| Headlong Lib/E Library Edition Contributor(s): Frayn, Michael (Author), Davidson, Frederick (Read by) |
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ISBN: 0786198397 ISBN-13: 9780786198399 Publisher: Blackstone Publishing OUR PRICE: $72.00 Product Type: Compact Disc - Other Formats Published: September 2000 Annotation: Invited to dinner by the boorish local landowner, Martin Clay, an easily distracted philosopher, and his scrupulous art-historian wife find themselves enlisted to assess the value of three dusty paintings moldering in the freezing breakfast room. But blocking the soot from the chimney is nothing less -- Martin believes -- than one of the world's lost treasures, camouflaged by misattribution and the grime of centuries. There it is: Martin's new distraction. So begins a wild trail of lies and concealments, soaring hopes and sudden panics as Martin embarks on an obsessive quest to prove his hunch, win over his wife, and resolve one of the great mysteries of European art. Martin's increasingly desperate scheme turns out to involve betting all that he owns -- and much that he doesn't. He falls from his domestic haven into a kind of comic hell as he is drawn into an ever more tangled web of deceit -- and an ever more hair-raising intimacy with the landowner's reckless wife. Writing with biting wit and a perfect eye for the lessons of art and the shifting shapes of self-deception, Michael Frayn has given us entertainment of the highest order. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Fiction |
| Dewey: FIC |
| Physical Information: 0.99" H x 6.52" W x 6.96" (0.74 lbs) |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - British Isles |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: An unlikely con man wagers wife, wealth, and sanity in pursuit of one of art's elusive old masters. Martin Clay, an easily distracted philosopher, and his scrupulous art-historian wife are invited to dinner by a boorish local landowner to assess the value of three dusty paintings moldering in the freezing breakfast room. But blocking the soot from the chimney is nothing less, Martin believes, than one of the world's lost treasures, camouflaged by misattribution and the grime of centuries. Thus begins a wild trail of lies and concealments, soaring hopes and sudden panics, as Martin embarks on an obsessive quest to prove his hunch, separate the painting from its owner, and resolve one of the great mysteries of European art. |
Contributor Bio(s): Frayn, Michael: - Michael Frayn is the author of thirteen plays, including the classic comedy Noises Off, and Copenhagen, which was named Play of the Year by the Evening Standard and won the Drama Critics Circle award. Frayn has also written seven novels and three screenplays, as well as being a journalist, documentary filmmaker, and translator of Chekhov. Headlong is his first novel to appear in the United States since 1993. He lives in London. Davidson, Frederick: -Frederick Davidson (1932-2005), also known as David Case, was one of the most prolific readers in the audiobook industry, recording more than eight hundred audiobooks in his lifetime, including over two hundred for Blackstone Audio. Born in London, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and performed for many years in radio plays for the British Broadcasting Company before coming to America in 1976. He received AudioFile's Golden Voice Award and numerous Earphones Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for his readings. |