MI7 Assassin: Fine dining and fine dying

The US has not yet joined the war and MI7 want to ensure their journalist writes an encouraging and positive report on her ‘Cook’s Tour’ of the Western Front.

Welcome to Pageturners, a book I’m writing in which I share what I’ve learnt – and am still learning – about comic writing, film writing, novel writing and how new writers can sell their stories.

For the next six weeks or so I’ll be sharing with you the back story of MI7 Assassin, revealing the experiences that compelled the protagonist to become an assassin, including his meeting with real historical figures, many of whom feature prominently in the novel.

And I welcome your feedback or questions, so do leave a comment below!

Missed the Pageturners intro? Read it here.

Sean Stone. The MI7 Assassin.

He didn’t believe in pacifism or any other ism

He just wanted the war to stop.

He just wanted the voices in his head to stop.

But the dirty secret of war is that the dead stay with you.

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Last week I talked about the incredible list of journalists, top military brass, heads of state and other dignitaries that take the ‘war tourist line’ from Calais to Montreuil.

Now I want to share where my key characters are sleeping on the train, plus I found an authentic dinner menu they will enjoy. But it won’t be long before fine dining becomes fine dying, as our assassin goes to work.

THE SLEEPING BERTHS

Only relevant VIPS are listed below. Washing facilities are limited to hand basins.

There are no ensuite showers or lavatories. There are two shared lavatories per carriage, at opposite ends.

Single berths had heavy curtains which could be pulled across.

Facilities on Zaharoff’s personal carriage are unknown, but are believed to include a bathroom with bath, lounge, bedroom, kitchen and servants’ compartment.

First carriage

Captain Pollard and Sean Stone share a compartment.

H.G. Wells and A.A. Milne share a compartment. (Wells was Milne’s old teacher)

George Bernard Shaw and Lord Dunsany share a compartment. 

Arthur Conan Doyle – two berths, but second berth is unoccupied

Unoccupied two berth compartment

General Maxwell – single berth.

Second carriage

Arthur Winnington-Ingram, Bishop of London, and his chaplain Horace Sanders share a compartment.

Colonel Maurice Anson – single berth

Third carriage

The middle-aged King of Montenegro -  single berth.

His young, attractive secretary has a single berth in the next compartment, so she is available for late night dictation.

The American war correspondent Rose Hunt has a single berth compartment. The United States has not yet joined the war and MI7 want to ensure she writes an encouraging and positive report on her ‘Cook’s Tour’ of the Western Front.

Mary Ward and her daughter Janet Trevelyan share a compartment.

SMOKING, FOOD AND DRINK

Most VIPs would smoke cigarettes, cigars or pipes. A.A. Milne was a pipe smoker. Exceptions included George Bernard Shaw (who was also a vegetarian). He didn’t drink or smoke and didn’t drink tea or coffee. His scathing views on smoking were made quite clear with this pithy remark:

‘A pinch of tobacco rolled in paper with fire at one end and a fool at the other.’

The Bishop of London and his chaplain were not smokers, but they would have brought with them packets of cheap Woodbine cigarettes to give to the troops who attended the Bishop’s sermons.

THE DINNER MENU

As you’d expect, the VIPs enjoy an excellent dining experience on board the train, so I found this rather wonderful authentic menu from the era.

Hors-d'Oeuvre à la Russe

Consommé Mirette - Crème Princesse

Suprêmes de Soles à l'Américaine

Côtelettes de Volaille Strasbourgeoise

Selles de Pré-Salé aux Artichauts

Pommes Anna

Canetons de Rouen Vendôme

Salade Lorette

Asperges vertes Sauce Hollandaise

Soufflés Infante

Friandises

Corbeilles de Fruits

Pouilly - Médoc supérieur

Château Carbonnieux

Château Cantenac Brown 1884

Champagne Saint-Marceaux Very dry

There are many real-life characters on the train and I am fascinated by all of them. Here are back stories of two of the MI7 officers.  

CAPTAIN HUGH ‘BERTIE’ POLLARD

Wikipedia has a good biography, but there are further facts which confirm he was a man of mystery who – despite his flamboyant and garrulous manner – could be remarkably discreet, at least in his younger days. He was a crack-shot and a skilled horseman, and those skills were put to good use when, aged 19 to 20, he fought as a mercenary in Morocco. He joined the para-military Legion of Frontiersmen who were involved in the conflict. It was unusual for the League to enlist someone so young. By 1909, he was listed as Captain Pollard but it remains a puzzle how he acquired that rank. He then went onto Mexico which was in a state of revolt and relates his adventures there in A Busy Time in Mexico, published in 1912. Although involved in several dangerous situations, he says nothing about shooting the revolutionaries he was up against.

In 1914, he was seconded to the Intelligence Corps, but he never wrote about what he actually did. This may be because he had signed the Official Secrets Act. It seems likely that his official job as a motorbike dispatch rider was a cover for other activities.

1917 Pollard’s The Story of Ypres was published. It is very readable and was a commercial success.  He served through both the first and second battles of Ypres until he was wounded when he was blown off his motorbike and invalided home. He then joined MI7. But in his book on the battles for Ypres, which includes some personal stories of other people, there is nothing about what he did in the city. Not a single anecdote. It’s like he was never actually at Ypres.

LORD DUNSANY

Like Pollard, he was a crack-shot and became pistol-shooting champion of Ireland. In 1916, in Dunsany Castle, he learned of the Easter Rising in Dublin. He ordered his chauffeur to drive to Dublin and, as an officer in the British army, took part in the conflict. He was shot in the head and taken prisoner by the Irish revolutionaries. He was later released when the British crushed the revolt. Dunsany’s chauffeur was also wounded.

With intelligence officers such as these on the train, not to mention personal bodyguards and a contingent of Legion of Frontiersmen, our hero Sean Stone has given himself terrible odds to succeed in his mission to assassinate his target. But he has no choice: haunted by his dead comrades and wracked with guilt over his role in sending thousands of recruits to their deaths in a war being cruelly extended, he must atone.

From studying secret intelligence files in Room 38, Stone knows that if he kills his target, the war will be over in months.  

Whatever ensues, for all the war tourists on the train, this will be a journey they will never forget. 

The journey begins this winter.

Book your ticket now for the VIP train of war tourists! MI7 Assassin begins this winter.

Next week: The Streetwalker – a presentation of a story idea where the hero beats the system