BOOKS

The terrifying legacy of ‘the English Leonardo’

Hooke’s Prism

by Paul Ashford

When two brothers stumble upon a gun and a crumbling notebook in the English countryside, they set in motion a chain of events that leads back to the dying embers of the Second World War — and the final, desperate days of Winston Churchill’s premiership. The cryptic jottings belong to a forgotten veteran: a man broken by conflict, haunted by secrets, and once entangled in an invisible war fought by the brightest minds of the age.

At the heart of it all lies a mystery buried since 1945 — a missing message penned by Churchill himself, whispered across a conference table in Potsdam, and never delivered. As the narrator pieces together a puzzle that spans generations, he uncovers the terrifying legacy of the Invisible College, a secretive fellowship founded by the ‘English Leonardo’, Robert Hooke. But what did Hooke discover — and why has it been hidden for over 300 years?

Hooke’s Prism is a gripping literary thriller that peers into the shadowy spaces between science, power, and history.

Buy Paperback

Buy Kindle

Buy eBook

For a long time I was uncertain who I could trust. Worse, I was uncertain who could trust me. I once longed, as people do, for a better world. I was in favour of life being tolerable for others, so long as it did not result in me missing out.
Excerpt from Hookes Prism
It will be crucial to examine the motives and actions of my ex-headmaster Mr Wilkins. A teacher’s job is challenging, because to know anything, it is necessary to know everything.
Excerpt from Hookes Prism
Char’s insight is obscured by the fact that he writes in French, so I doubt whether many of us will grasp his meaning. I am no expert, but it occurs to me that we all have moments of doubt.
Excerpt from Hookes Prism
Moments when we feel our connections to others are fleeting, and we are less human, or perhaps more human, than those around us. It may turn out that I was the ambiguous one.
Excerpt from Hookes Prism
Payment was neither offered nor requested. Like most grownups at that time Mr and Mrs Bland guessed what Old Turnip had been through and its catastrophic effect on his psyche.
Excerpt from Hookes Prism