The Titian Committee
Published on 1. May 2007
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-0-00-722918-5 (ISBN)
Description
Witty Italian art-history crime series featuring English dealer Jonathan Argyll, from the author of the best-selling literary masterpiece, 'An Instance of the Fingerpost'.
Membership of the prestigious Titian Committee is normally considered a high honour. Normally, that is, until two of its members end up dead and someone seems to be taking the idea of backstabbing a little too far.
Flavia de Stefano of Rome's Art Theft Squad is sent to find out why. She calls upon the help of dealer Jonathan Argyll, in Venice to buy a picture from the Marchesa di Mulino. But the sudden theft of the Marchesa's collection sets Flavia and Jonathan on a tortuous trail to uncover the truth.
A further death threatens the very survival of the Committee itself, as well as offering the tantalizing possibility of an undiscovered Titian - a mysterious composition that may have been suppressed for 'moral' reasons....
Membership of the prestigious Titian Committee is normally considered a high honour. Normally, that is, until two of its members end up dead and someone seems to be taking the idea of backstabbing a little too far.
Flavia de Stefano of Rome's Art Theft Squad is sent to find out why. She calls upon the help of dealer Jonathan Argyll, in Venice to buy a picture from the Marchesa di Mulino. But the sudden theft of the Marchesa's collection sets Flavia and Jonathan on a tortuous trail to uncover the truth.
A further death threatens the very survival of the Committee itself, as well as offering the tantalizing possibility of an undiscovered Titian - a mysterious composition that may have been suppressed for 'moral' reasons....
Reviews / Votes
Praise for 'The Titian Committee':'An elegant and amusing book, perfect for those who love a clever puzzle.' Mail on Sunday
'The real work of art here is the plot, a piece of structural engineering any artist would envy.' New York Times
Praise for the Jonathan Argyll series:
'Iain Pears has a superior line in this kind of tale...a divertingly complex, often comic, story in which the art motif is ingeniously central to the solution.' Guardian
'Superior entertainment.' Allan Massie, Scotsman
'There is nothing so satisfactory as the deconstruction of a puzzle in the hands of such an erudite and sure-footed author.' The Times
'Pears is a delightful writer, with a light, ironic touch.' Frances Fyfield, Mail on Sunday
'Iain Pears writes delightfully witty, elegant, well-informed crime novels.' The Times
'You don't have to know much about art to enjoy Iain Pears's Italian mysteries. Like a good teacher, he shares his passion unobtrusively and flavours his lessons with wit.' Val McDermid
'Pears is a delightful writer, with a light, ironic touch.' Mail on Sunday
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 200 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
172 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-722918-5 (9780007229185)
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
Iain Pears won the Getty Scholarship to Yale University and worked for Reuters in Rome. He is the author of the bestseller 'An Instance of the Fingerpost'. He lives with his wife and son in Oxford.