The Somnambulist - Hardcover

Barnes, Jonathan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061375381 ISBN 13: 9780061375385

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 2008

Synopsis

A tale set in Victorian London introduces the characters of stage magician and detective Edward Moon and his silent sidekick, whose fiendish plot to re-create the apocalyptic prophecies of Samuel Taylor Coleridge threaten the British Empire. A first novel. 30,000 first printing.

About this title

Review

"Strange, outrageous, and wonderful . There is much that is strange, magical, and darkly hilarious about this book . An original and monumentally inventive piece of work by a writer still in his 20s. Barnes seems to leave himself room for a sequel-a consummation devoutly to be wished." -- Washington Post

"Strange, outrageous, and wonderful ... There is much that is strange, magical, and darkly hilarious about this book ... An original and monumentally inventive piece of work by a writer still in his 20s. Barnes seems to leave himself room for a sequel--a consummation devoutly to be wished."--Washington Post

"Old school entertainment in the penny-dreadful tradition that almost succeeds in being as sublime as it is ridiculous."--Entertainment Weekly

"A first novel that shows all the polish and poise of a master storyteller....By turns disquieting, funny, and taunting."--St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Magical, dark, beautifully odd-and utterly compelling-this is an astonishing debut."--Michael Marshall, author of The Intruders

"The Somnambulist is not your great-grandfather's mystery yarn."--Richmond Times-Dispatch

"Anyone who loves a good, kind of creepy thriller most likely will find something to love in [these] pages.... Thoroughly enjoyable."--Kansas City Star

"This superb debut from British author Barnes raises the bar for historical thrillers."--Publishers Weekly

"A cheeky tale...salvaged from the sensationalist novels of the past three centuries....it doesn't take an English-lit wonk to appreciate the antic mind that would name two of the grotesquely deformed prostitutes in Mrs. Puggsley's brothel after virginal victims of Count Dracula."--New York Times

"[B]rilliant...Barnes crafts one of the finest first novels of the young century...Truly surprising plot twists and red herrings abound."--Austin Chronicle

Book Description

An extraordinary tale of poetry, secret societies, travelling circuses and walking dead set in a richly realised Victorian London

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow & Co
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0061375381
• ISBN 13: 9780061375385
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 353