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    The Bookman's Tale: A Novel of Obsession
    Unavailable
    The Bookman's Tale: A Novel of Obsession
    Unavailable
    The Bookman's Tale: A Novel of Obsession
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Bookman's Tale: A Novel of Obsession

    Written by Charlie Lovett

    Narrated by John Bedford Lloyd

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A mysterious portrait ignites an antiquarian bookseller's search through time and the works of Shakespeare for his lost love. Charlie Lovett's new book, The Lost Book of the Grail, is now available.

    Guaranteed to capture the hearts of everyone who truly loves books, The Bookman's Tale is a former bookseller's sparkling novel and a delightful exploration of one of literature's most tantalizing mysteries with echoes of Shadow of the Wind and A.S. Byatt's Possession.

    Nine months after the death of his beloved wife Amanda left him shattered, Peter Byerly, a young antiquarian bookseller, relocates from North Carolina to the English countryside, hoping to outrun his grief and rediscover the joy he once took in collecting and restoring rare books. But upon opening an eighteenth-century study of Shakespeare forgeries, he discovers a Victorian watercolor of a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Amanda.

    Peter becomes obsessed with learning the picture's origins and braves a host of dangers to follow a trail of clues back across the centuries-all the way to Shakespeare's time and a priceless literary artifact that could prove, once and for all, the truth about the Bard's real identity.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJun 27, 2013
    ISBN9780698147898
    Unavailable
    The Bookman's Tale: A Novel of Obsession

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    Reviews for The Bookman's Tale

    3.5/5

    434 ratings66 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      A complex tale that explores the history of a particular valuable book as it changed hands over decades. Told partly from the point of view of a modern-day book restorer, the reader is given an insider's tour of book trading, restoring and intrigue as the history of the book unfolds back to its beginning. Fraud or history changing? Compelling tale, lovingly told by a book lover.
    • 4/5
      Interesting characters. Peter suffers from an anxiety disorder and although it is a major part of the story you aren't overcome by his painful social interactions and it moves along the story.Alternating chapters from Shakespeare's time to the present make the flow a bit difficult but provide context.There is no tension in solving the mystery and everything does seem to fall into place for him. Interesting.
    • 5/5
      Here is a story of con artists, book collections, forgery and the rarified world of rare books and the people who collect them.The discovery of an extant copy, of what could be THE book to turn the book collecting world on its head, is followed by murder, deceit and theft. Provenance for the book proves almost impossible to reveal as many unfortunate turns of fate and skulduggery, mean vital clues were sometimes lost or hidden over the years. As the threads began to come together in the final section of the book, I could hardly put it down.
    • 3/5
      Enjoyed the historical vignettes, Shakespeare, and the topic of manuscripts and books in general, but really didn't care for the characters or plot. Solving the "mystery" seemed too contrived, and the conclusion left me underwhelmed. I'm sorry because I really wanted to like it.
    • 4/5
      A mystery of booksellers, bookbinders, forgery, Shakespearean history, blackmail, inheritance, love, death, mystery and murder - even an ending that ties up loose ends.
    • 2/5
      There’s a fine line between write what you know and write a wish-fulfillment vehicle that encapsulates your every fantasy and Lovett doesn’t know where it is. He tripped over it big time and it was kind of funny how laid-bare things got to be. I wonder how his wife feels about the sex-loving, brilliant, rich and gorgeous women that pervade this book. The perfect sex scene involving two virgins was the height of hilarity. What two virgins have EVER had good sex? And Lovett is clearly a tit man. At about page 10 I’d had it with the sainted Amanda already and by page 20 I was very glad she was dead. Peter has no real identity of his own. His every waking thought and nearly every utterance is Amanda this and and Amanda that. Upon entering a stranger’s house he reflects that the decor wouldn’t have pleased Amanda. Who the fuck cares? She’s dead. Grow a spine. Grow a set of opinions on your own. Grow the fuck up. Oy. He is good at treating grown women like children though and again, I cringe for Lovett’s wife. The mystery brought every tired, shopworn cliche and trope into harness, right down to the gloating and monologuing villain. So eye-rolling I just had to laugh. I did read the whole thing though, and so I suppose that’s a mark in its favor, but it’s hitting the Kicked to the Curb collection pronto.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book. So much. Yes, Lovett seems a little inexperienced as a writer at times, but the mastery with which he lays out the story is advanced, to say the least.

