Encompassing three continents and spanning over sixty years, bestselling author Jeffrey Archer's As the Crow Flies brings to life a magnificent tale of one man's rise from rags to riches set against the backdrop of a changing century. Growing up in the slums of East End London, Charlie Trumper dreams of someday running his grandfather's fruit and vegetable barrow. That day comes suddenly when his grandfather dies leaving him the floundering business. With the help of Becky Salmon, an enterprising young woman, Charlie sets out to make a name for himself as "The Honest Trader". But the brutal onset of World War I takes Charlie far from home and into the path of a dangerous enemy whose legacy of evil follows Charlie and his family for generations. “One of the top ten storytellers in the world.” ― Los Angeles Times “Archer...has an extraordinary talent for turning notoriety into gold, and telling fast-moving stories.” ― The Philadelphia Inquirer “Archer plots with skill, and keeps you turning the pages.” ― The Boston Globe “Great fun!” ― Kirkus Reviews “A master at mixing power, politics, and profit into fiction.” ― Entertainment Weekly “Archer is a master entertainer.” ― Time “Archer plots with skill, and keeps you turning the pages.” ― The Boston Globe “Cunning plots, silken style...Archer plays a cat-and-mouse game with the reader.” ― The New York Times “A storyteller in the class of Alexandre Dumas...unsurpassed skill...making the reader wonder intensely what will happen next.” ― The Washington Post “Archer is one of the most captivating storytellers writing today. His novels are dramatic, fast moving, totally entertaining-and almost impossible to put down.” ― Pittsburgh Press #1 New York Times bestselling author Jeffrey Archer has mesmerized millions of readers over the years with his riveting novels and their unforgettable characters. One Man's Dream Is... Growing up in the slums of East End London, Charlie Trumper dreams of someday running his grandfather's fruit and vegetable barrow. That day comes suddenly when his grandfather dies leaving him the floundering business. With the help of Becky Salmon, an enterprising young woman, Charlie sets out to make a name for himself as "The Honest Trader". But the brutal onset of World War I takes Charlie far from home and into the path of a dangerous enemy whose legacy of evil follows Charlie and his family for generations. Another Man's Vendetta Encompassing three continents and spanning over sixty years, As the Crow Flies brings to life a magnificent tale of one man's rise from rags to riches set against the backdrop of a changing century. "A certified page-turner." - New York Daily News "An endearing story." - The Wall Street Journal Jeffrey Archer is Britain's top-selling storyteller. He is a former Member of the Parliament and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. He was created a Life Peer in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1992. He has written ten novels, several of which have been serialised for television and radio, four sets of short stories, and three plays. His first - Beyond Reasonable Doubt - starring Frank Finlay and Wendy Craig, ran at the Queen's Theatre, in London's West End, for over 600 performances. His second play, Exclusive , which ran at the Strand Theatre, starred Paul Scofield, Eileen Atkins and Alec McCowen. As the Crow Flies By Jeffrey Archer St. Martin's Press Copyright © 1991 Jeffrey Archer All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-312-99711-3 CHAPTER 1 "I don't offer you these for tuppence," my granpa would shout, holding up a cabbage in both hands, "I don't offer 'em for a penny, not even a ha'penny. No, I'll give 'em away for a farthin'." Those were the first words I can remember. Even before I had learned to walk, my eldest sister used to dump me in an orange box on the pavement next to Granpa's pitch just to be sure I could start my apprenticeship early. "Only stakin' 'is claim," Granpa used to tell the customers as he pointed at me in the wooden box. In truth, the first word I ever spoke was "Granpa," the second "farthing," and I could repeat his whole sales patter word for word by my third birthday. Not that any of my family could be that certain of the exact day on which I was born, on account of the fact that my old man had spent the night in jail and my mother had died even before I drew breath. Granpa thought it could well have been a Saturday, felt it most likely the month had been January, was confident the year was 1900, and knew it was in the reign of Queen Victoria. So we settled on Saturday, 20 January 1900. I never knew my mother because, as I explained, she died on the day I was born. "Childbirth," our local priest called it, but I didn't really understand what he was on about until several years later when I came up against the problem again. Father O'Malley never stopped telling me that she was a saint if ever he'd seen one. My father — who couldn't have b