The Meaning of Night

The Meaning of Night

Published:
2006-12-01
Categories:
ISBN:
9780393067125
Meeting:
FBC Recommended R2.070
Pages:
719
File size (e-book):
1.0 MB
Download URL:
Book Availability:
available
Pre Order Availability:
no
Accessibility Features:
enabled

Description:

The atmosphere of Bleak House, the sensuous thrill of Perfume, and the mystery of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell all combine in a story of murder, deceit, love, and revenge in Victorian England.

"After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn's for an oyster supper."  So begins the "enthralling" (Booklist, starred review) and "ingenious" (Boston Globe) story of Edward Glyver, booklover, scholar, and murderer.  As a young boy, Glyver always believed he was destined for greatness.  A chance discovery convinces him that he was right: greatness does await him, along with immense wealth and influence.  Overwhelmed by his discovery, he will stop at nothing to win back a prize that he knows is rightfully his.

Glyver's path to reclaim his prize leads him from the depths of Victorian London, with its foggy streets, brothels, and opium dens, to Evenwood, one of England's most beautiful and enchanting country houses, and finally to a consuming love for the beautiful but enigmatic Emily Carteret.  His is a story of betrayal and treachery, of death and delusion, of ruthless obsession and ambition.  And at every turn, driving Glyver irresistibly onward, is his deadly rival: the poet-criminal Phoebus Rainsford Daunt.

The Meaning of Night is an enthralling novel that will captivate readers right up to its final thrilling revelation.

Author Details:

Michael Cox was born in Northamptonshire in 1948. After graduating from Cambridge in 1971, he went into the music business as a singer/songwriter (under the name Matthew Ellis) before taking a job in publishing with Thorsons Publishing Group in 1977. His first book, published in 1983, was a widely praised biography of the scholar and ghost-story writer M.R. James. He then joined Oxford University Press as an editor, where he edited many literary anthologies, including The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories and The Oxford Book of Victorian Detective Stories. His first novel, The Meaning of Night, was written as he was losing his sight to cancer; the book became a critical success and was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award. The Glass of Time, a sequel to The Meaning of Night was published in 2008. Michael Cox died of a rare vascular cancer, in March 2009, at the age of 60.