      The amazing tale of the two Amandas is aweing and confounding. I wanted so much for there to be a happy middle ending (no spoilers!), but had to be satisfied that this was not a true romance in its classic definition. Still, the love story here was beautiful: both the story of Amanda and Peter as well as the bibliophilia I connected with throughout the novel.

      This must be read by all my historical fiction, mystery, and books about books loving friends!
    • 3/5
      Peter Byerly is a antiquarian book dealer, who has just lost his wife to illness. He is recuperating in England when he discovers a 19th century watercolor portrait which is a likeness of his late wife and also finds a 17th century book with marginalia alledgedly written by William Shakespeare. Drama and mystery (and a little romance) ensue. I liked the information on the book trade and book restoration and forgery, but the plot was rather contrived and pulled everything together with unbelievable neatness at the end.
    • 5/5
      In a way, this novel is historical fiction, seamlessly merged with time slip, with a smidgeon of crime. I loved turning every page. The references to Shakespeare and the mystery surrounding his work, his colleagues, and what came after were magical.
      Never have I wanted to become a rare book dealer than whilst I was reading this book, if only to feel closer to the characters brought to life in these pages.
      A dash of sadness, and a hint of love, fills the rest of the pages.
      I enjoyed it. And I can recommend it.
    • 3/5
      This is a very well written book. I gave only three stars because I thought there was too much detail about the relationship between Amanda and Peter. I found myself skimming a lot of those parts. I enjoyed the present day parts of the story and I especially enjoyed the parts set in the past. The author definitely knows his antiquarian books. Other than the fact that a lot of info about Amanda could have been left out, It was an enjoyable read which near the end became quite exciting.
    • 5/5
      Superb. A Shakespeare mystery, thrill and spills, murder and mayhem. Complete bookworm bliss.
    • 3/5
      Started with a bang....then fizzled out. I love reading books about books...literary mysteries....historical fictions. Sad to say I wasn't happy with the path this story took after about the half way point. Loved the characters and the writing style tho!
    • 2/5
      Absurd coincidences abound. Amusing beach read.
    • 5/5
      Very enjoyable
    • 4/5
      The narration is excellent, the story engaging. Not my favorite book ever, but a quick, fun listen.
    • 3/5
      Compelling book-ish mystery -- the discovery of a manuscript from the 1500s that validates Shakepeare as the real deal -- but characters are not quite believable -- especially Peter's transformation from anxious nervous Nellie to super sleuth. Entertaining overall.
    • 5/5
      Tale well told. Sort of book you want for a rainy summer's day or cold winter's day
      with a cup of coffee.
    • 3/5
      The book was ok, but it was VERY hard to follow. Going back and forth with 3 time periods and spanning from 1592 to 1995, it was not a casual read. And for all the work to read it, the ending was rather predictable. After all the stories and plot lines and people, it should not end so nice and nearly.
    • 3/5
      Entertaining, and I love books about books, but rather implausable. Since I listened to, rather than read, this novel, it had to have been particularly egregious for me to notice the stretching of my credulity. The novel amounts to essentially a mystery, and I feel it's in the same class as my favorite Nancy Drews, if quite a bit more literate, or more literary. I did love my Nancy Drews, though.
    • 4/5
      The central concern involves a book that allegedly proves that Shakespeare wrote his own plays. This part of the story is engaging and convincing. The author should have had more confidence in his ability as regards his primary expertise, and not thrown in a silly murder mystery to complicate (and thereby dragging down a text that had the potential to be quite special). I notice that the use of jumping back and forth in time as a plot construction device has become fairly common; this author employs the technique competently.
    • 4/5
      As a person who loves books about books, I found Lovett's novel engrossing. I enjoyed the intertwining of the protagonist's two main loves-his wife Amanda and old books- and how one was able to save him from his grief of losing the other.
    • 5/5
      Another love story for bibliophiles. LOVE THIS BOOK!
    • 1/5
      The story itself was fine, but the swearing really killed it for me. Very offensive.
    • 3/5
