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The year is 1663, and the setting is Oxford, England, during the height of Restoration political intrigue. When Dr. Robert Grove is found dead in his Oxford room, hands clenched and face frozen in a rictus of pain, all the signs point to poison. Rashomon-like, the narrative circles around Grove's murder as four different characters give their version of events: Marco da Cola, a visiting Italian physician--or so he would like the reader to believe; Jack Prestcott, the son of a traitor who fled the country to avoid execution; Dr. John Wallis, a mathematician and cryptographer with a predilection for conspiracy theories; and Anthony Wood, a mild-mannered Oxford antiquarian whose tale proves to be the book's "instance of the fingerpost." (The quote comes from the philosopher Bacon, who, while asserting that all evidence is ultimately fallible, allows for "one instance of a fingerpost that points in one direction only, and allows of no other possibility.")
Like The Name of the Rose, this is one whodunit in which the principal mystery is the nature of truth itself. Along the way, Pears displays a keen eye for period details as diverse as the early days of medicine, the convoluted politics of the English Civil War, and the newfangled fashion for wigs. Yet Pears never loses sight of his characters, who manage to be both utterly authentic denizens of the 17th century and utterly authentic human beings. As a mystery, An Instance of the Fingerpost is entertainment of the most intelligent sort; as a novel of ideas, it proves equally satisfying.
"Yet, little is as it seems in this gripping novel, which dramatizes the ways in which witnesses can see the same events yet remember them falsely. Each of four narrators -- a Venetian medical student, a young man intent on proving his late father innocent of treason, a cryptographer and an archivist -- fingers a different culprit... an erudite and entertaining tour de force". -- People
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. An Instance of the Fingerpost This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 7719-9780224044660
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Used; Very Good. Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. Though second-hand, the book is still in very good shape. Minimal signs of usage may include very minor creasing on the cover or on the spine. Seller Inventory # CHL1799710
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780224044660
Book Description Condition: Good. First Edition. Ships from the UK. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 14136730-6
Book Description Condition: good. Befriedigend/Good: Durchschnittlich erhaltenes Buch bzw. Schutzumschlag mit Gebrauchsspuren, aber vollständigen Seiten. / Describes the average WORN book or dust jacket that has all the pages present. Seller Inventory # M00224044664-G
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. First UK edition first printing of this stand alone bibliomystery. Light edge wear. There is a 1 inch closed tear to the bottom edge of the dustjacket's rear panel at the corner of the spine. In fine / near fine condition. Seller Inventory # 31930
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Stated first published 1997 with complete number line beginning with "1". Mylar-protected dust jacket is clean and with mild rubbing and edge wear. A small closed perforation on front near spine also present as a bump on underlying board. Boards are clean, spine is tight with a bump to lower front corner. Text is clean and unmarked. Not price clipped, remaindered or library withdrawn. Shipped padded in a box with tracking number provided on domestic shipping. Seller Inventory # 004763