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The Choice
He had been born and brought up poor. Still poor, he had married--a wartime wedding. Quiet. Mary his wife came from the same street and was quietly happy. There was her ambition: to be quietly happy, and live where they'd always lived. j But then he started doing rather well. A job turned into a career and the career demanded a move, and another. Mary, more and more unhappy, watched as he grew away from her and the background they shared. Where he saw new interests, she saw pretensions, where he saw opportunity, she saw upheaval. Physically together, they were splitting apart. And then he met Sally.....The Choice.
375 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
About the author
Ted Allbeury
167 books44 followers1917 - 2005. Also wrote under the pseudonyms Richard Butler and Patrick Kelly.
Ted Allbeury was a lieutenant-colonel in the Intelligence Corps during World War II, and later a successful executive in the fields of marketing, advertising and radio. He began his writing career in the early 1970s and became well known for his espionage novels, but also published one highly-praised general novel, THE CHOICE, and a short story collection, OTHER KINDS OF TREASON. His novels have been published in twenty-three languages, including Russian. He died on 4th December 2005.
See also: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2006/j...
and
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/t...
Ted Allbeury was a lieutenant-colonel in the Intelligence Corps during World War II, and later a successful executive in the fields of marketing, advertising and radio. He began his writing career in the early 1970s and became well known for his espionage novels, but also published one highly-praised general novel, THE CHOICE, and a short story collection, OTHER KINDS OF TREASON. His novels have been published in twenty-three languages, including Russian. He died on 4th December 2005.
See also: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2006/j...
and
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/t...
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 25, 2020
Well, if there were ever going to be a bad (and this reader means really bad) book written by Albeury, then this is it. The title, of this creation was called, "The Choice" and despite having some excellent critical reviews, this reader thinks that most people will choose wisely and not read it. Unless you're a fan of romance then by all means read it, but most readers should stay clear of it. Ted Allbeury was really famous for his espionage thrillers NOT romance. Did this reader say romance? Yes, it appeared that he did. What, Ted Allbeury wrote romance?!! It would be like the great John leCarre throwing away his espionage spy stories and deciding to write a love story. Okay, 'The Russia House' had a romantic sub-plot, but it wasn't the main plot in the story and nor should it be either. le Carre stories are fantastic just the way they are, but not just straight romance. If you want straight romance then there's entire section for someone to browse either online, in bookshops or in the library and get Barbara Cartland.
The biggest problem that this reader had with the story *Spoiler Alert* was the main character dies and then we, as readers, were then given a second ending as to which choice do we like better! What on Earth was Allbeury thinking?!
Ted Allbeury wrote a staggering 42 novels and wrote under two other pen names ~ Richard Butler and Patrick Kelly as well. Here are 28 read’s from Allbeury, all rated accordingly:
THE GOOD (Four to Five Stars): ‘The Lantern Network’, ’Shadow of a Doubt’, ’A Wilderness of Mirrors', 'A Time Without Shadows' aka 'The Rules of the Game', 'The Only Good German' aka ‘Mission Berlin’, 'The Dangerous Edge', ‘Palomino Blonde’ aka 'Omega- minus', 'The Lonely Margins', ’The Crossing' aka ‘The Berlin Exchange’, 'Seeds of Treason', 'Other Kinds of Treason', 'Special Forces' aka 'Moscow Quadrille', the feel good, 'The Girl From Addis', 'Pay Any Price' and the rather exceptional, and this person's favourite, 'The Line-Crosser' (published in 1993).
THE AVERAGE (Two or Three Stars): 'Show Me a Hero', 'No Place to Hide' aka ‘Hostage’, ‘The Reckoning’, ’The Twentieth Day of January’ a.k.a. ‘Cold Tactics’, 'The Reaper' aka 'The Stalking Angel' and ‘Deep Purple’. He also wrote, ’The Choice' which is not espionage and this reader thought not a good one (unless you like Barbara Cartland).
THE UGLY (One or two stars): It’s, however, probably best to stay away from: ‘Aid and Comfort’, ‘The Assets' aka “Due Process’, 'The Secret Whispers’, 'The Alpha List', ’Consequences of Fear' aka ‘Smokescreen’ and ’The Spirit of Liberty'.
The biggest problem that this reader had with the story *Spoiler Alert* was the main character dies and then we, as readers, were then given a second ending as to which choice do we like better! What on Earth was Allbeury thinking?!
