| Author: | Patrick O'Brian | ISBN: | 9780393245134 |
| Publisher: | W. W. Norton & Company | Publication: | November 17, 2007 |
| Imprint: | W. W. Norton & Company | Language: | English |
| Author: | Patrick O'Brian |
| ISBN: | 9780393245134 |
| Publisher: | W. W. Norton & Company |
| Publication: | November 17, 2007 |
| Imprint: | W. W. Norton & Company |
| Language: | English |
"One of the best novelists since Jane Austen."—Philadelphia Inquirer
The protagonist of this World War II novel is a prisoner of the German army in France. In order to keep himself sane while denying the charges and absorbing the beatings of his captors, Richard Temple conducts a minute examination—one might almost call it a prosecution—of his own life.
Temple escapes from a blighted childhood and his widowed, alcoholic mother thanks to an artistic gift, the one thing of value he has to his name. His life as a painter in London of the '30s is cruelly deprived. In order to eat, he squanders this one asset by becoming a forger of art, specializing in minor works by Utrillo. He is rescued by the love of a beautiful and wealthy woman, and it is the failure of this relationship and the outbreak of war that propel him into the world of espionage.
"One of the best novelists since Jane Austen."—Philadelphia Inquirer
The protagonist of this World War II novel is a prisoner of the German army in France. In order to keep himself sane while denying the charges and absorbing the beatings of his captors, Richard Temple conducts a minute examination—one might almost call it a prosecution—of his own life.
Temple escapes from a blighted childhood and his widowed, alcoholic mother thanks to an artistic gift, the one thing of value he has to his name. His life as a painter in London of the '30s is cruelly deprived. In order to eat, he squanders this one asset by becoming a forger of art, specializing in minor works by Utrillo. He is rescued by the love of a beautiful and wealthy woman, and it is the failure of this relationship and the outbreak of war that propel him into the world of espionage.
