Summary
Paul West turns to history in this account of the Catholic perpetrators of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot, who aimed to blow up the buildings of Parliament and assassinate King James I. The novel focuses on a fugitive Jesuit priest, Father Henry Garnet, and the noblewoman who harbors him.
Customer Reviews
Review this book!
Media Reviews
"The rhetoric is gorgeous, but the pace is too often funereal. Not, therefore, one of West's real triumphs-but a failure that many novelists might well envy."
-- Kirkus
Bibliographic Details
Publisher: New Directions
Published date: 2001
Size: 5.75 x 8.25 inches
Weight: 1 pounds
Pages: 362
Publisher's Notes
Paul West's groundbreaking new novel illuminates the events surrounding Guy Fawkes and the English Gunpowder Plot of 1605. In his nineteenth novel, A Fifth of November—perhaps his most accomplished work to date—Paul West describes the events surrounding the English Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Instigated by thirteen Catholic conspirators, most famously Guy Fawkes, the Plot was a failed attempt to blow up the English Parliament building and all within, including King James I. Catholics and priests were then ever more brutally persecuted throughout the country. At the heart of West's novel is the superior of the English Jesuits, Father Henry Garnet, hiding in tiny holes behind the walls of English mansions, left on his own, prompted by his sexual urgings, tormented by the smell of ham and eggs cooking, and debating in his mind God's ultimate righteousness. Shielding him from harm—but also prolonging his discomfort—is the eloquent and melancholy noblewoman, Anne Vaux. A Fifth of November follows Garnet, from when he first hears of the plot—the conspirators have confessed their plan to him, what is his responsibility?—to his pilgrimage to Wales, his escape to Hindlip over the English plains, and ultimately his imprisonment in the Tower of London. All along, the figures who partake of this historical moment are brightly, often horrifically, drawn. West tackles—through rhapsodic language, brilliant characterizations, and historical precision—that most inevitable of topics: human evil.
Other Editions
Similar books
Confessions of Nat Turner
by William Styron
A special anniversary edition of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel based on the real-life story of an abortive slave rebellion in 1831 gives a chilling account of a noble man's moral decline.
Once and Future King
by T.H. White
The world's greatest fantasy classic is the magical epic of King Arthur and his shining Camelot, of Merlyn and Guinevere, of beasts who talk and men who fly, of wizardry and war. It is the book of all things lost and wonderful and sad. It is the fantasy masterpiece by which all others are judged.
Lempriere's Dictionary
by Lawrence Norfolk
In 18th-century London, a young writer of a classic mythology dictionary finds himself heir to a mystery--one that leads to a 150-year-old conspiracy that has kept his family from its share of the rich East India Company. As he begins to untangle years of deceit, people begin to die in ways that mirror the very myths he has been researching. A W. Somerset Maugham Award winner.
The Virgin's Lover
by Philippa Gregory
A fictional portrait of the dangerous early years of Elizabeth I's reign follows the young queen as she copes with a French invasion of Scotland, intrigues aimed at placing Mary, Queen of Scots, on the British throne, and her passion for the traitorous Robert Dudley.
My Father Had a Daughter
by Grace Tiffany
The daughter of England's greatest dramatist, angered over her father's callousness regarding a family tragedy and her own grief, heads for London, intent on sabotaging his new play.
|
0 items in cart
Muze Inc. For personal non-commercial use only. All rights reserved. Some content for books is owned by Baker & Taylor, Inc. or its licensors and is subject to copyright and all other protections provided by applicable law.
