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

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I am writing this review years after having read the book. A lot of the particulars are therefore no longer easily retrievable from my brain. The Seasonal Read...: 15.8 ("A beautiful thing never gives so much pain as does failing to hear and see it.") 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 Oliver Cromwell is dead; the Levellers, Diggers and other such factions -- with their wild dreams of an egalitarian society -- have been destroyed or dispersed; peace, finally, has returned to a ravaged land . . . or has it? One of the things I found annoying was when the narrator said something about what he had done or said that was a mistake which he would tell us about later. Immediately led me to think well that was obviously the wrong decision, but I will find out later, then if there was reference to it, it was just glazed over.

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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. The idea that Sarah was a Messiah is what Wood believes, not real truth (even in-book). There can be natural explanations both for her resurrection and ascension, and even for her healing powers, if they truly exist. Historical fiction tends to gather around the Tudors and Victorians but often skirts the Stuarts. They had an awful lot of messy Civil Wars and their personalities were not what one would call attractive. Unlike writers attempting valiantly to fashion together something new from the fall of Anne Boleyn or similar, An Instance of the Fingerpost offers fresh material even for the hardened historical fiction fiend such as myself. However, even without the refreshing setting and context, Pears' novel marks itself as head and shoulders above the average. Mod Abigail wrote: "Oops! Well, this book certainly teaches one not to make assumptions based on appearances . . ."

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Extraordinary…this thriller brings not merely a huge cast of characters but a whole century vividly to life.”— Newsweek Post-Worboys fingerpost designs [ edit ] A post-Worboys fingerpost with smaller signs for the National Cycle Network (in blue) and the Cumbria Coastal Way footpath (in brown). An example of the Suffolk County Council "square end" design near Woolpit. 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.

Iain Pears (Author of An Instance of the Fingerpost) - Goodreads Iain Pears (Author of An Instance of the Fingerpost) - Goodreads

A contrast portrayed in the novel is, on one hand, a philosophy based on ancient and medieval learning, and, on the other, the scientific method that was beginning to be applied in physics, chemistry and medicine. I sinned against the law, against God’s word reported, I abused my family and exposed them even more to risk of public shame, I again risked permanent exclusion from those rooms and books which were my delight and my whole occupation; yet in all the years that have passed since I have regretted only one thing: that it was but a passing moment, never repeated, for I have never been closer to God, nor felt his love and goodness more.” Oliver Cromwell, not really relevant to this book except for the destabilized government he left after his death.There is a wonderful scene in the novel’s first section where Marco da Cola attends (and loathes) a production of King Lear by William Shakespeare. King Lear tells the story of a once-powerful monarch humiliated and unraveled by his own weakness and the treachery of his children. Why, then, might Pears have chosen to include Lear in his novel in particular? Do you see any parallels between the world invoked in King Lear (which was written in 1606) and the world of Fingerpost? How might this play have particular significance in Restoration England, particularly in Oxford, which was a Royalist stronghold? (Remember that not everyone shares da Cola’s reaction; indeed, Richard Lower reacts to the play very differently.) What, then, does the each character’s reaction to the play say about their politics? One of the pleasures of reading ''An Instance of the Fingerpost'' is the opportunity it affords to become a kind of amateur expert on daily life in Restoration England. And it is not just the physical world that is resurrected. Pears 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.

An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears - Reading Guide

My Girl Is Not a Slut: All of the narrators have pretty unenlightened attitudes towards Sarah because they think she is promiscuous However, it is not just academic politics under examination here, each narrator writes their own experience of the murder of Dr Grove, an academic at New College. His former servant Sarah Blundy comes under suspicion of having poisoned him and no one can quite seem to agree about her true nature. The first testimony comes from Marco de Cola and indeed the discovery of his papers is what prompts the other three narrators to write their accounts in the first place. There is the brash and arrogant young James Prescott, obsessed with clearing his father's name of treachery, then the cold and manipulative Dr Wallis, also consumed with his own quest for revenge. Then there is the historian Wood, held in contempt by the other narrators but there is a chance, just a chance that he can see more clearly than the rest. Other than Gillespie and I, I can't remember another novel which pulled off the notion of the unreliable narrator quite so masterfully, and Gillespie and I was only working with one lead.

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the humanity of at least one of the narrators and it is she who saves the novel from a certain dryness. Ištraukėlė, kur tuometiniai moxlininkai atlieka cheminius eksperimentus su nuodingais milteliais, Marie Curie vibes: Štalis patenkintas krenštelėjo, tada paėmė po žiupsnelį kiekvienų miltelių ir dviem judesiais užmetė ant įkaitintos geležies. Stebėjome, kaip milteliai sušnypštė, kaip pakilo tiršti baltų dūmų debesys. Štalis pauostė dūmus ir dar kartą krenkštelėjo. Although the book's mystery begins as a classic whodunnit surrounding the death of an Oxford Don, it soon becomes apparent that the real mystery surrounds the nature of discovery, investigation, understanding and ultimately truth itself. The title is a quotation borrowed from the 17th century philosopher Francis Bacon, who in his Novum Organum wrote about the nature of reasoning and the fallibility of evidence, but accounted for instances of the fingerpost - crucial instances which pointed in only one direction, sure and indissoluble, allowing for no other possibility. Such is the case with the book - although I felt a little disappointed by the ending: I felt that the introduction of a supernatural theme was unnecessary - it looked like Pears wrote himself into a corner, and had to resort to the supernatural to solve the plot and tie all its ends. Although to his credit we have to take into account that even the supernatural event is narrated by one of the characters, who has his own bias and perhaps is telling us what he wished had happened instead of what has actually taken place. Fascinating…quite extraordinary…elevates the murder mystery to the category of high art.”— Los Angeles to an uncertain throne. It is a time of sects, witch hunts and conspiracies. It is also the dawn of the Enlightenment.