Ted Allbeury wrote a staggering 42 novels and wrote under two other pen names ~ Richard Butler and Patrick Kelly as well. Here are 28 read’s from Allbeury, all rated accordingly:
THE GOOD (Four to Five Stars): ‘The Lantern Network’, ’Shadow of a Doubt’, ’A Wilderness of Mirrors', 'A Time Without Shadows' aka 'The Rules of the Game', 'The Only Good German' aka ‘Mission Berlin’, 'The Dangerous Edge', ‘Palomino Blonde’ aka 'Omega- minus', 'The Lonely Margins', ’The Crossing' aka ‘The Berlin Exchange’, 'Seeds of Treason', 'Other Kinds of Treason', 'Special Forces' aka 'Moscow Quadrille', the feel good, 'The Girl From Addis', 'Pay Any Price' and the rather exceptional, and this person's favourite, 'The Line-Crosser' (published in 1993).
THE AVERAGE (Two or Three Stars): 'Show Me a Hero', 'No Place to Hide' aka ‘Hostage’, ‘The Reckoning’, ’The Twentieth Day of January’ a.k.a. ‘Cold Tactics’, 'The Reaper' aka 'The Stalking Angel' and ‘Deep Purple’. He also wrote, ’The Choice' which is not espionage and this reader thought not a good one (unless you like Barbara Cartland).
THE UGLY (One or two stars): It’s, however, probably best to stay away from: ‘Aid and Comfort’, ‘The Assets' aka “Due Process’, 'The Secret Whispers’, 'The Alpha List', ’Consequences of Fear' aka ‘Smokescreen’ and ’The Spirit of Liberty'.
August 22, 2024
I came across this book in the late 1980’s and on reading it found it to be an absolute revelation. It caused me to realize for the first time what the actual relationship was between myself and my then wife.
Like Mary and David, my wife and I both came from working class families. We met while I was attending a college in her town, some one hundred miles from my own. While my wife wanted to stay socially more or less where she was, saying that she wanted to have a small job, live in a small house, in a small town, my chosen career as a marine engineer was on the rise, with hopes that I could eventually become part of shore management, as an engineer superintendent, or perhaps even a surveyor with The Salvage Association or Lloyd’s Register, the British maritime classification society.
It turned out that my wife was more concerned with keeping her position whilst trying to keep me where I was, a seagoing engineer, by putting little roadblocks in the way. When my chance finally came to become a surveyor, she said that I wasn’t trained to be a surveyor and that my place was at sea as a chief engineer. She must have been the only seafarer’s wife who wanted her husband out of the way all the time. I came to the realization that from the very beginning, I had been chosen to be the sole provider of her desired way of life, with my own options constrained by hers.
It eventually dawned on me that while I was an open book, she was a complete cypher with everything in her life up until we met being a secret which, apart from a few small items of information that slipped out, came to apply to everything she did when I was away at sea being the same. She refused point blank to answer any questions about this.
In spite of her threatening me with her suicide if I left, I eventually went off to my new job as a surveyor in another EU country. My wife didn’t suicide and we finally divorced few years later. She got her small job, small house, small town lifestyle, but on her own.
I’ve never regretted leaving her and I’ve enjoyed every experience I encountered in my new job, which suited me down to the ground.
If I hadn’t left when I did, I may well have been David at the end of Part 2 of the book.
Like Mary and David, my wife and I both came from working class families. We met while I was attending a college in her town, some one hundred miles from my own. While my wife wanted to stay socially more or less where she was, saying that she wanted to have a small job, live in a small house, in a small town, my chosen career as a marine engineer was on the rise, with hopes that I could eventually become part of shore management, as an engineer superintendent, or perhaps even a surveyor with The Salvage Association or Lloyd’s Register, the British maritime classification society.
It turned out that my wife was more concerned with keeping her position whilst trying to keep me where I was, a seagoing engineer, by putting little roadblocks in the way. When my chance finally came to become a surveyor, she said that I wasn’t trained to be a surveyor and that my place was at sea as a chief engineer. She must have been the only seafarer’s wife who wanted her husband out of the way all the time. I came to the realization that from the very beginning, I had been chosen to be the sole provider of her desired way of life, with my own options constrained by hers.
It eventually dawned on me that while I was an open book, she was a complete cypher with everything in her life up until we met being a secret which, apart from a few small items of information that slipped out, came to apply to everything she did when I was away at sea being the same. She refused point blank to answer any questions about this.
In spite of her threatening me with her suicide if I left, I eventually went off to my new job as a surveyor in another EU country. My wife didn’t suicide and we finally divorced few years later. She got her small job, small house, small town lifestyle, but on her own.
I’ve never regretted leaving her and I’ve enjoyed every experience I encountered in my new job, which suited me down to the ground.
If I hadn’t left when I did, I may well have been David at the end of Part 2 of the book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews