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An Instance of the Fingerpost: Explore the murky world of 17th-century Oxford in this iconic historical thriller

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There's no obvious reason for him to make things up, nor any real suggestion of any personal stakes beyond in seemingly minor matters such as that of getting credit for a possible scientific breakthrough. likes his plots as baroque and ingenious as possible, ''An Instance of the Fingerpost'' will not disappoint. The four parts of the novel each have a different narrator, presenting their account of events -- and then also as successive reactions to the previous accounts.

If you liked Umberto Eco's Name of the Rose, you should run to buy Iain Pears' lavishly erudite historical mystery An Instance of the Fingerpost. (...) Four rather long excursions into the same basic tale could grow wearisome, but Pears' effort never does. (...) If Eco's book was a sly demonstration of semiotics, the study of signs, Pear's is an exercise in theories of knowledge. Theological disputation, cryptography, religious dissent, medical experiments, moral philosophy, even the Turkish-Venetian war over Crete are all dealt with in what sometimes seems an entertaining encyclopedia of the second half of the 17th century." - Richard Bernstein, The New York Times The author definitely achieved that. And more. Knowing I couldn’t rely on their versions, I had to listen carefully to the clues. And quite honestly, I’ll be the first to admit that I missed a lot of them, and I won’t blame the fact that I was listening to the audio version whilst being busy with something else instead of reading, which obviously always requires my whole attention. But I’m not sure I would have seen the clues even if I had read it first. Question is, of course, did the author leave any clues? Maybe, maybe not. I am reading the Kindle version at the moment. But I will never know now as I know the whole story already. We are in England in the 1660s. Charles II has been restored to the throne following years of civil war and Cromwell's short-lived republic. Oxford is the intellectual seat of the country, a place of great scientific, religious, and political ferment. A fellow of New College is found dead in suspicious circumstances. A young woman is accused of his murder. We hear the story of the death from four witnesses: an Italian physician intent on claiming credit for the invention of blood transfusion; the son of an alleged Royalist traitor; a master cryptographer who has worked for both Cromwell and the king; and a renowned Oxford antiquarian. Each tells his own version of what happened. Only one reveals the extraordinary truth. Sarah is the most complex character, strong and willful -- and with a reputation -- and surprisingly forthright; Pears asks a lot of the character, and makes it a bit hard on her in her only being seen through the eyes of the four narrators (and the gossip they hear) -- their attitudes ranging from heartlessly (ab)using her and spreading cruel false rumors about her to almost complete devotion. As to who the actual murderer is, various candidates make for obvious choices, with various actors in the story having good reason to believe (and generally not make too much of a fuss about) who the actual killer might be; Sarah makes a convenient scapegoat for many of them.intelligent and well written ... for the reader who likes to be teased, who likes his plots as baroque and ingenious as possible, (Fingerpost) will not disappoint. It is the 1660s and England is still in turmoil after the death of Oliver Cromwell. He unnaturally died of natural causes though he was later dug up, hung in chains, and ceremoniously beheaded. Torturing a corpse seems like an odd thing to do. It is as if they believed they could torment the departed soul with what they do with the empty shell. Regardless, Cromwell’s death left a power vacuum that was proving difficult to fill. It is easy to confuse Oliver Cromwell with Thomas Cromwell as both did rise to great heights of power. Oliver is a descendant of Thomas’s older sister. Thomas worked for Henry the VIII and did lose his head not unusual for anyone who worked closely with the colossally paranoid King. A few days later, he developed a harsh cough and began to get a sore throat, partially from the cold-causing microbes and partially from the cold medicine, which tended to dry out the mucus membranes of his esophagus. He began to cough repeatedly, trying with all his might, attempting to expel the perceived irritant on the inside wall of his throat. Pre-Worboys Signs/North Yorks". SABRE Photo Gallery. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007 . Retrieved 7 September 2006.

