The Watchmaker of Filigree Street
The extraordinary, imaginative, magical debut novel
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- € 9,99
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- € 9,99
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WINNER OF A BETTY TRASK AWARD 2016
SHORTLISTED FOR THE AUTHORS' CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2016
FINALIST FOR THE LOCUS FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2016
An International Bestseller / A Guardian Summer Read / An Amazon Best Book of the Month / A Goodreads Best Book of the Month / A Buzzfeed Summer Read / A Foyles Book of the Month / A Huffington Post Summer Read / A Yorkshire Post Book of the Week
In 1883, Thaniel Steepleton returns to his tiny flat to find a gold pocketwatch on his pillow. When the watch saves Thaniel's life in a blast that destroys Scotland Yard, he goes in search of its maker, Keita Mori – a kind, lonely Japanese immigrant. Meanwhile, Grace Carrow is sneaking into an Oxford library, desperate to prove the existence of the luminiferous ether before her mother can force her to marry.
As the lives of these three characters become entwined, events spiral out of control until Thaniel is torn between loyalties, futures and opposing geniuses.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Pulley's electrifying debut is a triumph of speculative fiction. It captures the frenetic energy of a world undergoing extraordinary changes: London in the time of new electrical devices, Gilbert and Sullivan's theater, and the terror of Irish nationalist bombings. Nathaniel Steepleton is a telegraph clerk in the Home Office, trapped in a life as regular as clockwork. Grace Carrow is a scientist seeking out the mysteries of ether. Their lives are brought together and into peril by association with Keita Mori, a genius watchmaker who can "remember" the future. When Steepleton receives word of a clockwork bombing and an anonymous gift of a pocket watch on the same day, he begins investigating Mori, who has been accused of building the explosive device but those accusations are rooted in English xenophobia and exploitation of Japanese immigrants. Carrow is determined to prove Mori's guilt, and driven to make a scientific discovery that will free her from the limits society has placed on women. Pulley expertly employs the tools of mystery and fantasy to examine the social pressures faced by the marginalized. The plot revolves around finding the bomber, but the heart of the story is the universal human quest for acceptance, understanding, and love.
