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Responding to a cryptic summons to a remote country house, London bookseller Isaac Inchbold finds himself responsible for restoring a magnificent library pillaged during the English Civil War, and in the process slipping from the surface of 1660s London into an underworld of spies and smugglers, ciphers and forgeries. As he assembles the fragments of a complex historical mystery, Inchbold learns how Sir Ambrose Plessington, founder of the library, escaped from Bohemia on the eve of the Thirty Years War with plunder from the Imperial Library. Inchbold's hunt for one of these stolen volumes - a lost Hermetic text - soon casts him into an elaborate intrigue; his fortunes hang on the discovery of the missing manuscript but his search reveals that the elusive volume is not what it seems and that he has been made an unwitting player in a treacherous game.… (mais)
P_S_Patrick: These books have some common themes, so may be enjoyed by the same people, but where Ex Libris is more of a "biblio-mystery", The Island of The Day Before is more of a general novel. Both books focus to a certain degree on the Age of Discovery, in the 17th Century, and the Longitude problem. They feature the historical conflicts, ships, and sailing, but this is perhaps where the similarities end. The Island of The Day before is better written, but whether you prefer the plot of one or the other will be due to personal preference. If you have an interest in the period, and enjoyed reading one, then I could recommend the other as a potential future read.… (mais)
P_S_Patrick: The common themes between these books include long voyages on ships, the historical disputes between England and Europe, books, intrigue, spying, and conspiracy, where the protagonist is wrapped up in a series of events beyond his control, which he does not understand. So, if you enjoy one, you should enjoy the other. But, what Ex Libris does, Lempriere's Dictionary does better, there is more intrigue, bigger and better conspiracies, a better plot, and overall it is better written. Ex Libris is shorter, and easier going due to its not being as dense, it also focuses more on books, and is set a bit earlier, so may appeal more to some people for these reasons, for example if you struggled with Lempriere's Dictionary.… (mais)
Londres 1660. La siniestra Lady Marchamont encarga a un vendedor de libros, Isaac Inchbold, la búsqueda de un texto hermético titulado El laberinto del mundo, desaparecido de la inmensa biblioteca de su padre durante los saqueos de la guerra civil. La única pista de que dispone el desconcertado librero es un ex libris, propiedad del difunto dueño de la biblioteca, Sir Ambrose de Pennington, coleccionista de ejemplares de todas las cortes europeas.
The language and detail demonstrates the deep command the author holds over the relevant materials. The result is the evocation of a real world that actually exists. Plot-wise, I feel the setup is brilliant and intriguing, albeit slightly disappointing in conclusion. What would have been nice, I think, is an author's note identifying what parts are genuine historical facts, and which are invention. ( )
A cryptic summons to a remote country house launches Isaac Inchbold, a London bookseller and antiquarian, on an odyssey through seventeenth-century Europe. Isaac is charged with the task of restoring a magnificent library destroyed in the English Civil War. Moving between Prague Castle and London Bridge, Inchobld's fortunes -and his very life- hang on recovering a missing manuscript. Unfortunately, the lost volume is not what it seems, and his search is part of a treacherous game of underworld spies and smugglers, ciphers, and forgeries.
I was rather disappointed by this book. A historic mystery involving a library, a mysterious woman, a swashbuckling adventurer, espionage, and secret books—how could you go wrong? Ross King manages to, though. An unexpectedly somber ending seemed totally inappropriate for the amusing, sometimes comic, story that precedes. The convoluted resolution, including the destinies of some key characters, was abruptly and unsatisfyingly explained to us like a history lesson in the final few pages. By the end, I was quite confused, but that was okay because I just didn't care. ( )
Neben der Beschreibung der Stationen des 30jährigen Krieges dient der Roman vorzüglich als Einführung in das Geistesleben des 17. Jahrhunderts. Anhand damals tatsächlich existierenden Schriftguts führt Inchbold nicht nur in die Auseinandersetzung der Kirche mit Galilei und anderen vermeintlichen Ketzern ein, er liefert auch eine kleine Bibliographie zu verschiedenen Lebensbereichen. Er zitiert Werke der Geographie, Navigation und des Okkultismus. Eine Geheimschrift wird so unter Zuhilfenahme des "systeme Vigenere" geknackt, nachdem "Caesars Alphabet" Inchbold nicht weiterbringt.
Insgesamt ein wunderbarer Roman über die Welt des Buches.
Informação do Conhecimento Comum em inglês.Edite para a localizar na sua língua.
Me, poor man, my library was dukedom large enough... Shakespeare, The Tempest
Dedicatória
Informação do Conhecimento Comum em inglês.Edite para a localizar na sua língua.
For Lynn
Primeiras palavras
Informação do Conhecimento Comum em inglês.Edite para a localizar na sua língua.
Anyone wishing to purchase a book in London in the year 1660 had a choice of four areas.
Citações
Últimas palavras
Informação do Conhecimento Comum em inglês.Edite para a localizar na sua língua.
I thought I heard yet another scream, but I must have been mistaken: it was only the sound of tortured iron and splintering beams, the last fragments of Pontifex Hall tumbling into the voracious water.
Responding to a cryptic summons to a remote country house, London bookseller Isaac Inchbold finds himself responsible for restoring a magnificent library pillaged during the English Civil War, and in the process slipping from the surface of 1660s London into an underworld of spies and smugglers, ciphers and forgeries. As he assembles the fragments of a complex historical mystery, Inchbold learns how Sir Ambrose Plessington, founder of the library, escaped from Bohemia on the eve of the Thirty Years War with plunder from the Imperial Library. Inchbold's hunt for one of these stolen volumes - a lost Hermetic text - soon casts him into an elaborate intrigue; his fortunes hang on the discovery of the missing manuscript but his search reveals that the elusive volume is not what it seems and that he has been made an unwitting player in a treacherous game.
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