The Quincunx by Charles Palliser
Charles Palliser's The Quincunx stands as an extraordinary modern novel crafted in the Victorian tradition. This award-winning historical fiction weaves a plot within a plot within a plot, creating a labyrinth of family secrets, mysterious clues, and the moral complexities of 19th century London society.
A Masterwork of Historical Fiction
Set against the fog-enshrouded streets of Victorian London, this novel immerses readers in a world of low-born birth and high-reaching immorality. The enigmatic character of 19th century London itself becomes a living presence throughout the narrative, providing an atmospheric backdrop to this intricate tale of revenge, justice, and moral reckoning.
Winner of the Sue Kaufman Prize by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, The Quincunx has been translated into a dozen languages and continues to captivate readers worldwide.
Critical Acclaim
The New York Times describes it as "so compulsively absorbing that reality disappears," driven by enduring emotions of revenge, justice, and the deep-seated fantasy that good will triumph over evil. The Chicago Sun-Times calls it "a virtuoso achievement... an epic, a tour de force, a staggeringly complex and tantalizingly layered tale."
Critics have drawn comparisons to Charles Dickens himself. The Los Angeles Times Book Review notes: "In mood, color, atmosphere and characters, this is Charles Dickens reincarnated." The New Yorker warns readers: "To read the first pages is to be trapped for seven-hundred odd more: you cannot stop turning them."
