An astonishing debut, a novel of epic scope and suspense that conjures up all the magic and menace of Victorian London
London, 1892: James Norbury is a shy would-be poet, newly down from Oxford and confounded by the sinister, labyrinthine city at his doorstep. Taking up lodging with a dissolute young aristocrat, he is introduced to the drawing-rooms of high society and finds love in an unexpected quarter. On the cusp of achieving a happiness long denied to him, he vanishes without a trace. In Yorkshire, his sister, Charlotte - only in her twenties but already resigned to life as a rural spinster - sets out to find her brother. Her search for answers leads her to one of the country's preeminent and mysterious institutions: The Aegolius Club, whose members include the richest, most ambitious men in England. Trying to save James - and herself - from the club's designs, Charlotte uncovers a secret world at the city's margins populated by unforgettable characters: a female ropewalker turned vigilante, a street urchin with a deadly secret, and the chilling "Doctor Knife."
In her first novel, Lauren Owen has created an utterly beguiling fantastical world. As emotionally involving as it is suspenseful, The Quick will establish her as one of contemporary fiction's most dazzling talents.
Genre: Historical
London, 1892: James Norbury is a shy would-be poet, newly down from Oxford and confounded by the sinister, labyrinthine city at his doorstep. Taking up lodging with a dissolute young aristocrat, he is introduced to the drawing-rooms of high society and finds love in an unexpected quarter. On the cusp of achieving a happiness long denied to him, he vanishes without a trace. In Yorkshire, his sister, Charlotte - only in her twenties but already resigned to life as a rural spinster - sets out to find her brother. Her search for answers leads her to one of the country's preeminent and mysterious institutions: The Aegolius Club, whose members include the richest, most ambitious men in England. Trying to save James - and herself - from the club's designs, Charlotte uncovers a secret world at the city's margins populated by unforgettable characters: a female ropewalker turned vigilante, a street urchin with a deadly secret, and the chilling "Doctor Knife."
In her first novel, Lauren Owen has created an utterly beguiling fantastical world. As emotionally involving as it is suspenseful, The Quick will establish her as one of contemporary fiction's most dazzling talents.
Genre: Historical
Praise for this book
"A suspenseful, gloriously atmospheric first novel, and a feast of gothic storytelling that is impossible to resist." - Kate Atkinson
"Ambitious, elegant, atmospheric, and often deeply poignant, The Quick is a seamless blend of Victorian London and rich imagination. This is a book to savor." - Tana French
"A sly and glittering addition to the literature of the macabre . . . As soon as you have breathed with relief, much worse horrors begin. It's a skilled, assured performance, and it's hard to believe it is a first novel." - Hilary Mantel
"Ambitious, elegant, atmospheric, and often deeply poignant, The Quick is a seamless blend of Victorian London and rich imagination. This is a book to savor." - Tana French
"A sly and glittering addition to the literature of the macabre . . . As soon as you have breathed with relief, much worse horrors begin. It's a skilled, assured performance, and it's hard to believe it is a first novel." - Hilary Mantel
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