Rustication
A Novel
6 November 2014
Description
One of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year—a vertiginous gothic masterpiece from the best-selling author of The Quincunx.
Christmas 1863. Seventeen-year-old Richard Shenstone has been sent down from Cambridge under a cloud of suspicion. Addicted to opium and tormented by disturbing sexual desires, he finds temporary refuge in the creaking old mansion inhabited by his newly impoverished mother and his sister, Effie, whose behaviour grows increasingly bizarre.
Threatening letters circulate among the locals, where almost anyone can be considered a suspect in a series of crimes and misdemeanours ranging from vivisection to murder. Fans of Charles Palliser’s books, as well as readers of Sarah Waters and Michel Faber, will delight in this, his first new novel in over ten years. Hailed for fiction that is "mesmerizing, meticulous" (Entertainment Weekly), Palliser confirms his reputation as "our leading contemporary Victorian novelist" (The Guardian).
Reviews
"Palliser creates a deliciously gothic atmosphere...an enjoyable read for a misty autumn night." — Stephanie Merrit, The Observer
"...Palliser’s hold on his narrative is enough to turn it into an exercise in pure form. As in a superior detective novel, character, scene and incidental detail fade away and all that remains is the thrill of the chase..." — The Spectator
"Few historical novelists weave such complexly absorbing plots as Charles Palliser and Rustication shows him delighting in his skill...a twisting, mesmerising story." — The Sunday Times
"For Christmas I hope someone gives me a copy of Charles Palliser's new novel, Rustication: for fans of The Quincunx it's been a long, 15-year wait." — Lucy Lethbridge, Books of the Year 2013, The Observer
"...a supremely confident performance." — Literary Review
"Palliser adds the modern pleasure of ambiguity to this rich and authentic confection of Gothic suspense." — The Independent
"Palliser builds a sense of excitement with panache, tightening and knotting each strand of the web enclosing Richard with practised fingers, and he is an accomplished pasticheur of Victorian cadences." — Financial Times
"Anybody who thought The Quincunx's 1,248 pages were too much will rush back to it after reading this excellent [327]-page gothic pageturner." — Patrick Neale, Bookseller's Choice, The Bookseller
"...cleverly done, with the reader left wondering right up to the end." — The Metro
