The Underground Man - Couverture souple

Jackson, Mick

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0330349562 ISBN 13 : 9780330349567

Editeur : Picador, 1998

Synopsis

The fifth Duke of Portland is a Victorian misfit, man who spends his time and wealth creating a network of tunnels beneath his Nottinghamshire estate. As he withdraws further from society he falls prey to his lonely self-absorption and to the mercy of his household staff. His rare appearances are misinterpreted and local gossip has inflated his eccentricities into sinister deformities. No one, not even he, understands his most persistent ache, a pain of absence that no amount of tunnelling or searching can bring to light. The Duke's slow piecing together of the truth about his past builds to an intensely moving and powerful conclusion. 'The narrative structure is immaculate, the characterization superb, the prose so polished you can see your face in it' Max Davidson, Daily Telegraph 'Soaked through with originality and expertly written: tragicomic fiction with the most endearingly sympathetic of anti-heroes' Dominic Bradbury, The Times 'A remarkable balancing act, witty, restrained and shot through with interesting tensions. As a first novel it is, quite simply, astonishing' Christina Patterson, Observer 'A strong narrative drive, a Gothic twist and a wonderful cast of secondary characters make this an entrancingly readable book. What lifts it into the prize-deserving category is Jackson's uncannily visual prose' Miranda Seymour, Sunday Telegraph

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

William John Cavendish Bentinck-Scott was a singularly eccentric man. What sets him apart from other eccentrics is the fact that he had the wealth to indulge his mania to the fullest. Mick Jackson became fascinated by the stories that surrounded his memory--the Duke died in 1879--and began to embroider them with fictional ideas of Jacksons own, and with the tales that local people had passed on to him. Some of the characters names in this book are genuine, as is much of the geography, and indeed some of the most bizarre details. The actual narrative is, however, pure invention, filled not only with the tale of the Duke but also the excitement and discoveries of the age in which he lived, and the mysteries that we may still discover.

This is a curiously moving and often hilarious portrait of the remarkable fifth Duke of Portland, who indulged his fantasies to the fullest and built a vast network of tunnels beneath his estate from which he could secretly escape to the world beyond.

Biographie de l'auteur

Mick Jackson was born in Great Harwood in Lancashire, England. His first novel, The Underground Man, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Whitbread First Novel Award and won the Royal Society of Authors' First Novel Award. While researching Five Boys, he enrolled in beekeeping classes and to this day, keeps two hives at his home in Brighton, England.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Picador
• Date d'édition: 1998
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0330349562
• ISBN 13: 9780330349567
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 272
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible