A Maxim Jakubowski selected title.
When crime and historical fiction meet, the results are often gripping and this 18th century London romp delivers splendidly. In a society in which abject poverty and wealth precariously coexist, we follow the rise and fall and loves of a young rake reminiscent of Tom Jones and Roderick Random as he allies himself with a sinister protector who wishes to experience all that the dark side of the city can offer. Naturally no good can come of this but the journey is breathless, colourful and a mile a minute read.
Michael Irwin's The Skull and the Nightingale is a chilling and deliciously dark, literary novel of manipulation and sex, intrigue and seduction, set in 18th-century England. When Richard Fenwick returns to London, his wealthy godfather, James Gilbert, has an unexpected proposition. Gilbert has led a sedate life in Worcestershire, but feels the urge to experience, even vicariously, the extremes of human feeling: love, passion, and something much more sinister. It becomes apparent that Gilbert desires news filled with tales of carousing, flirtation, excess, and London's more salacious side. But Gilbert's elaborate and manipulative "experiments" into the workings of human behavior soon drag Richard into a Faustian vortex of betrayal and danger where lives are ruined and tragedy is only a step away. With echoes of Dangerous Liaisons, Michael Irwin's The Skull and the Nightingale is an urgent period drama that seduces the senses.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
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Michael Irwin's The Skull and the Nightingale is a chilling and deliciously dark, literary novel of manipulation and sex, intrigue and seduction, set in 18th-century England. When Richard Fenwick returns to London, his wealthy godfather, James Gilbert, has an unexpected proposition.
The Skull and the Nightingale features in the following genres: Historical Fiction, Thriller and Suspense, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, eBooks of the Month, Fiction, General Fiction, Recommendations
Paperback, Hardback. Not Available.
The Skull and the Nightingale was written by Michael Irwin and published by William Morrow & Company an imprint of HarperCollins
The Skull and the Nightingale has 432 pages
