The Perfect Visit

by Stuart Bennett

THE PERFECT A NOVEL The Perfect Visit tells the story of two bibliophiles who go back in time to rescue lost books and manuscripts. Vanessa Horwood decides on Regency England; Ned Marston goes to Shakespeare’s. But Vanessa wants to rewrite history. And Ned wants to meet the Bard himself. The novel takes its title from Jane Austen’s Emma : “it was a delightful visit – perfect, in being much too short.” Vanessa and Ned both plan such perfect visits. And both reach their destinations. Then things go wrong and their sojourns become longer and more dangerous than either had ever imagined. Vanessa falls foul of the law, transported from Jane Austen’s genteel world to the dark underbelly of a Regency prison. 1607 London shows an equally black side to Ned when he antagonises one of Shakespeare’s rivals, escaping with his life only to find that an accident of time takes him only halfway home. Advance praise for The Perfect Visit : “Stuart Bennett’s remarkable visit to Regency England is compulsive reading, a treasure house of observation, perceptiveness and detail. Admirers of Jane Austen’s novels will feel that they have truly come home.” – Stephen Orgel, General Editor, The Pelican Shakespeare .

Genres: Historical Fiction

346 pages, Paperback

First published December 2, 2011

About the author

Stuart Bennett is an author and antiquarian bookseller in Charleston, South Carolina. He became a Christie’s auctioneer in London in 1976, started his ongoing rare book business in 1980, and has published widely on both sides of the Atlantic. His first book, How to Buy Photographs was commissioned by Christie's in 1985. Trade Bookbinding in the British Isles followed in 2004 and soon after he turned to fiction, tinkering with his first novel, a time-travel fantasy The Perfect Visit for years before finally publishing it in 2011. Three other novels followed, the latest, The Charleston Gambit, set during the British occupation of South Carolina during the American Revolution. It was reviewed in The Charleston Mercury: "If you are looking for a read that weaves history, culture and life together in the wondrous way of historical fiction, this should be your first choice."

Reviews

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended by a friend who is a true bibliophile and book collector this is a book I would never have found on my own... a Regency Romance a genre I'd never known before... but this was so much FUN!! Two 21st century bibliophiles time travel.. one back to 1607 to purchase Shakespeare manuscripts and the other to 1817 to visit Jane Austen and purchase her manuscripts with the hope of bringing them all back to 21st century London to sell them and fun their time travel experiments!! A quick and wonderfully fun diversion!!

[Christopher Newton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted it to speak to me but I couldn't make it speak.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engrossing story, difficult to put down and easy to read.