The Ancient Nine: A Novel

Ian K. Smith, M.D.

Sep 2018 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

"Pulls you into the depths of a secret world from the first page. Ian Smith’s novel is unmissable." —Harlan Coben, author of Missing You

Cambridge, Massachusetts, Fall 1988

Spenser Collins
An unlikely Harvard prospect, smart and athletic, strapped for cash, determined to succeed. Calls his mother—who raised him on her own in Chicago—every week.

Dalton Winthrop
A white-shoe legacy at Harvard, he's just the most recent in a string of moneyed, privileged Winthrop men in Cambridge. He's got the ease—and the deep knowledge—that come from belonging.

These two find enough common ground to become friends, cementing their bond when Spenser is "punched" to join the Delphic Club, one of the most exclusive of Harvard's famous all-male final clubs. Founded in the nineteenth century, the Delphic has had titans of industry, Hollywood legends, heads of state, and power brokers among its members.

Dalton Winthrop knows firsthand that the Delphic doesn't offer memberships to just anyone. His great-uncle is one of their oldest living members, and Dalton grew up on stories of the club's rituals. But why is his uncle so cryptic about the Ancient Nine, a shadowy group of alums whose identities are unknown and whose power is absolute? They protect the Delphic's darkest and oldest secrets—including what happened to a student who sneaked into the club's stately brick mansion in 1927 and was never seen again.

Dalton steers Spenser into deeper and deeper recesses of the club, and beyond, to try to make sense of what they think they may be seeing. But with each scrap of information they get from an octogenarian Crimson graduate, a crumbling newspaper in the library's archives, or one of Harvard's most famous and heavily guarded historical books, a fresh complication trips them up. The more the friends investigate, the more questions they unearth, tangling the story of the club, the disappearance, and the Ancient Nine, until they realize their own lives are in danger.

Ratings and reviews

Truly --- Ian Smith is a thoughtful, common sense, just do it, person. His real life experiences will help to motivate you to not-only to begin working out with a new positive attitude, but also focus on the root cause of your health problem(s). And to believe in yourself, that you can become healthy again, as long as you desire to put a honest effort into your diet plan and workouts. 🤔☺️

The Ancient Nine is a book about one of Harvard’s most private and elite society groups, known as the Delphic Club. This exclusive group had the most secrets and mysteries of all of the Harvard clubs. There were rumors of dark undercover happenings, missing persons, and murder. Within the Delphic Club was another secret society known as the Ancient Nine. Spencer Collins was from Chicago and had a single parent upbringing. He was attending Harvard to play basketball and study medicine. Spencer was astounded when he received an invitation to a private party for Delphic Club members. Spencer didn’t fit their mold. He wasn’t from a wealthy family, or live in a prestigious neighborhood. He never attended private schools and didn’t mingle in the same circles as the elite. So why him? His best friend Dalton Winthrop, however, who knew about Harvard’s exclusive clubs, said that Spencer’s invitation was the real deal. Spencer had no idea what he was getting into but was eager to find out. The underworld of secret Harvard societies was about to open up for him. The Ancient Nine is an intriguing story, well-written, and captivating. Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley, for my advanced review copy.

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About the author

Ian K. Smith is the author of New York Times bestselling nonfiction books, including the #1 bestsellers Shred, Super Shred, and Blast the Sugar Out, as well as the novel The Blackbird Papers. He is a graduate of Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine.