The Pursuit of William Abbey
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4.8 • 8 Ratings
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
'MESMERIC, TERRIFYING AND WONDERFUL' M. R. Carey, author of The Girl With All the Gifts
'I was cursed in Natal, in 1884. Cursed by truth and by blood. The shadow took to me, and we have been together since.'
From the bestselling and award-winning author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August and 84K comes a powerful new novel about a young man haunted by a ghost from his past, and by the dark crimes committed in the name of the British empire.
'North's talent shines out' Sunday Times
'An irresistible haunting thrill' Joe Hill author of Horns and Locke and Key
'Remarkable . . . One of the most moving, horrifying and gut-wrenching novels of the year' NPR
'A suspenseful tale of the truths that lie hidden in the human heart' Kirkus
'North goes from strength to strength' Guardian
'North's most ambitious novel to date' Locus
'A master of ingenious plotting and feats of imagination' Alex Marwood, author of The Wicked Girls
Novels by Claire North:
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
Touch
The Sudden Appearance of Hope
The End of the Day
84K
The Gameshouse
The Pursuit of William Abbey
Notes from the Burning Age
Ithaca
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
North (The Gameshouse) masterfully explores the weight of guilt and the power of truth in this dark historical fantasy. Sister Ellis is working as a nurse in France during WWI when she meets William Abbey, an Englishman who was cursed by the mother of a boy whose life he failed to save when he was a young doctor in Natal, South Africa in 1884. The novel is framed as Abbey sharing his story with Sister Ellis, telling of his employment as a spy for Great Britain, his epic love affair, and the ghastly shadow that dogs his every move. This shadow spirit's presence gives Abbey the power to see the truth of men's hearts, but it will kill those he loves if it catches him. Wracked with guilt over his past and enabled by his curse to see the evil motivations of the cruel imperialist he serves, Abbey sets out on a violent quest for revenge against his colonialist masters. North unflinchingly describes the ruthlessness of imperialism, but her choice to use a straight white male character to fight back against the exploitation of colonialism muddies her message. Readers will find this fantastical thriller as entrancing as it is disturbing.
