Articles liés à Moonfleet

Moonfleet - Couverture souple

John Meade Falkner

 
9781603863070: Moonfleet

Synopsis

Fifteen-year-old John Trenchard lives in the coastal village of Moonfleet, where Blackbeard's ghost is said to walk each night in search of his long-lost diamond. When John discovers Blackbeard's coffin, he finds a mysterious clue to the whereabouts of the legendary jewel.

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Biographie de l'auteur

John Meade Falkner (8 May 1858 - 22 July 1932) was an English novelist and poet, best known for his 1898 novel, Moonfleet. An extremely successful businessman as well, he became chairman of the arms manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth during World War I. He was born in Manningford Bruce, Wiltshire, spent much of his childhood in Dorchester and Weymouth and educated at Marlborough College and Hertford College, Oxford, graduating with a degree in history in 1882. After Oxford, he was a master at Derby School, then went to Newcastle as tutor to the family of Sir Andrew Noble, who ran Armstrongs of Newcastle, one of the largest arms manufacturers in the world. Falkner eventually followed him as chairman in 1916, hard though this is to equate with his interest in poetry, architecture and heraldry. In his business travels round the world, Falkner brought back antiquarian treasures of all kinds. After his retirement as chairman in 1921 he became Honorary Reader in Paleography at Durham University, as well as Honorary Librarian to the Dean and Chapter Library. Falkner fell in love with Durham and, although he spent his later years traveling frequently, he called Durham his home, living in the Divinity House on Palace Green in front of the cathedral from 1902 until his death. There is a commemorative plaque there, while his monument is in the South Cloister of the cathedral. In addition to his three novels and his poetry, he also wrote three topographical guides (Oxfordshire, Bath and Berkshire) and a History of Oxfordshire.

Présentation de l'éditeur

Orphaned John Trenchard grows up in the village of Moonfleet with his aunt, entranced by the local legend of the ghostly Blackbeard, who rises each winter night to search for his lost diamond. While conducting his own hunt for the treasure, John is trapped in the church crypt and discovers the true secret of the village: smuggling. Taken under the wing of the gruff innkeeper and chief smuggler, Elzevir Block, John begins a dangerous adventure which will see him in a hair-raising chase along a precarious cliff path and deciphering a hidden code in an ancient castle. ‘Moonfleet’ is thrilling story of revenge and betrayal, of loyalty and great sacrifice, but it is above all a story about friendship.

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