Poison - Softcover

HARRISON, KATHRYN

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0380727412 ISBN 13: 9780380727414

Publisher: Avon Books, 1996

Synopsis

Francisca de Luarac, the daughter of a poor Spanish silk grower, is a dreamer of fabulous dreams. Marie Louise de Bourbon, the niece of Louis XIV, dances in slippers of fine Spanish silk in the French Court of the Sun King and imagines her own enchanted future. Born on the same day--in an age when superstition, repression, and the Inquisition reign--the lives of these two young women unfold in tandem, barely touching. Each hoards the memory of her adored lost mother like an amulet. Francica's obsession with her lover, a Catholick priest, will shaper her fate. Marie Loouise is yoked by political expediency to the mad, imptoent Carlos II of Spain. But even as their twin destinies spiral inexorably toward disaster, both Queen and commoner cultivate a dangerous, secret life dedicated to resistance, transcendence, and love. Written in gorgeous prose that has the sheen of silk, Kathryn Harrison's POISON vividlyreminds us of the persistence of desire, the passion that exists between mothers and daughters, and the sorcery of dreams.

About this title

Review:

"A wonderful novel, rich and wild and sweet."--"Washington Post Book World""Vivid...remarkable...crystalline prose perfumed (but not too much) with musky eroticism, bigger enough than life to carry you away...Flaubert once marvelled at how long it took him to shake off the smell of arsenic after writing Madame Bovary's death scene. Readers of "Poison"may feel the same."--"Chicago Tribune""Fascinating...mesmerizing...a hypnotic tale..."Poison"is a rich tapestry."--"USA Today"

About the Author:

Kathryn Harrison is a graduate of Stanford University and the Iowa Writer's Workshop. Her first novel, Thicker Than Water, was a New York Times Notable Book of 1991. Her second novel, Exposure, was also a New York Times Notable Book, and a national bestseller. She lives in New York City with her husband, the writer Colin Harrison.

About this edition

• Publisher: Avon Books
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0380727412
• ISBN 13: 9780380727414
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336