Volume One: Forgotten Names
On the horizon of history, some names appear not with thunder or trumpets, but quietly, like a fly landing on a page, neither disturbing the reader's attention nor showing its weight. The name Arthur Hastings appeared initially in official archives in such a silent, even slightly awkward manner.
On January 15, 1810, Arthur Hastings, the future Cabinet Secretary of the British Empire, was born in a poorhouse in the rural area of Bradford, Yorkshire. At that time, no one could have predicted that this swaddled infant would later appear repeatedly on the front pages of The Times, secret government communications, and confidential Foreign Office correspondences.
