Paris, 24th March 1903
“A great, simple, lion-hearted man with the spirit of a child, thought the Beast as he caught sight of Major-General Sir Hector Macdonald taking lunch alone in the dining room of the Hotel Regina. The General sat to attention, ramrod-straight, looking at first glance so strong and resolute. Only one of his hands betrayed him. It clawed at the white tablecloth, as if grasping at a ledge.”
‘Brilliantly expansive and original’ Daily Mirror
‘A consummate performance’ Guardian
‘Arnott's great leap forward. . . it is his best’ The Herald
‘Brilliantly expansive and original’ Daily Mirror
‘A consummate performance’ Guardian
‘Arnott's great leap forward. . . it is his best’ The Herald
Published in Sceptre paperback 4th February 2010 £7.99
A chance meeting between two very different men…
Sir Hector Macdonald, known as ‘Fighting Mac’, rose through the ranks to become one of the greatest heroes of the British Empire. Now he is facing disgrace in a shocking homosexual scandal and his only hope is Aleister Crowley. The notorious occultist and self-styled ‘Great Beast’, in Paris for his own dark purposes, finds himself fascinated by the fallen general. They become unlikely companions for one wild night in the city of sin that will bring startling revelations for both men.
In The Devil’s Paintbrush, Jake Arnott rescues a tragic hero from oblivion and recreates a world on the cusp of a brutal new age. Macdonald’s story takes us to Afghanistan and South Africa; from the harsh deserts of the Sudan to the sultry tropics of Ceylon, as Arnott shows us high Empire, Islamic revolution, ritual magic and the coming terror of modern warfare in his most ambitious and captivating work yet.
Jake Arnott is the author of The Long Firm, He Kills Coppers, truecrime and Johnny Come Home. Both The Long Firm and He Kills Coppers have been made into widely praised TV dramas.
Jake Arnott is available for interview and to write features. For more information please contact Henry Jeffreys (t) 07866 476 213 (e) henrycastiglione@hotmail.com
Print Version
PressRelease.doc
Sir Hector Macdonald, known as ‘Fighting Mac’, rose through the ranks to become one of the greatest heroes of the British Empire. Now he is facing disgrace in a shocking homosexual scandal and his only hope is Aleister Crowley. The notorious occultist and self-styled ‘Great Beast’, in Paris for his own dark purposes, finds himself fascinated by the fallen general. They become unlikely companions for one wild night in the city of sin that will bring startling revelations for both men.
In The Devil’s Paintbrush, Jake Arnott rescues a tragic hero from oblivion and recreates a world on the cusp of a brutal new age. Macdonald’s story takes us to Afghanistan and South Africa; from the harsh deserts of the Sudan to the sultry tropics of Ceylon, as Arnott shows us high Empire, Islamic revolution, ritual magic and the coming terror of modern warfare in his most ambitious and captivating work yet.
Jake Arnott is the author of The Long Firm, He Kills Coppers, truecrime and Johnny Come Home. Both The Long Firm and He Kills Coppers have been made into widely praised TV dramas.
Jake Arnott is available for interview and to write features. For more information please contact Henry Jeffreys (t) 07866 476 213 (e) henrycastiglione@hotmail.com
Print Version
PressRelease.doc