Marley
A Novel
Published on 8. October 2019
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-1-9821-2970-5 (ISBN)
Description
"By some uncanny act of artistic appropriation, [Clinch] has, without imitating Dickens, entered into the phantasmagoric realm that is the great novelist's quintessential territory...Startling and creative...Remarkable... Masterly." -The New York Times Book Review
From the acclaimed author of Finn comes a masterful reimagining of Dickens's classic A Christmas Carol with this darkly entertaining exploration of the relationship between Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley.
"Marley was dead, to begin with," Charles Dickens tells us at the beginning of A Christmas Carol. But in Jon Clinch's ingenious novel, Jacob Marley, business partner to Ebenezer Scrooge, is very much alive: a rapacious and cunning boy who grows up to be a forger, a scoundrel, and the man who will be both the making and the undoing of Scrooge.
They meet as youths in the gloomy confines of Professor Drabb's Academy for Boys, where Marley begins their twisted friendship by initiating the innocent Scrooge into the gentle art of extortion. Years later, in the dank heart of London, their shared ambition manifests itself in a fledgling shipping empire. Between Marley's genius for deception and Scrooge's brilliance with numbers, they amass a considerable fortune of dubious legality, all rooted in a pitiless commitment to the soon-to-be-outlawed slave trade.
As Marley toys with the affections of Scrooge's sister, Fan, Scrooge falls under the spell of Fan's best friend, Belle Fairchild. Now, for the first time, Scrooge and Marley find themselves at cross-purposes. With their business interests inextricably bound together and instincts for secrecy and greed bred in their very bones, the two men engage in a shadowy war of deception, false identities, forged documents, theft, and cold-blooded murder. Marley and Scrooge are destined to clash in an unforgettable reckoning that will echo into the future and set the stage for Marley's ghostly return.
Meticulously crafted and beguilingly told, Marley revisits and illuminates one of Charles Dickens's most cherished works to spellbinding effect.
From the acclaimed author of Finn comes a masterful reimagining of Dickens's classic A Christmas Carol with this darkly entertaining exploration of the relationship between Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley.
"Marley was dead, to begin with," Charles Dickens tells us at the beginning of A Christmas Carol. But in Jon Clinch's ingenious novel, Jacob Marley, business partner to Ebenezer Scrooge, is very much alive: a rapacious and cunning boy who grows up to be a forger, a scoundrel, and the man who will be both the making and the undoing of Scrooge.
They meet as youths in the gloomy confines of Professor Drabb's Academy for Boys, where Marley begins their twisted friendship by initiating the innocent Scrooge into the gentle art of extortion. Years later, in the dank heart of London, their shared ambition manifests itself in a fledgling shipping empire. Between Marley's genius for deception and Scrooge's brilliance with numbers, they amass a considerable fortune of dubious legality, all rooted in a pitiless commitment to the soon-to-be-outlawed slave trade.
As Marley toys with the affections of Scrooge's sister, Fan, Scrooge falls under the spell of Fan's best friend, Belle Fairchild. Now, for the first time, Scrooge and Marley find themselves at cross-purposes. With their business interests inextricably bound together and instincts for secrecy and greed bred in their very bones, the two men engage in a shadowy war of deception, false identities, forged documents, theft, and cold-blooded murder. Marley and Scrooge are destined to clash in an unforgettable reckoning that will echo into the future and set the stage for Marley's ghostly return.
Meticulously crafted and beguilingly told, Marley revisits and illuminates one of Charles Dickens's most cherished works to spellbinding effect.
Reviews / Votes
"[Clinch] brilliantly captures the wit and irony of Dickens' prose as he unfurls a tale of greed, cruelty, and passion.... An adroit, sharply drawn portrayal of Dickens's indelible characters." -Kirkus Reviews (starred) "Clever...Jon Clinch has revived the life behind the famous ghost in a prequel that fleshes out the early relationship between the two old misers in A Christmas Carol...Clinch creates wholly original stories that snap together with the edges of classics we all know." -The Washington Post "It's one thing to come up with a brilliant premise, but it's another thing to know what to do with it, how to realize its potential. As he did with Finn, Jon Clinch digs down to the bones of a classic and creates must-read modern literature."-Charles Frazier, New York Times bestselling author of Cold Mountain and Varina "By some uncanny act of artistic appropriation, [Clinch] has, without imitating Dickens, entered into the phantasmagoric realm that is the great novelist's quintessential territory. . . Startling and creative. . . Remarkable. . . Masterly." -Simon Callow in The New York Times Book Review [A] gripping tale...If A Christmas Carol tugs at the heartstrings, Clinch's novel deepens the story to eviscerate the whole heart." -Publishers Weekly "Jon Clinch is a brilliant stylist, effortlessly capturing Dickensian locales and characters with a precision that is both evocative and a joy...Read through to the last page of this brilliant book, and I promise you that you will have a permanently changed view, not just of Dickens's world, but of the world we live in today...Delightful, disturbing, and deeply profound." -Elizabeth Letts, New York Times bestselling author of Finding Dorothy "In Marley, again Jon Clinch shows his genius, taking Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and turning it inside out, revealing its contemporary wonder, making the characters and actions of both Scrooge and Marley entirely modern, without losing a beat of Dickens' Victorian music. Here is a favorite wrapped in brand new paper, to unwrap with delight and everlasting, compassionate and charming music all its own." -Robert Goolrick, New York Times bestselling author of A Reliable Wife and The Dying of the Light "This smoothly written, insightful tale should prompt people to reread its inspiration with fresh eyes." * Booklist * "[A] lively imagined prequel." -People Praise for FinnNamed a best novel of the year by the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and Christian Science Monitor "Haunting...strikingly original...nothing short of revelatory." * Washington Post * "Ravishing...a stand-alone marvel of a novel. Grade: A." * Entertainment Weekly * "Shocking and charming, A folk-art masterpiece." * New York Post * "Every fan of Twain's masterpiece will want to read this inspired spin-off, which could become an unofficial companion volume." * Kirkus (starred review) *
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
465 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-9821-2970-5 (9781982129705)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
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Person
Jon Clinch is the author of the acclaimed novels Finn, Kings of the Earth, The Thief of Auschwitz, Belzoni Dreams of Egypt, Marley, and The General and Julia. A native of upstate New York, Jon lives with his wife in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Find out more at JonClinch.com.