Mercury Falling
Published on 5. April 2018
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-0-85752-291-7 (ISBN)
Description
'Shows once more Edric's unassuming yet remarkable talent for conjuring up the lives of his characters' The Sunday Times
The Fenlands, 1954
It is a tough winter; the temperatures have fallen too low too quickly and the floods are the worst anyone can remember.
Most people have lost everything but there are some who have found themselves eager for the chance at a new start. For Jimmy Devlin, it's a little of both.
Forced from his home by an uncompromising bailiff, Jimmy has nothing to his name and the prospect of work digging urgently needed drains could be the opportunity he's been waiting for. But Jimmy, it seems, has a knack for finding trouble. Before long, he's caught up in the wrong business with the people from the fairground passing through town. But, on the run from the law, he has nowhere else to turn.
With his keen eye and trademark candour, Robert Edric takes his readers to the most desolate of places, to explore what a man is capable of doing when he has nothing left to lose.
The Fenlands, 1954
It is a tough winter; the temperatures have fallen too low too quickly and the floods are the worst anyone can remember.
Most people have lost everything but there are some who have found themselves eager for the chance at a new start. For Jimmy Devlin, it's a little of both.
Forced from his home by an uncompromising bailiff, Jimmy has nothing to his name and the prospect of work digging urgently needed drains could be the opportunity he's been waiting for. But Jimmy, it seems, has a knack for finding trouble. Before long, he's caught up in the wrong business with the people from the fairground passing through town. But, on the run from the law, he has nowhere else to turn.
With his keen eye and trademark candour, Robert Edric takes his readers to the most desolate of places, to explore what a man is capable of doing when he has nothing left to lose.
Reviews / Votes
A wonderfully edgy piece of wartime noir -- D.J. Taylor * Independent * Shows once more Edric's unassuming yet remarkable talent for conjuring up the lives of his characters * The Sunday Times * Macabre twists keep the pages turning -- James Urquhart * Financial Times * A masterly, highly evocative, multi-layered tale * Mail on Sunday (Eire) * Fabulously atmospheric * Bookseller *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Transworld Publishers Ltd
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 144 mm
Thickness: 31 mm
Weight
477 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-85752-291-7 (9780857522917)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Robert Edric was born in 1956. His novels include Winter Garden (James Tait Black Prize winner 1986), A New Ice Age (runner-up for the Guardian Fiction Prize 1986), The Book of the Heathen (winner of the WH Smith LIterary Award 2000), Peacetime (longlisted for the Booker Prize 2002), Gathering the Water (longlisted for the Booker Prize 2006) and In Zodiac Light (shortlisted for the Dublin Impac Prize 2010). His most recent novel is The Monster's Lament. He lives in Yorkshire.