The Meaning of Night (The Meaning of Night #1)
The atmosphere of Bleak House, the sensuous thrill of Perfume, and the mystery of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell all combine in a story of murder, deceit, love, and revenge in Victorian England."After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn's for an oyster supper." So begins the...
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The atmosphere of Bleak House, the sensuous thrill of Perfume, and the mystery of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell all combine in a story of murder, deceit, love, and revenge in Victorian England."After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn's for an oyster supper." So begins the "enthralling" (Booklist, starred review) and "ingenious" (Boston Globe) story of Edward Glyver, booklover, scholar, and murderer. As a young boy, Glyver always believed he was destined for greatness. A chance discovery convinces him that he was right: greatness does await him, along with immense wealth and influence. Overwhelmed by his discovery, he will stop at nothing to win back a prize that he knows is rightfully his.Glyver's path to reclaim his prize leads him from the depths of Victorian London, with its foggy streets, brothels, and opium dens, to Evenwood, one of England's most beautiful and enchanting country houses, and finally to a consuming love for the beautiful but enigmatic Emily Carteret. His is a story of betrayal and treachery, of death and delusion, of ruthless obsession and ambition. And at every turn, driving Glyver irresistibly onward, is his deadly rival: the poet-criminal Phoebus Rainsford Daunt.The Meaning of Night is an enthralling novel that will captivate readers right up to its final thrilling revelation.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780393330342 (0393330346)
Publish date: October 17th 2007
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Pages no: 720
Edition language: English
Category:
Literature,
European Literature,
British Literature,
Historical Fiction,
Mystery,
19th Century,
Historical Mystery,
Thriller,
Mystery Thriller,
Crime,
Horror,
Gothic
Series: The Meaning of Night (#1)
Dani (a GR friend) asked me why I gave this three stars, so instead of pulling out the reading journals I've been keeping since 2000, I reread it. The book is a great homage to the Victorian thriller that Cox had long edited and admired. What I found distracting were the footnotes.The novel is one o...
I got through part 1 and failed to care enough to continue. As there are reserves on it I'm going to send it on it's merry way. I may return to it again.
This was so unnecessarily long. I hated almost every single character and found Edward's slavish devotion to fate inexplicable and annoying. Poor Edward - I saw that betrayal coming a mile away (though unfortunately it took many, many pages to learn I was right).
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/267244063
This book started out great. The first line, "After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn's for an oyster supper." really hooked me. As the book continued it proved interesting, a tale narrated in the first person by a man of obvious derangement convinced of his own rationality and ...