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An Instance of the Fingerpost

By Iain Pears

(18)

| Hardcover | 9781573220828

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Book Description

We are in England in the 1660s. Charles II has been restored to the throne following years of civil war and Cromwell's short-lived republic. Oxford is the intellectual seat of the country, a place of great scientific, religious, and political ferment. A fellow of New College is found dead in suspiciContinue

We are in England in the 1660s. Charles II has been restored to the throne following years of civil war and Cromwell's short-lived republic. Oxford is the intellectual seat of the country, a place of great scientific, religious, and political ferment. A fellow of New College is found dead in suspicious circumstances. A young woman is accused of his murder. We hear the story of the death from four witnesses: an Italian physician intent on claiming credit for the invention of blood transfusion; the son of an alleged Royalist traitor; a master cryptographer who has worked for both Cromwell and the king; and a renowned Oxford antiquarian. Each tells his own version of what happened. Only one reveals the extraordinary truth. With rights sold for record-breaking sums around the world, An Instance of the Fingerpost is destined to become a major international publishing event. Deserving of comparison to the works of John Fowles and Umberto Eco, Iain Pears's novel is an ingenious tour de force: an utterly compelling historical mystery with a plot that twists and turns and keeps the reader guessing until the very last page.

Critics

  • An Instance of the Fingerpost

    With Charles II recently restored to the throne, England in 1663 is at an uneasy peace, with both individuals and political and religious factions jostling for position. Making good use of this setting, An Instance of the Fingerpost starts as a murde ... (read full critics)

    dannyreviews published on Sat, 22 Oct 2011

  • An Instance of the Fingerpost By Iain Pears

    Murder, mayhem, lust, and betrayal are rife among Oxford's ivory towers in Iain Pears' An Instance of the Fingerpost. Set in the Restoration period, this masterfully crafted historical mystery is about how different people perceive and interpret a gh ... (read full critics)

    bookpage published on Fri, 17 Sep 2010

1 Review

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  • 1 person find this helpful

    Intriguing application of the Rashomon idea of presenting the same events from different perspectives. In this case applied to a historical detective story set in 17thC Oxford.

    The gaps in each narrator's knowledge and the omissions in their stories get filled out as the book proceeds so tha ... (continue)

    Intriguing application of the Rashomon idea of presenting the same events from different perspectives. In this case applied to a historical detective story set in 17thC Oxford.

    The gaps in each narrator's knowledge and the omissions in their stories get filled out as the book proceeds so that the 'whodunit' aspects work really well.

    Quite tempted to re-read it straight away just to savour how the different bits of the four tellings fit together.

    Some anachronisms in the dialogue but they don't spoil the flow.

    Is this helpful?

    huntch said on Nov 18, 2007 | Add your feedback

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