Overview

While draining a pond during work for the construction of the Stockton to Darlington Railway George Stevenson's workers discover a female corpse with a dagger stuck between her ribs - could it be that of Lady Beresford, the French wife of a local baron who disappeared under mysterious circumstances twenty years ago? The identity of the victim is at the heart of Jean-Pierre Ohl's novel, a richly woven tapestry set during the rise of capitalism in England. The Devil's Road has a Dickensian range of characters from the indolent liberal lawyer with a taste for Byron's poems and madeira wine, his imperturbable clerk Snegg, the activist worker Davies and the 'Corporal', a veteran of the Napoleonic wars and demonstrator wounded at the Peterloo Massacre - there is even a role for the young Charles Dickens working in the blacking warehouse. As well as its vivid picture of English society at a key moment of development, The Devil's Road also has elements of the Gothic novel, making it Jean-Pierre Ohl's homage to the English tradition of fiction. AUTHOR: Jean-Pierre Ohl is a bookseller in Talence near Bordeaux. He is the author of two novels Mr Dick or The Tenth Book and The Lairds of Cromarty, both published in England by Dedalus.

Full Product Details

9781910213933

Table of Contents

Reviews

Jean Pierre Ohl's dazzling British tale with its mixture of gothic thriller and historical novel with more than a dash of black comedy lights up the French literary scene . -- Le Canard enchaine Jean Pierre Ohl constructs a many faceted novel with elements of the police thriller and the gothic novel into a harmonious whole. -- Jean-Didier Wagneur, Liberation. The Devil's Road opens up a new exciting path for literary fiction. --Le Figaro

'Jean Pierre Ohl's dazzling British tale with its mixture of gothic thriller and historical novel with more than a dash of black comedy lights up the French literary scene .' Le Canard enchaine 'The Devil's Road opens up a new exciting path for literary fiction .'Le Figaro 'Jean Pierre Ohl constructs a many faceted novel with elements of the police thriller and the gothic novel into a harmonious whole. 'Jean-Didier Wagneur, Liberation.

Author Information

Jean-Pierre Ohl has combined a career as a bookseller with his writing. He is the author of three novels Mr Dick or The Tenth Book, The Lairds of Cromarty and The Devil's Road, all set in the UK and published in English by Dedalus. Mike Mitchell has translated many books for Dedalus.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available