      Peter Byerly is recently widowed and has moved to Britain for a fresh start. Peter is an antiquarian bookseller. Peter flashes back to a time in college when he first became interested in the history and repairing of old books and how he met his wife, Amanda, now deceased. We are also taken back to the time of Shakespeare and a disreputable man who originates a story that makes one wonder if Shakespeare wrote his own work. Many people have different theories and when Peter finds a painting that has a likeness of his deceased wife and looks into the history of it, he stumbles across a work that may very well answer a question that has baffled scholars for years.I love books about books and a good mystery but this fell flat in many places. Peter is a little dull. The frequent and long flashbacks to his life with Amanda are just too much; overly romanticized and only a little relevant. The current story is interesting enough but a bit predictable as well. I love books and I love bookish stories but this did not live up to the hype. I doubt I would recommend it to anyone.
    • 3/5
      Peter Byerly, book collector, is grieving the loss of his wife when he enters a bookstore and finds a watercolor painting, about a hundred years old, of a portrait of someone who looks like his wife. While obsessed with identifying who the sitter of the portrait might have been and who the artist, whose initials are B.B. was, he is then invited to appraise a book collection and finds within the collection, what appears to be a book with scribblings by Shakespeare in the margins. Peter tries to uncover the mystery behind the different owners of the book over time and in the process almost forgets about the painting. Alternating between present day and the 19th Century, the author provides us with the story of the origin and subsequent owners of the book Peter now holds, and Peter's personal life's journey. I usually enjoy books about books but this was a little on the slow side for me. I thought about half the content was drawn out unnecessarily. About the three quarters of the way through I started to get a little bored. I liked the storyline, I just wish it was written better.
    • 4/5
      Being a book lover, I enjoyed the history and the story in this novel. At times, it could be a bit confusing with so many characters to keep track of, but I liked the premise, enjoyed the writing and could sympathize with the main character. Even though I figured out the mystery before the end of the book, there were a few more twists that made it somewhat less predictable.
    • 4/5
      Great book, it has antique books, romance, mystery, and history.
    • 3/5
      The Bookman's Tale was a pleasant read. I appreciated the historical aspects - they were more compelling than the present day plot-line - and the details about book binding and restoration. This is one I will pass along to mystery fans and those interested in Elizabethan writers.I received this book for review through the publisher.
    • 5/5
      This is one of the best mysteries I've read in a while. Peter Byerly is trying to get over the death of his beloved wife, Amanda. When he is visiting a bookstore in a small village in England he opens a book of interest and finds a picture -- a picture that could be his dead wife, only it is very, very old.This discovery leads Peter on a hunt to find out who the woman was and why it was in that old book. The hunt leads him through the centuries from the time of Shakespeare through the 1990's. Lovett leads you through the world of Shakespearian theories, did he or didn't he write the plays? To the competitive world of rare books and what people will do to find "the holy grail" of Shakespeare, something that proves that the works were done by the great man.So many characters are real people that it gives the entire work a feeling of truth, from beginning to end that it is a wild ride.This book is one I would highly recommend to anyone who loves mysteries and also to anyone who loves collecting old books or who loves Shakespeare.
    • 5/5
      A book about antiquarian books and forgery, actually written by someone who knows about such things and can write about them coherently? Needless to say, I wasn't about to miss this one! Charlie Lovett's The Bookman's Tale (Viking, 2013) is just such a book, and it's also an engaging and enjoyable read.Peter Bylerly is an American rare book dealer living in the English countryside, still recovering from the tragic death of his wife, Amanda. When, in leafing through a copy of Edmond Malone's Inquiry into the authenticity of certain miscellaneous papers... he stumbles upon a 19th-century watercolor of a woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Amanda, Peter feels compelled to learn more about the artist and his subject, and that leads him into quite a tangled web of forgery, deceit, and long-running family feuds. Lovett intersperses Peter's narrative with flashbacks, both to ten years prior when Peter first got interested in rare books (and Amanda) during his college years, and to earlier scenes where the important rare book at the centerpiece of the plot passed from hand to hand through generations of readers (by means both fair and foul). It's filled with good details about Shakespeare scholarship, forgery, and the world of bookselling, and there's even a scene involving a Hinman Collator (if there are other novels in which a collator is featured, I don't know of them but would very much like to).Now, there are a few particularly amazing coincidences throughout the book, a detail is off here and there, I could have done without some of the trysting in the rare book room (really?!), and I figured out the final twist fairly early on. But on the whole, I really liked this book, and recommend it highly.