Pure / Andrew Miller

Miller, Andrew (1961-)

ISBN 10: 1444724266 / ISBN 13: 9781444724264

Published by London : Sceptre, 2011

About this Item

Near fine copy in the original stiff-card wrappers; edges very slightly dust-dulled and toned. Remains particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. Physical description; 342 pages. Notes; Includes publiesher's press release. Contents; On the cusp of the French Revolution, a young, ambitious engineer of humble origins is summoned to Versailles for a royal commission -- to clear the overflowing cemetery of Les Innocents in the heart of Paris. Convincing himself it is for the greater good and a way of clearing the burden of history, Jean-Baptiste Barratte sets about his unwelcome task. What he doesn't foresee are the dramas, violence and calamities it triggers, or that it will bring an unusual woman into his life. By the time the last bone has been removed, the transformation of Les Innocents has irrevocably changed him and his future. Subjects; Civil engineers ; Fiction. Cemeteries France Paris ; Fiction. Civil engineers ; Fiction. Historical fiction France 18th century. Miller, Andrew, (1961-) English literature, (2000-) Individual works. Historical fiction. Cemeteries. Civil engineers. Manners and customs. Paris (France) Social life and customs 18th century ; Fiction. Paris Social life and customs 18th century ; Fiction. France Paris. Genres; Fiction. Historical fiction - England - 2012. Historical fiction. 1 Kg. Seller Inventory # 289679

Bibliographic Details

Title: Pure / Andrew Miller

Publisher: London : Sceptre

Publication Date: 2011

Binding: Soft cover

Edition: First Proof Edition.

About this title

Synopsis:

A year of bones, of grave-dirt, relentless work. Of mummified corpses and chanting priests.

A year of rape, suicide, sudden death. Of friendship too. Of desire. Of love...

A year unlike any other he has lived.

Deep in the heart of Paris, its oldest cemetery is, by 1785, overflowing, tainting the very breath of those who live nearby. Into their midst comes Jean-Baptiste Baratte, a young, provincial engineer charged by the king with demolishing it.

At first Baratte sees this as a chance to clear the burden of history, a fitting task for a modern man of reason. But before long, he begins to suspect that the destruction of the cemetery might be a prelude to his own.

Review:

His recreation of pre-Revolutionary Paris is extraordinarily vivid and imaginative, and his story is so gripping that you'll put your life on hold to finish it (The Times)

Enthralling ... superbly researched, brilliantly narrated and movingly resolved (Observer)

Exquisite inside and out, PURE is a near-faultless thing (Sunday Telegraph)

It draws you in with hallucinatory power (Daily Mail)

Superb (Literary Review)

Dazzling (Guardian)