The Dante chamber / Matthew Pearl.

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  • Additional Information
    • Abstract:
      Summary: "The year is 1870. Five years after a series of Dante-inspired killings disrupted Boston, a man is found murdered in the public gardens of London with an enormous stone around his neck etched with a verse from the Divine Comedy. When more mysterious murders erupt across the city, all in the style of the punishments Dante memorialized in Purgatory, poet Christina Rossetti fears her brother, the Dante-obsessed artist and writer Gabriel Rossetti, will be the next victim. Christina enlists poets Robert Browning and Alfred Tennyson, and famous scholar Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, to assist in deciphering the literary clues. Together these unlikely investigators rush to unravel the secrets of Dante's verses in order to find Gabriel and stop the killings. Racing between the shimmering mansions of the elite and the dark corners of London's underworld, they descend further and further into the mystery. But when the true inspiration behind the gruesome murders is finally revealed, Christina realizes that the perpetrator has even bigger and more horrific plans than she had initially thought"-- Provided by publisher.
    • ISBN:
      9781594204937
      1594204934
    • Accession Number:
      2018006196
    • Accession Number:
      on1007552807
      1007552807
    • Accession Number:
      fay.568412

Reviews

Booklist Reviews 2018 May #1

Devotees of high-end thrillers steeped in literary history have been awaiting Pearl's follow-up to The Dante Game (2002) for many years, and here it is. Once again, Pearl weaves an elaborate tale from the fevered imagination of Dante Alighieri, this time drawing on The Purgatorio, the second part of TheDivine Comedy. Unfathomably horrific murders are taking place in 1870 London, and, as was the case in Boston five years earlier, it will take a band of poets turned sleuths to figure out what's happening. Oliver Wendell Holmes is the only Dante Game player to turn up again, with Robert Browning, Alfred Tennyson, and Christina Rossetti rounding out the gang of poets on the case, which begins with trying to find Christina's brother and fellow poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who is soon identified as the chief suspect in a string of deaths that mimic the penances required by the denizens of Dante's purgatory. The plot here is perhaps even more complex than that of The Dante Game, but the sleuths lack some of the charisma of their American counterparts (especially Longfellow). Still, Pearl again does a stunning job of transforming Dante into brilliantly staged crime fiction. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Literary-fiction book clubbers who like to dabble in thrillers will be palpitating at another chance to mix Dante and murder. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.

LJ Reviews 2018 January #1

Five years after the Inferno-inspired killings of The Dante Club, mayhem inspired by Purgatory rocks London, and poet Christina Rossetti asks folks like Robert Browning to follow the clues and protect her Dante-impassioned brother.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal.

LJ Reviews 2018 March #2

Here, Pearl returns to the setting of his debut novel, The Dante Club. Five years have passed since the series of horrific murders in Boston, and similar events are happening in London. Christina Rossetti isn't aware of them at first, being deeply troubled by the disappearance of her brother Dante Gabriel. His erratic behavior and unhealthy fixation with Italian poet Dante Alighieri has everyone concerned, especially with the spate of strange deaths based on the "Purgatory" cantica of the Divine Comedy. While visiting from Boston, Oliver Wendell Holmes gets drawn into the search, as does Robert Browning and Alfred Tennyson. Can this quartet of gifted poets find Dante and stop the killer from striking again? VERDICT Pearl uses his literary knowledge to excellent effect as he crafts a sinister tale of obsession and manipulation. This should appeal to fans of Victorian murder mysteries, such as those by Alex Grecian or Anne Perry, and poetry enthusiasts who will enjoy seeing these well-known lyricists come to life. [See Prepub Alert, 12/11/17.]—Laurel Bliss, San Diego State Univ. Lib.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal.