The Invention of Fire: A Novel - Hardcover

Holsinger, Bruce

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062356453 ISBN 13: 9780062356451

Publisher: William Morrow, 2015

Synopsis

The author of the acclaimed historical thriller A Burnable Book once again brings medieval London alive in all its color and detail in a riveting novel that imagines the beginnings of gun violence in the Western world. 

London, 1386: A mass murder has taken place within the city walls. Sixteen corpses have been dumped where they are sure to be found, bearing wounds like none seen before. John Gower, middling poet and expert trader in secrets, is summoned to investigate the killings even as the ruthless mayor of London seeks to thwart an open inquiry for reasons unknown. Gower learns that the men have fallen victim to handgonnes, new and terrifying weapons that threaten to change the future of war. Challenged by deception and treachery on all sides, Gower struggles against his failing vision even as his inquiries take him from the City's labyrinthine slums to the port of Calais to the forests of Kent, where his friend Geoffrey Chaucer serves as justice of the peace. As Gower strives to discover the source of the new guns and the identity of those who wielded them, he must risk everything to reveal the truth - and prevent a more devastating massacre on London's crowded streets ...

About this title

From the Back Cover:

“Beautifully crafted. . . . Quite simply, medieval thrillers don’t come better than this. I may have a new favourite author.”–Edinburgh Evening News

London, 1386. A mass murder has taken place within the city walls. Sixteen corpses have been dumped where they are sure to be found, bearing wounds like none seen before.

John Gower, middling poet and expert trader in secrets, is summoned to investigate the killings even as the ruthless mayor of London seeks to thwart an open inquiry for reasons unknown. Gower learns that the men have fallen victim to handgonnes, new and terrifying weapons that threaten to change the future of war.

Challenged by deception and treachery on all sides, Gower struggles against his failing vision even as his inquiries take him from the city’s labyrinthine slums to the port of Calais to the forests of Kent, where his friend Geoffrey Chaucer serves as justice of the peace. As Gower strives to discover the source of the new guns and the identity of those who wielded them, he must risk everything to reveal the truth–and prevent a more devastating massacre on London’s crowded streets. . . .

“Holsinger’s medieval mystery featuring two famous writers succeeds on every level and will have readers hoping for more.”–Shelf Awareness

About the Author:

Bruce Holsinger is the author of the first John Gower novel, A Burnable Book, and an award-winning scholar of the medieval period who teaches at the University of Virginia. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and a recipient of research fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies and the National Endowment for the Humanities. www.bruceholsinger.com

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0062356453
• ISBN 13: 9780062356451
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 432