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THE HISTORIAN: A Novel **AWARD WINNER**
by Kostova, Elizabeth
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Fine/Fine
- ISBN 10
- 0316011770
- ISBN 13
- 9780316011778
- Seller
-
Warwick, Rhode Island, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.: Little Brown & Co, 2005. 1st edition with complete number line beginning with 1. Fine in fine dust jacket, not price clipped, in protective mylar cover. QUILL AWARD WINNER 642 pages. **Starred Review**. "Considering the recent rush of door-stopping historical novels, first-timer Kostova is getting a big launch--fortunately, a lot here lives up to the hype. In 1972, a 16-year-old American living in Amsterdam finds a mysterious book in her diplomat father's library. The book is ancient, blank except for a sinister woodcut of a dragon and the word "Drakulya," but it's the letters tucked inside, dated 1930 and addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," that really pique her curiosity. Her widowed father, Paul, reluctantly provides pieces of a chilling story; it seems this ominous little book has a way of forcing itself on its owners, with terrifying results. Paul's former adviser at Oxford, Professor Rossi, became obsessed with researching Dracula and was convinced that he remained alive. When Rossi disappeared, Paul continued his quest with the help of another scholar, Helen, who had her own reasons for seeking the truth. As Paul relates these stories to his daughter, she secretly begins her own research. Kostova builds suspense by revealing the threads of her story as the narrator discovers them: what she's told, what she reads in old letters and, of course, what she discovers directly when the legendary threat of Dracula looms. Along with all the fascinating historical information, there's also a mounting casualty count, and the big showdown amps up the drama by pulling at the heartstrings at the same time it revels in the gruesome. Exotic locales, tantalizing history, a family legacy and a love of the bloodthirsty: it's hard to imagine that readers won't be bitten, too." --- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. Book.
Synopsis
To you, perceptive reader, I bequeath my history....Late one night, exploring her father's library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of-a labyrinth where the secrets of her father's past and her mother's mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history.The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known-and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out. It is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula. Generations of historians have risked their reputations, their sanity, and even their lives to learn the truth about Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. Now one young woman must decide whether to take up this quest herself-to follow her father in a hunt that nearly brought him to ruin years ago, when he was a vibrant young scholar and her mother was still alive. What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler have to do with the modern world? Is it possible that the Dracula of myth truly existed-and that he has lived on, century after century, pursuing his own unknowable ends? The answers to these questions cross time and borders, as first the father and then the daughter search for clues, from dusty Ivy League libraries to Istanbul, Budapest, and the depths of Eastern Europe. In city after city, in monasteries and archives, in letters and in secret conversations, the horrible truth emerges about Vlad the Impaler's dark reign-and about a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive down through the ages.Parsing obscure signs and hidden texts, reading codes worked into the fabric of medieval monastic traditions-and evading the unknown adversaries who will go to any lengths to conceal and protect Vlad's ancient powers-one woman comes ever closer to the secret of her own past and a confrontation with the very definition of evil. Elizabeth Kostova's debut novel is an adventure of monumental proportions, a relentless tale that blends fact and fantasy, history and the present, with an assurance that is almost unbearably suspenseful-and utterly unforgettable.
Reviews
On Jan 17 2007, Fict said:
Riding a bit on the coat tails of the Da Vinci Code and awfully similar in theme, but at least much better written with something approaching real-life dialogue.
On Dec 16 2005, Raabe said:
Excellent fictional account of the mystery of Vlad Tepes.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Murder By The Book
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 015425
- Title
- THE HISTORIAN: A Novel **AWARD WINNER**
- Author
- Kostova, Elizabeth
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Fine
- Edition
- First Edition
- ISBN 10
- 0316011770
- ISBN 13
- 9780316011778
- Publisher
- Little Brown & Co
- Place of Publication
- Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
- Date Published
- 2005
- Keywords
- Mystery, Historical, Award Winner, Dracula,
- Bookseller catalogs
- Wayne 7;
Terms of Sale
Murder By The Book
All items are subject to prior sale. Postage and handling (North America) is $4.20for the first book, and 1.50 cents for each additional book for Media Mail. $9.00 for the first book, and $2.50 for each additional book for Priority Mail. In the event where Shipping Destination warrants it, we may request additional shipping funds. Please contact us for the exact shipping charges. International: Please ask for cost. Returns: Books may be returned for any reason within 7 days after receipt provided they have not been damaged by purchaser.
About the Seller
Murder By The Book
Biblio member since 2004
Warwick, Rhode Island
About Murder By The Book
In business since 1978 specializing in Mystery, Detective Fiction both in hardcover and collectible paperbacks.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Number Line
- A series of numbers appearing on the copyright page of a book, where the lowest number generally indicates the printing of that...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Price Clipped
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