Merivel by Rose Tremain
The gaudy years of the Restoration are long gone. Robert Merivel, physician and courtier to Charles II, loved for his gift to turn sorrow into laughter, now faces the agitations and anxieties of middle age. Questions crowd his mind: has he been a good father? Is he a fair master? Is he the King’s friend or the King’s slave? In search of answers, Merivel sets off for the French court. But Versailles – all glitter in front and squalor behind – leaves Merivel in despair, until a chance encounter with Madame de Flamanville, a seductive Swiss botanist, allows him to dream of an honourable future. But will that future ever be his? Back home at Bidnold Manor, his loyalty and medical skill are tested to their limits, while the captive bear he has brought back from France begins to cause unlooked-for havoc in his heart and on his estate. With a cascade of lace at his neck and a laugh that can burst out of him in the midst of torment, Merivel is a uniquely brilliant creation, soulful, funny, outrageous and achingly sad. He is Everyman. His unmistakable, self-mocking voice speaks directly to us down the centuries.
"Social, political and physical labyrinth" -- Frances Osborne * Evening Standard *
"Satisfying.. agreeably sardonic" -- Quentin Letts * Daily Mail *
"Surely one of the most versatile novelists writing today" * Daily Express *
"Vivid, original and always engaging" * The Times *
"Rose Tremain writes comedy that can break your heart" * Literary Review *
"Satisfying.. agreeably sardonic" -- Quentin Letts * Daily Mail *
"Surely one of the most versatile novelists writing today" * Daily Express *
"Vivid, original and always engaging" * The Times *
"Rose Tremain writes comedy that can break your heart" * Literary Review *
Rose Tremain’s novels and short stories have been published in thirty countries and have won several awards, including the Orange Prize (The Road Home), the Dylan Thomas Award (The Colonel's Daughter and Other Stories), the Whitbread Novel of the Year (Music & Silence) and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize (Sacred Country). Her most recent novel, The Gustav Sonata, was a Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller. It won the National Jewish Book Award in the US, the South Bank Sky Arts Award in the UK and was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award. Rose Tremain was made a CBE in 2007. She lives in Norfolk and London with the biographer, Richard Holmes. www.rosetremain.co.uk
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780701185213 |
| ISBN 10 | 070118521X |
| Title | Merivel |
| Author | Rose Tremain |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Vintage Publishing |
| Year published | 2012-09-06 |
| Number of pages | 352 |
| Prizes | Short-listed for Walter Scott Prize 2013 (UK) |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |