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Book News, Guests | December 14, 2009

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  1. $10.49 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

The Great Stink

by Clare Clark

The Great Stink Cover

ISBN13: 9780156030885
ISBN10: 0156030888
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Only 3 left in stock at $6.95!

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

It is 1855, and engineer William May has returned home to London and his beloved wife from the horrors of the Crimean War. When he secures a job transforming the city's sewer system, he believes it will prove his salvation, as, in the subterranean world beneath the city, he begins to lay his ghosts to rest. But when the peace of the tunnels is shattered by a violent murder William loses his tenuous hold on his sanity. Implicated in the crime, plagued by nightmares and visions, he is no longer sure: Could he truly have committed it?

Long Arm Tom is a tosher who scavenges for anything of value in the old sewers, always accompanied by his beloved dog Lady. It is this business that brings him into contact with "The Captain," a wealthy businessman with a weakness for gambling who asks Tom to use his knowledge of London's underworld for an even less savory purpose. But Tom is also William's only hope of salvation. Will he help William bring the truth aboveground?

With richly atmospheric prose of almost visceral power, The Great Stink transports us behind (and below) the glittering façades of Victorian England. Seamlessly combining fact with fiction, it marks the debut of an outstandingly talented writer in the tradition of the very best of historical novelists.

Review:

Crisp, assured, and relentlessly pungent. One does not so much read The Great Stink as smell, hear and taste it.
(Amanda Foreman)

Review:

Crisp, assured, and relentlessly pungent. One does not so much read The Great Stink as smell, hear and taste it.
(Amanda Foreman)

Synopsis:

With extraordinarily vivid characters and unflinching prose that recall "Year of Wonders" and "The Dress Lodger, The Great Stink" marks the debut of an outstandingly talented writer in the tradition of the best historical novelists.

Synopsis:

Clare Clark’s critically acclaimed The Great Stink “reeks of talent” (The Washington Post Book World) as it vividly brings to life the dark and mysterious underworld of Victorian London. Set in 1855, it tells the story of William May, an engineer who has returned home to London from the horrors of the Crimean War. When he secures a job trans­forming the city’s sewer system, he believes that he will be able to find salvation in the subterranean world beneath the city. But the peace of the tunnels is shattered by a murder, and William is implicated as the killer. Could he truly have committed the crime? How will he bring the truth above-ground?
 
With richly atmospheric prose, The Great Stink combines fact and fiction to transport readers into London’s putrid past, and marks the debut of a remarkably talented writer in the tradition of the very best historical novelists.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Susan Ferris, August 18, 2006 (view all comments by Susan Ferris)
This book is a page turner. A rare combination of historical and thriller.
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(3 of 6 readers found this comment helpful)

Product Details

ISBN:
9780156030885
Author:
Clark, Clare
Publisher:
Harvest Books
Subject:
Action & Adventure
Subject:
Historical - General
Subject:
Mystery & Detective - General
Subject:
Mystery & Detective - Historical
Subject:
Sewerage
Subject:
Veterans
Subject:
Historical fiction
Subject:
Mystery fiction
Copyright:
Publication Date:
October 2006
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Pages:
356
Dimensions:
8.08x5.36x1.07 in. .74 lbs.

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