Description
Beguiling and multi-faceted, the latest novel from the author of The Thirteenth Tale brings together a winning cast of characters around the meandering Thames, each drawn into a mystery that reopens old wounds and lays to rest unburied ghosts. There’s much to enjoy in Setterfield’s ability to spin a deeply satisfying and richly told story and Once Upon a River contains just the right balance of the sweet and the bitter, along with a clever and satisfying playfulness with the traditions of storytelling itself. It’s a novel that reminds you why we all tell stories and why they continue to matter.
Our Fiction Book of the Month for September 2019
On a dark midwinter's night in an ancient inn on the Thames, the regulars are entertaining themselves by telling stories when the door bursts open and in steps an injured stranger. In his arms is the drowned corpse of a child. Hours later, the dead girl stirs, takes and breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? And who does the little girl belong to?
An exquisitely crafted multi-layered mystery brimming with folklore, suspense and romance, as well as with the urgent scientific curiosity of the Darwinian age, Once Upon a River is as richly atmospheric as Setterfield's bestseller The Thirteenth Tale.
Number of pages: 544
Dimensions: 198 x 127 x 34 mm
