Miss Garnet’s Angel
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- €8.99
Publisher Description
Salley Vicker’s sensational debut novel, ‘Miss Garnet’s Angel’, is a voyage of discovery; a novel about Venice but also the rich story of the explosive possibilities of change in all of us at any time.
Julia Garnet is a teacher. Just retired, she is left a legacy which she uses by leaving her orderly life and going to live – in winter – in an apartment in Venice. Its beauty, its secret corners and treasures, and its people overwhelm a lifetime of reserve and caution. Above all, she’s touched by the all-prevalent spirit of the Angel, Raphael.
The ancient tale of Tobias, who travels to Media unaware he is accompanied by the Archangel Raphael, unfolds alongside Julia Garnet’s contemporary journey.
The two stories interweave with parents and landladies, restorers and priests, American tourists and ancient travellers abounding.
The result is an enormously satisfying journey of the spirit – and Julia Garnet is a character to treasure.
Reviews
'Subtle, unexpected and haunting.' Penelope Fitzgerald
'Very kind, very funny.' John Bayley
'Writes like a haunted angel.' The Times
'Rich, complex and haunting…she makes the ancient story as riveting as Miss Garnet's own adventures.' Sunday Times
'The sort of novel I really enjoy.' John Bayley
Reveals itself as a surprising exploration of the mysteries of imagination and faith.' Joanna Trollope, Daily Telegraph, Book of the Year
'A refreshing, gentle story.' Anita Brookner, Spectator, Book of the Year
'A subtle, witty tale.' John de Falbe, Spectator
'Delightfully affecting.' Julia Neuberger, Independent, Book of the Year
'Destined for a long life.' David Sexton, Evening Standard, Book of the Year
'If you like Penelope Fitzgerald or Barbara Pym, try Salley Vickers.' Sunday Telegraph
'Original and delightful.' Woman's Journal
About the author
Salley Vickers divides her time between London and Venice. Previously a university lecturer in English, when not writing she practices as a psychologist and still lectures widely on the connections between literature, psychology and religion.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Guardian angels have attained such trendy status in American popular fiction that it's refreshing to read Vickers, a writer from across the Atlantic, whose subtle depiction of a life touched by a heavenly spirit carries not a hint of cliche. Her debut novel is an unpretentious gem of a book that charts the late coming-of-age of Miss Julia Garnet, a retired English school teacher who spends six months in Venice after her lifelong companion, Harriet, dies. Venice has a magical effect on reserved Julia: a dyed-in-the-wool Communist, she relaxes in her antipathy toward religion, and even begins to visit the local church. There, she becomes enamored of a series of paintings that tells the story of the Apocryphal book of Tobit, a tale that mixes elements of Judaism with the religion of Zoroaster. In the story , young Tobias travels to Medea, part of the Persian Empire, to collect a debt for his father, blind Tobit. He is accompanied on his journey by a hired guide who turns out to be the Angel Raphael. As Julia learns more about Tobias's trek, she embarks upon a soul-altering journey of her own. She falls in love with an art dealer, Carlo, and befriends Sarah and Toby, twins working on the restoration of a Venetian chapel. When Toby disappears suddenly, after discovering a priceless Renaissance painting, Julia finds out that neither Carlo nor the twins are exactly what they seem-but the Angel Raphael's watchful spirit will help good prevail.
