Synopses & Reviews
"A delightful period whodunit."--
USA TodayI n Madrid in 1 8 6 8 , fencing master and man of honor Don Jaime is approached by a mysterious woman who seeks to learn the secret of the unstoppable thrust, an arcane technique known only to him. All too soon he finds himself in the vortex of a plot that includes seduction, secret political documents, and more than one murder. Rich with the historical detail of a decaying world that agonizes-as does the world of fencing itself-over the ideals of honor and chivalry, The Fencing Master is superb literature and a true page-turner.
"Extraordinary . . .The brilliant, final fencing match is pure poetry."-The Denver Post
Internationally acclaimed author Pérez-Reverte was born in 1951 in Spain, where he lives. His bestselling books have been translated into nineteen languages in thirty countries and have sold millions of copies.
Review
"Pérez-Reverte is a master of lushly atmospheric suspense, and his prose is as spellbinding in the fencing gallery as it is in the arcane realm of honor and loyalty that shapes Don Jaime's world." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Not quite equal to Pérez-Reverte's very best, though it succeeds admirably both as a vivid picture of an unfamiliar culture and as high, sophisticated entertainment." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Pérez-Reverte is a writer who knows how to keep readers turning the pages.... All in all, The Fencing Master is a splendid performance." New York Times Book Review
Review
"Pérez-Reverte likes his heroes strong, his plots complex, even almost literary, and his women a little dangerous....[He] leads us through this intellectual thriller with the rhythm of a fencing match: thrust, parry, feint; thrust, parry feint." Miami Herald
Review
"[A] fine tale of political intrigue with a lot of fencing lore deftly mixed in. Figuring out the political mess behind the killer's motivations might take a reread, but this will delight anyone who enjoys swashbucklers." Library Journal
Review
"The master of the intellectual thriller is not an American or British writer, but Spaniard Arturo Pérez-Reverte, one of the most creative and devilishly complex authors of the '90s." San Francisco Examiner
Synopsis
The unstoppable thrust is the arcane fencing technique known only by Don Jaime—and the deadly maneuver that a beautiful young woman wants him to teach her.What begins as a rather bold request leads Don Jaime into the shadowy politics and violence of mid-nineteenth-century Madrid.
Synopsis
Arturo Pérez-Reverte, internationally acclaimed author of
The Flanders Panel,
The Club Dumas, and
The Seville Communion, returns with a literary page-turner set during the political turmoil of late-19th-century Spain.
While friends and countrymen argue monarchical imperatives and plot bloody revolution, the courtly and chivalrous Don Jaime Astarloa remains blissfully disinterested in worldly affairs preferring to devote himself to the completion of his life's work, a Treatise on the Art of Fencing. But when a beautiful and mysterious young woman with an intriguing scar at the corner of her mouth asks Don Jaime to teach her the secret of the unstoppable sword thrust, he soon finds himself unwittingly drawn into a secret plot that involves seduction, politics, blackmail, and murder.
About the Author
ARTURO PEREZ-REVERTE is the author of many critically acclaimed novels, including The Club Dumas, The Flanders Panel, and the Captain Alatriste series. A retired war journalist, he lives in Madrid and is a member of the Royal Spanish Academy.