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English Passengers: A Novel
by Kneale, Matthew
- Used
- good
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Good
- ISBN 10
- 038549744X
- ISBN 13
- 9780385497442
- Seller
-
Bradford, Vermont, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
U.S.A.: Anchor, 2001. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Good. This Booker Prize finalist is in the first American trade paperback edition, 2nd printing. Unusually, it is signed on the title page by the author. There are crease marks along front and back spine edges, an "Autographed Copy" sticker on the front cover, sticker residue on back cover, and damage to the lower right front cover. There is an old bookstore stamp inside the front cover. Binding is tight and square, and pages show uniform aging but are not otherwise marked. "A grim but hilarious historical novel involving the extinction of the Tasmanians, a search for the Garden of Eden and a Manx contrabandist who conceals his smuggling from the passengers on his ship." 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall.
Synopsis
"English Passengers is an old-fashioned book in the best sense: epic in scale, crammed with outsize characters, set in a long-ago time and a faraway place... 'A-'"--Entertainment Weekly"Robust and rollicking...unforgettable...It's tough to pull off a memorable epic, but Kneale has done it. So get comfortable, and be prepared to enter a fascinating world."--New York PostWhen Captain Illiam Quillian Kewley and his band of rum smugglers from the Isle of Man have most of their contraband--but not all--confiscated by British Customs, they are forced to put their ship Sincerity up for charter. The only takers are two eccentric Englishmen who want to embark for the other side of the globe.The Reverend Geoffrey Wilson believes the Garden of Eden was on the island of Tasmania. His traveling partner, Dr. Thomas Potter, unbeknownst to Wilson, is developing a revolutionary, and sinister, thesis of his own, about the races of men. And these passengers are perhaps only slightly more odd than the crew itself, a diverse and lively bunch better equipped to entertain one another than to steer Sincerity around Cape Horn and across the Indian Ocean. Yet they set sail, pointed southward and bound for a thrilling, epic romp across the high seas and cultures of the nineteenth century.Meanwhile, an aboriginal in Tasmania named Peevay recounts his people's struggles against the invading British, who prove as lethal in their good intentions as in their cruelty. This is no Eden but a world of hunting parties and colonial ethnic cleansing. As the English passengers haplessly approach Peevay's land, their bizarre notions ever more painfully at odds with reality, we know a mighty collision is looming.Full of dangerous humor, English Passengers combines wit, adventure, and harrowing historical detail in a mesmerizing display of storytelling. Narrated by over twenty different characters, each one so distinct that the reader has the sense of a story not so much told as dazzlingly peopled, Matthew Kneale has created a buoyant tale, beautifully presented in a storm of voices that brings a past age to vivid and memorable life.From the Hardcover edition.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Star Cat Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 006699
- Title
- English Passengers: A Novel
- Author
- Kneale, Matthew
- Format/Binding
- Soft cover
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- 1st Edition
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10
- 038549744X
- ISBN 13
- 9780385497442
- Publisher
- Anchor
- Place of Publication
- U.S.A.
- Date Published
- 2001
Terms of Sale
Star Cat Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Star Cat Books
Biblio member since 2021
Bradford, Vermont
About Star Cat Books
New & gently used books, specializing in children's and science fiction. Good selection of general fiction, nonfiction, cooking, art, biography & autobiography, mystery, and religion.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- Trade Paperback
- Used to indicate any paperback book that is larger than a mass-market paperback and is often more similar in size to a hardcover...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
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