Iain Pears

In 1663 Oxford, a servant girl confesses to a murder. But four witnesses--a medical student, the son of a traitor, a cryptographer, and an archivist--each finger a different culprit...

AN Instance of the Fingerpost

A Novel

An Instance of the Fingerpost

Laura Mauler

In the back there is a chronology and info about the historical characters in the book. This would have been useful to know before getting through 2/3 of the book, since there are A LOT of characters to keep straight.

Dana Kraft

Found this on fivebooks.com when looking for historical fiction. I don't read a lot of fiction, but really enjoyed how this mystery was structured. It's basically four versions of the same set of events written by four different characters. This is a fun mystery with some interesting surprises in the final narrative. Only drawback is that it's a whopping 685 pages!!!

Maurice FitzGerald

Andrew John Kinney

Juliana

Cena

Anyaconda

An extraordinary intellectual thriller set in Oxford in the 1660s, AN INSTANCE OF THE FINGERPOST has been compared to both Umberto Eco's THE NAME OF THE ROSE and Rose Tremain's RESTORATION. The 1660s were a time of great ferment - intellectual, religious and political - and this is reflected in Pears's text. The novel is centred on a suspicious death, that of Robert Grove, fellow of New College. We hear about it from four witnesses, a Venetian Catholic intent on claiming credit for the invention of blood transfusion; the son of a supposed traitor to the Royalist cause, determined to vindicate his father; John Wallis, chief cryptographer to both Cromwell and Charles II, a mathematician, theologican and master spy; and Anthony Wood, the famous Oxford antiquary. Each of the first three witnesses is unreliable - they seem convincing, but the conclusions are contradictory - and only Wood, in the final volume, reveals the truth. Brilliantly written, utterly convincing, gripping from the first page to the last, AN INSTANCE OF THE FINGERPOST is destined to be a major international bestseller.

An Instance Of The Fingerpost

Phil James

Yulande Lindsay

Anne Driscoll 

Kathy Rodger 

Sarah Escorsa

Sabine Delorme

An instance of the fingerpost

Goktekin Dincerler

Becky

Moray Lyle McIntosh

marta vergara

zilver 

Amro Gebreel

ERICA WALTEMADE

Set in Oxford in the 1660s - a time and place of great intellectual, religious, scientific and political ferment - this remarkable novel centres around a young woman, Sarah Blundy, who stands accused of the murder of Robert Grove, a fellow of New College. Four witnesses describe the events surrounding his death: Marco da Cola, a Venetian Catholic intent on claiming credit for the invention of blood transfusion;Jack Prescott, the son of a supposed traitor to the Royalist cause, determined to vindicate his father; John Wallis, chief cryptographer to both Cromwell and Charles II, a mathematician, theologian and master spy; and Anthony Wood, the famous Oxford antiquary. Each one tells their version of what happened but only one reveals the extraordinary truth. Brilliantly written, utterly convincing, gripping from the first page to the last, An Instance of the Fingerpost is a magnificent tour de force.

Christine Liu

Bryan Alexander

AN Instance of the Fingerpost

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