Overview

Charlie Lovett first delighted readers with his New York Times bestselling debut, The Bookman's Tale. Now, Lovett weaves another brilliantly imagined mystery, this time featuring one of English literature's most popular and beloved authors, Jane Austen. Book lover and Austen enthusiast Sophie Collingwood has recently taken a job at an antiquarian bookshop in London when two different customers request a copy of the same obscure book- the second edition of Little Book of Allegories by Richard Mansfield. Their queries draw Sophie into a mystery that will cast doubt on the true authorship of Pride and Prejudice-and ultimately threaten Sophie's life. In a dual narrative that alternates between Sophie's quest to uncover the truth-while choosing between two suitors-and a young Jane Austen's touching friendship with the ageing cleric Richard Mansfield, Lovett weaves a romantic, suspenseful and utterly compelling novel about love in all its forms and the joys of a life lived in books.

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9781922182531

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Reviews

'For bibliophiles everywhere, this is a joyous mystery from the present day to Victorian England and back to Shakespearean England. Charlie Lovett's The Bookman's Tale is about the thrill of the chase, obsession, love, passion and the joy of discovery.' -- Hoopla 'The Bookman's Tale is a homage to antiquarian book collectors, a journey in grief, a whodunnit and more rolled into one.' * Courier Mail * 'Ardent fans of Jane Austen and lovers of a gripping story will enjoy following Sophie's pursuit of the truth.' * Publishers Weekly * '[A] racy tale of literary secrets, publishers, writers, bibliophiles and crooks, and features some clever parallels with Pride and Prejudice and with Austen's own life.' * Age/Sydney Morning Herald * 'First Impressions is a surprising match made in heaven...remarkably entertaining. If you like mysteries, Jane Austen, dashing heroes, nefarious villains, rare books, and witty female protagonists then this is a book you will enjoy.' * Otago Daily Times * 'Lovett skilfully blends fact with fiction and the what if scenario on which the plot hangs generates more than enough mystery to make this a real page-turner with an exciting climax...a marvellous cast of characters, some of whom will certainly have the reader wondering about their honesty and their motivations.' -- Bookmooch

'With The Bookman's Tale, Charlie Lovett tells us a terrific story - there's mystery and suspense, murder and seduction - but more importantly, he shows us how it's all connected, all of this: the reading and the keeping and the sharing of books. It forms a chain long and strange enough to tie a heartbroken young scholar from North Carolina back to the Bard himself, who might or might not have been William Shakespeare. Every link along the way is a bookman's tale all its own, and Lovett tells them all, except the very last, of course: because that's you, about to read this book right now.' Robin Sloan, author of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore 'A gripping literary mystery that is compulsively readable until the thrilling end.' Library Journal on The Bookman's Tale 'For bibliophiles everywhere, this is a joyous mystery from the present day to Victorian England and back to Shakespearean England. Charlie Lovett's The Bookman's Tale is about the thrill of the chase, obsession, love, passion and the joy of discovery.' -- Hoopla 'Fans of mysteries, of love stories, and of rare books will all find moments in Lovett's novel to treasure.' Booklist on The Bookman's Tale 'This book has it all: antiquarian books, deceit, love, murder, passion, Shakespeare, death...and (spoiler alert) a secret passage. What more could you ask for?' Herald Sun on The Bookman's Tale 'The Bookman's Tale is a homage to antiquarian book collectors, a journey in grief, a whodunnit and more rolled into one.' Courier Mail 'Author Charlie Lovett, a former antiquarian bookseller himself, dives effortlessly between centuries and characters as he tells the story of the portrait, and though this novel has a love story at its heart, it develops into an extremely well-plotted thriller. Highly recommended.' Weekend Herald on The Bookman's Tale 'The world of the antiquarian bookseller is rife with passions and obsessions, and Charlie Lovett, himself a former antiquarian book dealer, is well placed to put together a detailed plot that stretches all the way back through an elaborate tale of 19th-century forgery to the 16th century and life of Shakespeare...an intriguing tale.' Sydney Morning Herald/Age on The Bookman's Tale

'For bibliophiles everywhere, this is a joyous mystery from the present day to Victorian England and back to Shakespearean England. Charlie Lovett's The Bookman's Tale is about the thrill of the chase, obsession, love, passion and the joy of discovery.' -- Hoopla 'The Bookman's Tale is a homage to antiquarian book collectors, a journey in grief, a whodunnit and more rolled into one.' Courier Mail 'Ardent fans of Jane Austen and lovers of a gripping story will enjoy following Sophie's pursuit of the truth.' Publishers Weekly '[A] racy tale of literary secrets, publishers, writers, bibliophiles and crooks, and features some clever parallels with Pride and Prejudice and with Austen's own life.' Age/Sydney Morning Herald 'First Impressions is a surprising match made in heaven...remarkably entertaining. If you like mysteries, Jane Austen, dashing heroes, nefarious villains, rare books, and witty female protagonists then this is a book you will enjoy.' Otago Daily Times 'Lovett skilfully blends fact with fiction and the what if scenario on which the plot hangs generates more than enough mystery to make this a real page-turner with an exciting climax...a marvellous cast of characters, some of whom will certainly have the reader wondering about their honesty and their motivations.' -- Bookmooch

Author Information

Charlie Lovett is a writer, teacher, and playwright whose plays for children have been seen in over 3000 productions worldwide. He served for more than a decade as writer-in-residence at Summit School in Winston-Salem, NC. He is a former antiquarian bookseller, and he has collected rare books and other materials related to Lewis Carroll for more than 25 years. He and his wife split their time between Winston-Salem and Kingham, Oxfordshire.

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