Spokeshave's Bear: A merry tale of actors, aristocrats and secret agents

It's August 1940 and the once tranquil English village of Snodbury is under siege on many fronts.

Overhead, the Luftwaffe is doing its best to put the local airfield out of business. On the ground, dangerous secret agents for Germany, Italy and the tiny Republic of Slobodia are pursuing sinister agendas of their own.

For its part, the British Army's spirited response is to launch a full-scale assault on the empty wheatfield known as Badger's Bottom.

Amid this mayhem, the great Shakespearean actor Pelham Pendlebury returns to historic Snodbury Hall. His mission: to reveal to his 'daughter' Veronica that she is in fact heiress to a European throne. But there's a hitch. A rival claimant named Vicky McMath arrives from America insisting she is the true princess.

There are other problems too: a long-lost crown must be found by following cryptic clues from one of Shakespeare's plays; a solemn oath must be sworn and time is rapidly running out; and the foreign agents are determined to stop any of it happening.

How will it all end? That would be telling, but expect a dramatic chase featuring a motorbike, a Tiger Moth biplane, and an unlikely bear-shaped hero.

This light-hearted yet suspense-filled tale of actors, aristocrats and secret agents will have you chuckling out loud as you follow its many surprising twists and turns.

Warning to readers: You may find Spokeshave's Bear hard to put down.