Synopses & Reviews
"Just when you think there's nothing new to be done with the novel, along comes a book that pushes the form in a fresh direction."and#8212;John Harding, author of Florence and Giles
"[Karlinsky] weaves together the actual and the imaginary with consummate skill. Knowing that it is a fiction makes me want it even more to be true."and#8212; The Scotsman
While carrying out historical investigations at the Nobel Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, a psychiatrist makes an unusual discovery. Among the unsolicited self-nominations in the museum's "Crackpot" file, there are eight letters addressed to Mr. Ragnar Solman, executor of Alfred Nobel's will. Remarkably, each is crafted by a different Nobel laureateand#8212;including Rudyard Kipling and Marie Curieand#8212;and each is an explanation of why and how Stonehenge was constructed. Diligent research eventually uncovers that Alfred Nobel, intrigued by a young woman's obsession with the mysterious landmark, added a secret codicil to his will, "a prizeand#8212;reserved exclusively for Nobel laureatesand#8212;was to be awarded to the person who solves the mystery of Stonehenge."
Weaving together a wealth of primary documentsand#8212;photos, letters, willsand#8212;The Stonehenge Letters acts as an archive of a fascinating secret competition, complete with strange but illuminating submissions and a contentious prize-awarding process.
Harry Karlinsky is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of British Columbia. His first novel, The Evolution of Inanimate Objects (HarperCollins UK), was longlisted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize.
Synopsis
The archives of a secret competition, sponsored by Alfred Nobel, to "solve" Stonehenge — as compelling as the monument itself.
Synopsis
While researching why Freud failed to win a Nobel Prize at the Nobel Archives in Sweden, a psychiatrist makes an unusual discovery. Among the piles of papers in the 'Crackpot' file are letters addressed to the executor of Alfred Nobel's will, written by several notable Nobel laureates including Rudyard Kipling and Marie Curie each offering an explanation of why and how Stonehenge was constructed. Diligent research uncovers that Alfred Nobel added a secret codicil to his will, a prize for the Nobel laureate who solves the mystery of Stonehenge.
Weaving together a wealth of primary sources photos, letters, wills The Stonehenge Letters tells the tale of a fascinating secret competition.
Praise for The Stonehenge Letters:
'This little novel is a delight from its first word to its last. The Stonehenge Letters is by turns thoughtful, whimsical, haunting and laugh-out-loud funny. Reading this book was like skating over the smoothest ice; I was blissfully unaware of the transition from history to fiction and back again'
Annabel Lyon, author of The Sweet Girl
'In his alarmingly smart and dangerously absorbing Freud-tinged romance/detective story, Harry Karlinsky deploys explosions, earthworms, radioactive particles and a passel of Nobel laureates to reinvent history in the golden age of invention.'
Zsuzsi Gartner, author of Better Living Through Plastic Explosives
About the Author
Harry Karlinsky is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of British Columbia. His first novel,
The Evolution of Inanimate Objects (HarperCollins UK), was longlisted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize.