Sister Noon
Published on 14. May 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-1-78125-549-0 (ISBN)
Description
'Words were invented so lies could be told' Mary Ellen Pleasant
San Francisco in the 1890s is a town of contradictions, home to a respectable middle class, but with the Wild West lingering in the imagination, and even the behaviour, of some residents. Lizzie Hayes, a seemingly docile, middle-aged spinster, is praised for her volunteer work with the Ladies' Relief and Protection Society Home, or the Brown Ark. She doesn't know it, but she's waiting for the spark that will liberate her from convention.
When the wealthy and well-connected but ill-reputed Mary Ellen Pleasant shows up at the Brown Ark with an orphan in tow, Lizzie is drawn to them both. It is the beautiful Mrs Pleasant, object of suspicion because of her mysterious past and rumoured voodoo practise, who holds the key to freeing Lizzie's rebellious nature.
Based on real historical figures, San Francisco in the gilded age is brought vibrantly to life in Karen Joy Fowler's entertaining, evocative and sinister novel.
San Francisco in the 1890s is a town of contradictions, home to a respectable middle class, but with the Wild West lingering in the imagination, and even the behaviour, of some residents. Lizzie Hayes, a seemingly docile, middle-aged spinster, is praised for her volunteer work with the Ladies' Relief and Protection Society Home, or the Brown Ark. She doesn't know it, but she's waiting for the spark that will liberate her from convention.
When the wealthy and well-connected but ill-reputed Mary Ellen Pleasant shows up at the Brown Ark with an orphan in tow, Lizzie is drawn to them both. It is the beautiful Mrs Pleasant, object of suspicion because of her mysterious past and rumoured voodoo practise, who holds the key to freeing Lizzie's rebellious nature.
Based on real historical figures, San Francisco in the gilded age is brought vibrantly to life in Karen Joy Fowler's entertaining, evocative and sinister novel.
Reviews / Votes
Robust, sly, witty, elegant, unexpected * New York Times Book Review * Fowler's language dazzles * San Francisco Chronicle * In Sister Noon, Karen Joy Fowler recreates a lost world so thrillingly, with such intelligence, trickery and art, that when you at last put the book down and look up from the page it all seems to linger, shimmering, around you, like the residue of a marvellous dream -- Michael Chabon Fowler's prose is full of shimmering melancholy, and a ruminative irony that brings her characters and their world alive in the most unexpected ways - reading Sister Noon is like staring at early portrait photographs until the eyes begin to shine and your head is filled with voices that urge you to recall that these vanished lives, and your own, are stranger than you allow. A dazzling book. -- Jonathan Lethem Fowler has a voice like no other, lyrical, shrewd and addictive, with a quiet deadpan humour that underlies almost every sentence * Newsday * This is a remarkable novel which brings glitteringly to life an obscure milieu. -- Katy Guest * Independent on Sunday * Delightful. -- Kate Saunders * The Times * If you liked Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil you'll love this. -- Wendy Holden * Daily Mail * There's plenty of magic to keep readers entertained in this witty tale, plus a fascinating insight into historical San Francisco. Delightful and unexpected. * Prima *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Profile Books Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
250 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78125-549-0 (9781781255490)
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
Additional editions
Person
Karen Joy Fowler is the author of six novels and three short story collections. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2014, won the PEN/Faulkner Prize and has sold over half a million copies.
www.karenjoyfowler.com
www.karenjoyfowler.com