Description:
London, 1385. Surrounded by ruthless courtiers--including his powerful uncle, John of Gaunt, and Gaunt's artful mistress, Katherine Swynford--England's young king, Richard II, is in mortal peril. Songs are heard across London, said to originate from an ancient book that prophesies the ends of England's kings--including Richard's assassination. Only a few powerful men know that the cryptic lines derive from a "burnable book," a seditious work that threatens the stability of the realm. To find the manuscript, wily bureaucrat Geoffrey Chaucer turns to fellow poet John Gower, a professional trader in information with connections high and low.
Gower discovers a conspiracy that reaches from the king's court to London's slums--and potentially implicates Gower's own son. As the intrigue deepens, it becomes clear that John Gower, a man with secrets of his own, may hold the key to saving the king, and England itself.
Brief description:
Bruce Holsinger is the author of the first John Gower novel, A Burnable Book, and an award-winning scholar of the medieval period who teaches at the University of Virginia. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and a recipient of research fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies and the National Endowment for the Humanities. www.bruceholsinger.com
Review Quotes:
"Spellbinding . . . A Burnable Book exemplifies the best in historical fiction." - Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Medievalist Holsinger delivers a first novel whose zest, breadth, and color evoke The Canterbury Tales. . . . [T]he intricate plot, sharp characterizations, and sweeping depiction of medieval England make this a memorable fiction debut." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The reader will be rewarded with a fascinating overview of pre-Renaissance London at its best and worst. A highly literate thriller from medievalist Holsinger." - Kirkus Reviews
"Medieval England never tasted so rich nor smelled so foul as in this descriptive and intricately layered mystery. . . . [Holsinger] succeeds in elevating the missing manuscript genre to new heights that will entertain readers of both fiction and nonfiction." - Library Journal
"Everything you want in a work of historical fiction: fascinating, rich in period detail, and propelled by a compulsively engaging story. Even better, it's clever and witty...a superb entertainment." - David Liss, author of The Twelfth Enchantment
"The poet John Gower is the perfect narrator and amateur sleuth. . . . Holsinger's research, alongside the energetic vulgarity of a language in flux, delivers up a world where even the filth is colorful." - New York Times Book Review
"Forget 'Canterbury Tales.' Historian Holsinger's first novel spins a tale of the royal scandals of Chaucer's day that make the famous writer's famous work look tame." - New York Post
" 'A Burnable Book' is fragrant with the stench of medieval London. . . . The central mystery of the book leads us through the mucky lanes of London, with cunning surprises around every corner. . . . jam-packed tapestry of medieval England." - NPR
"Holsinger is a graceful guide to the 14th century, lacing his thriller with just the right seasoning of antique words and all the necessary historical detail without any of the fusty smell of a documentary." - Washington Post