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The Quincunx #3
The Quincunx: The Clothiers
Thieves, mansions and murders… no one can be trusted in this classic historical mystery
The tangled threads of family conspiracy and dark intentions will not let John Mellamphy rest. Seeking help from Henry Bellringer, a relation of a school friend, he instead finds himself in a nest of thieves.
Reading his mother's journal, with tantalising details of his parentage, his grandfather's murder and his deadly legacy, John finally discovers a terrible truth that could mean his death. But when John finally escapes the gang and a kindly household takes him in, their intentions may not be entirely altruistic…
The third part of the bestselling classic, The Quincunx, is perfect for fans of C.S. Quinn, M.J. Carter or Alex Grecian.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’ ScotsmanThe Quincunx The Huffams The Mompessons The Clothiers The Palphramonds The Maliphants
268 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 19, 2018
13 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Charles Palliser
33 books204 followersCharles 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 31, 2022
Book 3 and getting ever more complicated. May be the reason I am only giving it a three as I keep finding I have to retrace my steps, or more likely just plough on and hope it becomes clearer.
Must admit that the poor lad never catches a break (even when it looks like he has) and wonder if there will be any kind of good ending for him.
Anyway, on to book 4...
Must admit that the poor lad never catches a break (even when it looks like he has) and wonder if there will be any kind of good ending for him.
Anyway, on to book 4...
September 29, 2022
It’s becoming clear by this point that the author is at least partially in on the joke and is being a bit meta. Gripping enough, but the French Lieutenant’s Woman this is not.
June 3, 2015
Dans ce 3ème tome, on retrouve Johnnie qui retourne à Londres pour retrouver sa mère et tenter de percer le mystère qui entoure sa naissance.
J'ai beaucoup apprécié ce tome qui est beaucoup plus dynamique que les précédents, il m'a tenue en halène de bout en bout et j'ai hâte de découvrir la suite. Il y a eu de nombreuses révélations mais il reste encore des pans sombres de l'histoire de Johnnie et de sa famille à éclaircir.
En bref : bien mieux que les précédents ! A lire.
J'ai beaucoup apprécié ce tome qui est beaucoup plus dynamique que les précédents, il m'a tenue en halène de bout en bout et j'ai hâte de découvrir la suite. Il y a eu de nombreuses révélations mais il reste encore des pans sombres de l'histoire de Johnnie et de sa famille à éclaircir.
En bref : bien mieux que les précédents ! A lire.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews