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Baudelaire's Revenge - A Novel
Bob Van Laerhoven
€ 15.99
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Description for Baudelaire's Revenge - A Novel
Paperback. Num Pages: 272 pages. BIC Classification: FFH. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational. Dimension: 209 x 139. Weight in Grams: 666.
It is 1870, and Paris is in turmoil.
As the social and political turbulence of the Franco-Prussian War roils the city, workers starve to death while aristocrats seek refuge in orgies and séances. The Parisians are trapped like rats in their beautiful city but a series of gruesome murders captures their fascination and distracts them from the realities of war. The killer leaves lines from the recently deceased Charles Baudelaire’s controversial anthology Les Fleurs du Mal on each corpse, written in the poet’s exact handwriting. Commissioner Lefevre, a lover of poetry and a veteran of the Algerian war, is on the case, and his investigation is a thrilling, intoxicating journey into the sinister side of human nature, bringing to mind the brooding and tense atmosphere of Patrick Susskind’s Perfume. Did Baudelaire rise from the grave? Did he truly die in the first place? The plot dramatically appears to extend as far as the court of the Emperor Napoleon III.
A vivid, intelligent, and intense historical crime novel that offers up some shocking revelations about sexual mores in 19th century France, this superb mystery illuminates the shadow life of one of the greatest names in poetry.
As the social and political turbulence of the Franco-Prussian War roils the city, workers starve to death while aristocrats seek refuge in orgies and séances. The Parisians are trapped like rats in their beautiful city but a series of gruesome murders captures their fascination and distracts them from the realities of war. The killer leaves lines from the recently deceased Charles Baudelaire’s controversial anthology Les Fleurs du Mal on each corpse, written in the poet’s exact handwriting. Commissioner Lefevre, a lover of poetry and a veteran of the Algerian war, is on the case, and his investigation is a thrilling, intoxicating journey into the sinister side of human nature, bringing to mind the brooding and tense atmosphere of Patrick Susskind’s Perfume. Did Baudelaire rise from the grave? Did he truly die in the first place? The plot dramatically appears to extend as far as the court of the Emperor Napoleon III.
A vivid, intelligent, and intense historical crime novel that offers up some shocking revelations about sexual mores in 19th century France, this superb mystery illuminates the shadow life of one of the greatest names in poetry.
Product Details
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2015
Publisher
Pegasus Books United States
Number of pages
272
Condition
New
Number of Pages
272
Place of Publication
New York, United States
ISBN
9781605987002
SKU
V9781605987002
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 15 to 20 working days
Ref
99-15
About Bob Van Laerhoven
Bob Van Laerhoven has written more than thirty books in Holland and Belgium. Bob has become known for his colorful, kaleidoscopic novels in which the fate of the individual is closely related to broad social transformations. He won the Hercule Poirot Prize in 2007 for his novel Baudelaire’s Revenge, now available in English for the first time. Visit his website at www.bobvanlaerhoven.be.
Reviews for Baudelaire's Revenge - A Novel
“Van Laerhoven packs much complexity into 256 pages, giving this historical mystery the heft of a far longer work.”
Kirkus “Mystery aficionados will love this pastiche of Wilkie Collins and Edgar Allan Poe.”
Library Journal “[An] intense historical crime thriller. The intricate plot, menacing atmosphere, and rich evocations of period Paris have undeniable power.”
Publishers Weekly “Rich, atmospheric. This gritty, detail-rich mystery novel joins history and literary history to create a sly, smart revenge tale.”
Shelf Awareness “[A] decadent tale. Commissioner Lefèvre’s philosophical discussions with artists and poets and a creepy Belgian dwarf are fascinating.”
The New York Times Book Review “Vigorous. A finely-tuned balancing act between style and content. Add to all this the extremely convincingly painted tragic characters and the multitude of mysterious figures, and what you get is a winner who gives added luster to this jubilee edition of the Hercule Poirot Prize.”
The jury of the Hercule Poirot Prize “Its examination of evil reminds me of the "Shadow of the Wind" Gothic novel series, while the short chapters recall The DaVinci Code. Baudelaire’s Revenge is a more disturbing duel with the devil than either of those, with a cast of flawed, tormented characters who would have felt welcome in the company of Baudelaire himself.”
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Kirkus “Mystery aficionados will love this pastiche of Wilkie Collins and Edgar Allan Poe.”
Library Journal “[An] intense historical crime thriller. The intricate plot, menacing atmosphere, and rich evocations of period Paris have undeniable power.”
Publishers Weekly “Rich, atmospheric. This gritty, detail-rich mystery novel joins history and literary history to create a sly, smart revenge tale.”
Shelf Awareness “[A] decadent tale. Commissioner Lefèvre’s philosophical discussions with artists and poets and a creepy Belgian dwarf are fascinating.”
The New York Times Book Review “Vigorous. A finely-tuned balancing act between style and content. Add to all this the extremely convincingly painted tragic characters and the multitude of mysterious figures, and what you get is a winner who gives added luster to this jubilee edition of the Hercule Poirot Prize.”
The jury of the Hercule Poirot Prize “Its examination of evil reminds me of the "Shadow of the Wind" Gothic novel series, while the short chapters recall The DaVinci Code. Baudelaire’s Revenge is a more disturbing duel with the devil than either of those, with a cast of flawed, tormented characters who would have felt welcome in the company of Baudelaire himself.”
Minneapolis Star Tribune