in post-war London until a letter arrives with a proposition. Accepting is out of the question, refusing pushes him into a nightmare of greed, blackmail and murder. To survive he must live this lie without a mistake. Then he falls for Lacey and her secrets. Will the truth set them free or embroil them even further in the webs of deceit that surround them?
From Jan Selbourne on The Proposition:
Visiting the WW1 Commonwealth War Graves in Belgium and France, final resting place for thousands of young men who never came home, was incredibly moving. Even more confronting were the inscriptions Known Only to God on so many of those graves, telling us their bodies were unrecognisable and ID tags gone.
After I came home, I wondered if, with the thousands of bodies in those burned wastelands, it was possible for a soldier to find and swap tags - take on another identity. It would be huge risk, but desperation and fear are powerful. The Imperial War Museum and the Australian War Memorial told me it was possible but highly unlikely because the penalties were very harsh. That was good enough for me.
My character Harry Connelly, wounded and desperate, sees one small chance of a new life. He survives the war but has no idea what’s waiting for him.
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The Proposition on Goodreads
About Jan Selbourne
Jan Selbourne was born and educated in Melbourne, Australia and her love of literature and history began as soon as she learned to read and hold a pen. After graduating from a Melbourne Business College her career began in the dusty world of ledgers and accounting, working in Victoria, Queensland and the United Kingdom. On the point of retiring, she changed course to work as secretary of a large NSW historical society. Now retired Jan is enjoying her love of travelling and literature. She has two children, a stray live in cat and lives near Maitland, New South Wales.