THE SKULL AND THE NIGHTINGALE - Softcover

Irwin, Michael

2.86

417 ratings by Goodreads

9780007476350: THE SKULL AND THE NIGHTINGALE

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007476353 ISBN 13: 9780007476350

Publisher: The Borough Press, 2014

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Set in England in the early 1760s, this is a chilling and deliciously dark tale of manipulation, sex, and seduction.

When Richard Fenwick, a young man without family or means, returns to London from the Grand Tour, his wealthy godfather, James Gilbert, has an unexpected proposition. Gilbert has led a fastidious life in Worcestershire, but now in his advancing years, he feels the urge to experience, even vicariously, the extremes of human feeling―love and passion, adultery and deceit―along with something much more sinister. He has selected Fenwick to be his proxy, and his ward has no option but to accept.

But Gilbert’s elaborate and manipulative “experiments” into the workings of human behaviour drag Fenwick into a vortex of betrayal and danger where lives are ruined and tragedy is always one small step away. And when Fenwick falls in love with one of Gilbert’s pawns and the stakes rise even higher – is it too late for him to escape the Faustian pact?

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Review:

‘This is a surprising and thrilling Rake’s Progress. I enjoyed every word’ Diana Athill, author of Stet

‘An atmospheric portrait of the Georgian world’ Sunday Times

‘Rollickingly enjoyable’ Literary Review

‘Part crime thriller, part historical novel – with a heady dose of women, wine and weird company to boot – Irwin's epistolary novel is entirely captivating’ We Love This Book

‘A splendid novel: immaculately researched, morally fascinating and strangely troubling. It kept surprising me and delighting me in equal measure’ Andrew Taylor, author of The American Boy

From the Back Cover:

A chilling and deliciously dark tale of manipulation, sex, and seduction in eighteenth-century England

When Richard Fenwick returns to London in 1761, his wealthy godfather, James Gilbert, has an unexpected proposition. Gilbert has led a sedate life in the country, but now feels the urge to experience, even vicariously, the extremes of human feeling: love, passion, and something much more sinister. He asks Richard to serve as his proxy and to write to him of his city adventures--tales of carousing, seduction, and excess. Richard rises to the challenge and delves deep into London's salacious side.

Gilbert's elaborate and manipulative "experiments" into the intimate workings of human behavior soon drag Richard into a vortex of betrayal, where lives are ruined and tragedy is only a step away. And when Richard does the unthinkable and falls in love, the stakes are raised and he must make a defining choice. But what sort of man has he by now become?

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