Some stories demand to be told, and this is one of them. It’s the thrilling story of a young Greek boy who survived pirates, became a trader with the East India Company who charmed Kings and Maharajas, and along the way he became a lover who crossed oceans for the one woman he loved. Now readers can finally experience this sweeping historical epic that reviewers are already calling unforgettable. This story is semi fictional, based on the real life of Constantine Gerakis. There are no records of his early life, so the author set out to imagine how he ended up becoming the second most powerful man next to King Narai of Siam.
Some authors spend their entire lives in libraries researching stories. Mike Holt spent his living them.
Shortly after World War II ended, he moved from England to Gibraltar as a child before his mother took him and his sister by ship across the ocean to Australia where his father had already joined the RAAF. He attended high school in Penang, Malaysia, where the humid air carried the scent of spices, and the streets hummed with languages he would spend a lifetime learning to understand…
Some lives are too extraordinary to remain buried by history. Constantine Phaulkon lived one of those lives.
A Greek boy who watched pirates murder his parents. A penniless teenager who fled his shattered island in a small boat with nothing but a sword and a few coins. A young man who talked his way into the mighty East India Company and learned the trader’s art from masters. And finally, a trusted advisor who rose to become the second most powerful man in the Kingdom of Siam…
Mike has written hundreds of articles published in blogs, website and social media
His other books will captivate you too
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POW 921, a very personal story about the experiences of an Aussie Digger captured by the Japanese in 1942 when the Japanese invaded Singapore and captured the Allied soldiers. How did the Atom Bomb save them?
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Life, Death & Everything In-between is a collection of short stories that will delight and surprise the reader... taking you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions and fun. A mix of fact and fiction, murder mysteries, drug deals, bucolic life in country Thailand.
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Constantine was a Greek adventurer who joined the East Asiatic Company in the 17th Century. This gripping semi-fictional story is based on his amazing life and adventures. If you love a fast-paced exciting read that has Pirates, Maharajas, spies, and palace intrigue you will love this book.
A glimpse into how this epic journey has inspired and captivated readers.
What was it like for a young man to see his family killed by pirates in front of him, and how would he survive? Constantine – Almost a King – fills in a large historical gap to bring a startling historical figure to life. Constantine was a survivor who lived by his own rules and achieved what no other European has ever done – he is the only foreigner who
History tells us very little about the early life of one of the 17th Century’s most intriguing characters. Constantine Gerakis (Falcon – or Phaulkon in French). The history books talk about his achievements in Siam, leading to his promotion by King Narai to become second in power to him. But how did he achieve such a lofty position? In this novel, the author has created a story about his early