More recently, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California has installed LED fingerposts which orient themselves to planets, missions, and exoplanets using data supplied by the Deep Space Network. [11] to an uncertain throne. It is a time of sects, witch hunts and conspiracies. It is also the dawn of the Enlightenment. Born in 1955, Iain Pears has worked as an art historian, a television consultant, and a journalist, in England, France, Italy, and the United States. He is the author of six highly praised detective novels, a book of art history, and countless articles on artistic, financial, and historical subjects. He lives in Oxford, England. Marco DiCola from Italy (Venice?). He has been sent by is father because his English partner is cheating him. He holds a letter of introduction to an Oxford Luminary, thus his reason to frequent Oxford inns and pubs. He runs around with the anatomist - Richard Lower - a historical figure. He comments extensively on English culture (including a Shakepeare play), food (it's bad), and manners (barbaric). He has training in medicine and treats the "witches" elderly mother. He also goes on rounds with Lower - travelling from town to town. He witnesses several trials including one which swirls around the central mystery - all the jurors are property owners (no women of course). But it also become clear to the reader that, while Cola might be an unreliable narrator, there is no reason not to think the others are also shaping their narratives for their own purposes; certainly the spin they put on some of the events suggests a great deal of self-interest is at work here.after Arcadia which the author hyped as a complex novel needing an app and which to me seemed actually a simpler novel than his earlier 3 superb complex multi-layered novels (Instance of the Fingerpost, Dreams of Scipio, Stone's Fall), I decided to reread this one - as the one of the three I last read a while ago (some 10 years ago easily, maybe more) - to see if I maybe remember it wrong after all and Arcadia was indeed more sophisticated; Jaeger, Paige (February–March 2023). "From Fingerposts to GPS". New York State Conservationist. Albany, New York: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation . Retrieved 13 September 2023. Hidden papers and codes also figure prominently in the story -- which itself of course also begs to be decoded, but only can be when the final pieces fall into place. Local variation in historic designs [ edit ] A typical Royal Label Factory West Riding "Geared" fingerpost with the parish name and grid reference on the roundel.

Oh also, people did not write stuff like this in the 17th century, not even slightly. This is a wildly unrealistic smoothed down scrubbed and washed version of something no 17th century person would ever have written. Anthony Wood - a historian who witnesses that which he ought not - and who is besotted (if not "bewitched") with the "witch" who cleans for Wood's mother. A murder in 17th-century Oxford is related from the contradictory points of view of four of the characters, all of them unreliable narrators. The setting of the novel is 1663, just after the restoration of the monarchy following the English Civil War, when the authority of King Charles II is not yet settled, and conspiracies abound.are the stuff of publishers' dreams, and in Pears's novel they may have found a near-perfect example of the genre. It is literary -- if that means intelligent and well written -- and for the reader who likes to be teased, who Indeed, the don's murder -- and no one misses him -- is merely an overture, an adjunct to a greater crime in which, wittingly or otherwise, many of the characters collude. This involves one of the novel's few women, Sarah Blundy, the feisty

Jason, Henry (28 January 2018). "These signs at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab use the Deep Space Network to point to missions in real time". Pasadena Star-News . Retrieved 29 January 2018. The term "fingerpost" is also an obscure synonym for prelate or priest, foreshadowing one of the book's main plot points. [3] An Instance of The Fingerpost is set in the early years of the Restoration, a time in English history marked by political intrigue and social unrest. The Civil War has just ended. Oliver Cromwell, rebel and “lord protector” of England, is dead, and the monarchy of Charles II has been restored to power. Although the eleven years of Crowmwell’s Commonwealth are not described in great detail, they are evoked—in very different ways – by a number of characters (Wallis, Prestcott, Sarah Blundy and John Thurloe among them). What might we infer about Cromwellian England from the character—and memories—of his supporters and detractors? Is it safe to assume it was any easier for those citizens (like Sarah Blundy) who, during the Restoration, have been forced to the fringes of society?Prestcott is either a delusional lunatic or a gentleman living in a fine estate. He was once in prison but escaped and all is forgiven. His father lost their estate but the son is now rich. Reasons are given. His tale is entertaining. His story seems believable too, but has little to do with De Cola's except that somehow they both are involved in getting the same people knifed to death. I could be confused--I stopped using the post-it notes by then. Sarah Blundy figures prominently in Coal's account, but is much less significant figure in the next two -- only then to again be central in the final one. The novel is self-consciously learned and serious, yet there are moments of sly humour. While many passages might have been lifted from obscure theological treatises, light relief is offered by what could easily have come from yesterday's Daily Mail. With pedant-defying scholarship it bludgeons the reader into accepting its authenticity by the very weight of historical detail. (...) This combination of erudition with ingenuity makes for satisfying reading." - Robert Mighall, Independent on Sunday Along with the new areas of philosophy, which includes the budding knowledge of medicine, alchemy and belief in witchcraft still exist. It's a veritable stew of contrary beliefs and mistrust. Add to that a death that may or may not have been suspicious, apparent witnesses who may or may not have seen anything, and multiple reporters on the event who give us their views on what happened.

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