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Fantasy. Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML: Shortlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction �?� A Refinery 29 Favorite Book of the Year �?� A Booklist Top 10 First Novels of the Year �?� A People Best Book of the Fall "Wonderful... completely transporting." �??Madeline Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Circe and The Song of Achilles In 1780s London, a prosperous merchant finds his quiet life upended when he unexpectedly receives a most unusual creature�??and meets a most extraordinary woman�??in this much-lauded, atmospheric debut that examines our capacity for wonder, obsession, and desire with all the magnetism, originality, and literary magic of The Essex Serpent. One September evening in 1785, Jonah Hancock hears an urgent knocking on his front door near the docks of London. The captain of one of Jonah's trading vessels is waiting eagerly on the front step, bearing shocking news. On a voyage to the Far East, he sold the Jonah's ship for something rare and far more precious: a mermaid. Jonah is stunned�??the object the captain presents him is brown and wizened, as small as an infant, with vicious teeth and claws, and a torso that ends in the tail of a fish. It is also dead. As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlors and brothels, all of London is curious to see this marvel in Jonah Hancock's possession. Thrust from his ordinary existence, somber Jonah finds himself moving from the city's seedy underbelly to the finest drawing rooms of high society. At an opulent party, he makes the acquaintance of the coquettish Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes on�??and a shrewd courtesan of great accomplishment. This meeting sparks a perilous liaison that steers both their lives onto a dangerous new course as they come to realize that priceless things often come at the greatest cost. Imogen Hermes Gowar, Britain's most-heralded new literary talent, makes her debut with this spellbinding novel of a merchant, a mermaid, and a madam�??an unforgettable confection that explores obsession, wonder, and the deepest desires of the heart with bawdy wit, intrigue,… (more)
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I wouldn't read this book again because the first two sections weren't interesting enough to make their own story for me and the third section felt like someone trying to hurry up and jot down their ideas with only some attention given to scenes that ended up not making sense. I also do not like the way things ended with Ms Chappell. I felt that there could've been something less descriptive, especially when other parts of the story deserved more description and didn't receive any attention.
There are two main characters: Angelica, a sought-after high-class prostitute who is getting just old enough that she needs to be figuring out her next career move, and Mr.
The book explores the desires of these two characters: Mr. Hancock wants money, largely so that he can take care of his sister and niece. He doesn't realize until he meets Angelica that he also wants female companionship and touch, although it takes him a while to understand this desire. Angelica thinks she wants money, but really what she wants is attention and adoration. The book explores how the characters strive to achieve their desires, and how they are disappointed when those desires don't satisfy them. The main object of everyone's desire is a mermaid, although the mermaid represents different things to different characters. Ultimately, the characters come to understand that they can find happiness in the simple pleasures of caring for another person.
This is an odd book in many ways... I was never certain where the story was going, and every time I thought I had it figured out, it took a new direction. Sometimes it felt like the plot wasn't holding together, although by the end I realized that was because I was paying attention to the wrong plotline.
The characters have a lot of depth and are lovable despite their foibles. They're the kind of people that are enjoyable to read about but you wouldn't actually want to spend any time with them.
The second story is of the "couresan" Angelica Neal who has been in the "nunnery" of Mrs. Chappell who apparently takes girls from no where and teaches them all the finer aspects of entertaining men. Angelica has now set out on her own with her dresser and friend, Mrs. Frost. Angelica is ambitious, spoiled, and conniving.
Eventually these two characters meet and their lives become intertwined. This is filled with 18th century manners and culture. There is humor sprinkled in between some grim elements of 18th century life.
A long book which might have been pared down just a bit, it is still very entertaining. I did feel the ending was just a bit weak, but still very enjoyable.
Without doubt, the prose is beautiful. The gothic third part is taut and interesting.
But the
On the whole, I feel a little unsatisfied.
Turns out that lots of people have heard of this marvel and are desperate to see it. The showing is a success and he is being courted by the great and the good as he rises into the echelons of high society. Mrs Chappell, the sharp-eyed businesswoman sees an opportunity to make money from this wonder and offers to rent it from him for a staggering sum of money. He attends the first event, naïvely thinking that the owner of a bordello might not have an event that descends into a romp; but he was wrong. His chaperone for the evening, Angelica Neal, is one of the most beautiful women he has ever seen, but even her charms cannot keep him there so he leaves the party early.
He is approached with an offer for the mermaid and manages to negotiate a very high price for it; financially he is made for life. He is still seeing Angelica, and she requests that she would love him to acquire another mermaid for her, something that he would have considered almost impossible, but one has been found before.
Historical melodrama in not really my thing, but the advantage of reading a shortlist is that it opens your eyes to books that you wouldn't have considered before. Gowar's book is well researched and her attention to detail for the period is spot on. Even though it is almost 500 pages long, it didn't read like a long novel. The prose is flowery and elaborate but suits the time period that it is written in well. It has a strong moral tale and about obsession, oppression and tragedy. It was a book that I liked but didn't love it as these are not completely my thing.
Mr. Hancock's ship's Captain, returns after 4 years without his ship, but with a dead mermaid. The Mermaid causes quite a stir in society and Mr
Mr Hancock is invited to the opening night of the viewing, where he meets Mrs Angelica Neal, a much sought after courtesan, but leave in the lurch as the onset of the orgy is not to his liking; but the thought of Mrs Neal stays with him long afterwards.
Mrs Neal forgoes Mr Hancock for a young society stud with whom she has foolishly fallen in love. When Mr Hancock calls on her she tells him she will consider him if only he brings her another mermaid.... and so, Mr Hancock sends his Captain out on a new ship to find another mermaid...
From there the story descends into tragedy, but Mrs Hancock, not being one to lay down & quit perseveres.
This book sounds fantastical, but actually most of it is very down to earth and realistic. It was a great mix of the two. I loved the historical setting and the characters were interesting. I will definitely look for the author's next book. This will appeal to fans of [[Sarah Waters]] and [[Emma Donaghue]].
By sally tarbox on 14 February 2018
Format: Hardcover
An intelligent, utterly entertaining and beautifully written book, that immerses the reader in 18th century London.
In a gloomy counting house, lonely widower Jonah Hancock is
How his endeavours bring him into contact with beautiful courtesan Angelica Neal ...and what happens then...forms an unforgettable story, which moves from high society to the bawdy-house.
I was struck by the author's descriptive powers:
"Owing to the rain it is unlikely that many birds are abroad; but perhaps a crow has just crept from the rafters of Mr Hancock's house, and now fans out its bombazine feathers and tips its head to one side to view the world with one pale and peevish eye. This crow, if it spreads its wings, will find them full of the still-damp breeze gusting up from the streets below: hot tar, river mud, the ammoniac reek of the tannery. And if it hops from its ledge and rises above the rooftops of Union Street it will come first and swiftly to the docks, the cradles of ships-to-be, which even in their infancy rear above all the buildings. Some, polished and tarred, flags a-flutter and figurehead winking, strain to be launched; others, mere ribs of fresh-stripped wood with only air between them, lie in dry-dock vast and pale, and naked as the skeletons of whales."
This is going to be one of my top reads for 2018. I suspect Imogen Hermes Gowar is a name to look out for!
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