The Quincunx: The Maliphants

The Quincunx #5

by Charles Palliser

The final gripping part of this classic historical mystery

With the will finally in his grasp, John may be able to prove his inheritance, and put an end to the deadly plots and endless machinations that have plagued his life. But betrayal hides around every corner. Will justice narrowly fall through his fingers one last time?

Upon uncovering a dastardly plot to trick Henrietta into a marriage that would steal the fortune, John must do everything in his power to stop it. But can John, who has struggled so hard and for so long, finally be in reach of peace?

The unputdownable, final instalment of the bestselling The Quincunx is perfect for fans of Andrew taylor, AD Swanston and Carol Hedges.

Praise for The Quincunx

‘Grips like steel… it’s a book to make you miss your stop on the bus or the train, keep you up at night and wake you early… a formidable achievement’ Kaleidoscope, BBC Radio 4

‘His brilliant and entertaining pastiche of the mid-nineteenth-century novel’ The Times

‘A brilliant and deeply eccentric attempt to reproduce an early Victorian novel…it combines massive scope with minute detail – there is a cast of thousands, but every figure is lovingly painted. The plot is so thick the spoon stands up in it, and by the end, the reader has toured the whole of late Regency society… Magnificent – gripping and beautifully written; the sort of book that sends you into a trance of pleasure’ Independent

‘Charles Palliser has realised a world that can almost be smelt and tasted as it pours off the page of this gripping, extraordinary novel’ Daily Telegraph

‘His plot is of an intricacy that Wilkie Collins himself might have envied… an astonishing achievement’ Scotsman
The Quincunx The Huffams The Mompessons The Clothiers The Palphramonds The Maliphants

Genres: American

221 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 20, 2003

About the author

Charles Palliser (born December 11, 1947) is an American-born, British-based novelist. He is the elder brother of the late author and freelance journalist Marcus Palliser.

Born in New England, Palliser is an American citizen, but has lived in the United Kingdom since the age of three. He attended Oxford University in 1967 to read English Language and Literature, and took a First in June 1970. He was awarded the B. Litt. in 1975 for a dissertation on Modernist fiction.

From 1974 until 1990, Palliser was a Lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. He was the first Deputy Editor of The Literary Review when it was founded in 1979. He taught creative writing during the Spring semester of 1986 at Rutgers University in New Jersey. In 1990 he gave up his university post to become a full-time writer when his first novel, The Quincunx, became an international best-seller. He has published four novels which have been translated into a dozen languages.

Palliser has also written for the theatre, radio, and television. His stage play, Week Nothing, toured Scotland in 1980. His 90 minute radio play, The Journal of Simon Owen, was commissioned by the BBC and twice broadcast on Radio 4 in June, 1982. His short TV film, Obsessions: Writing, was broadcast by the BBC and published by BBC Publications in 1991. Most recently, his short radio play, Artist with Designs, was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 21 February 2004.

He teaches occasionally for the Arvon Foundation, the Skyros Institute, London University, the London Metropolitan University, and Middlesex University. He was Writer in Residence at Poitiers University in 1997.

In 1991, The Quincunx was awarded the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters which is given for the best first novel published in North America. The Unburied was nominated for the 2001 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
Since 1990 he has written the Introduction to a Penguin Classics edition of the Sherlock Holmes stories, the Foreword to a new French translation of Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone published by Editions Phebus, and other articles on 19th century and contemporary fiction. He is a past member of the long-running North London Writers circle.

Reviews

[María Jesús · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well....in the end I didn't enjoy this as much as I had expected. In the long run I got kind of exhausted (ha). Some of the faults that I found with this long story through the different volumes: excessive and too convoluted turns, too much self-righteousness in some of the "good "characters, an excess of naivitie in some of them (even for XIXth century standards), long paragraphs of legal language and implications, the constant change of the names of some characters, which make the follow up perplexing, well, all this reaches disproportionate levels in this last volume. But, worst of all, I was totally let down with an inconclusive ending and the feeling of having been cheated, not only on account of this, but also because I ended up considering both Henrietta and John himself quite the fastidious prigs and hypocrites.
It seems to me that the author himself got tired of the story and just brushed it off.

[John Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have now read all 5 instalments of The Quincunx and have been baffled nearly all the way through hoping that all would be made clear by the end.

A plot so intricate and complicated, with characters so conniving and selfish and a central character whose luck and fortune were almost too unfortunate to be believed all contributed to making this a tough read overall.

That said, I did find I went back to the book at the earliest opportunities and the 1200-odd pages didn't drag.

Not necessarily what I would call a happy ending and the final instalment seemed a tiny bit rushed and therefore the 3 star rating. Probably won't read again.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Got Lost

I did. Completely. I’ve about two months I lived with John (in all his incarnations) and marveled at the intricacies of the familial and legal intertwining. I’m really quite sorry it ended. I would have liked (of course) to have seen John take possession of his inheritance and turn it into a post-Thatcherite corporate success. A sort of early-day agricultural Google! Perhaps not.

Thank you Charles for a charming, frustrating, convoluted , redeeming few months.

RWC.

[Audrey Chambers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed

Feeling really let down, after all the time and energy I invested. The "hero" never got to be a hero! The author said: "... The narrative can hold the interest in certain ways and to a large extent, I suggest that eventually it becomes tedious." Yes indeed! Tedium followed by dissatisfaction with a meaningless outcome. Sorry

[Amanda Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got to the end and realised all the things that didn't add up were part of a bigger plan to have a hidden narrative- but I am not re reading to work out. The best thing for me in this series was the well researched lives of the poor which came to life - clearly a comment on the rather thin stereotypes of poor people in the Victorian novel.

[Mark Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

By this stage I’ve long stopped caring who is related to whom and which codicil relates to which incredibly convoluted legal claim. But it’s fun to watch various pantomime villains and fraudsters get their comeuppances.

[Knit Spirit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dernier tome des aventures de notre jeune Johnny. Tous les mystères ou presque s'éclairent dans ce dernier opus.
Il était temps que l'histoire prenne fin car je commençais à trouver le temps long. Ce dernier livre m'a semblé plus punchy que les précédents et ça fait du bien. Je n'ai pas vu le temps passer et j'ai dévoré l'ouvrage en quelques jours (ce qui ne fut pas le cas pour les 4 tomes précédents).
En bref : à lire uniquement si vous avez lu les 4 premiers ouvrages.