An Instance Of The Fingerpost and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more

Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Buy Used
Used - Good See details
Price: £1.49
Fulfilled by Amazon

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
See 1 customer image
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book
Start reading An Instance Of The Fingerpost on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

An Instance Of The Fingerpost [Paperback]

Iain Pears (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £6.74 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.25 (25%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 1 left in stock (more on the way).
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Want delivery by Tuesday, 21 May? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

Formats

 Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £6.17   -- --
Hardcover --   -- --
Paperback £6.74   -- --
Audio, Cassette, Audiobook --   -- --
Audio Download, Unabridged £15.52 or Free with Audible.co.uk 30-day free trial
Books Trade-In
Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more.

Book Description

Publication Date: 3 Sep 1998

Set in Oxford in the 1660s - a time and place of great intellectual, religious, scientific and political ferment - this remarkable novel centres around a young woman, Sarah Blundy, who stands accused of the murder of Robert Grove, a fellow of New College. Four witnesses describe the events surrounding his death: Marco da Cola, a Venetian Catholic intent on claiming credit for the invention of blood transfusion;Jack Prescott, the son of a supposed traitor to the Royalist cause, determined to vindicate his father; John Wallis, chief cryptographer to both Cromwell and Charles II, a mathematician, theologian and master spy; and Anthony Wood, the famous Oxford antiquary.

Each one tells their version of what happened but only one reveals the extraordinary truth. Brilliantly written, utterly convincing, gripping from the first page to the last, An Instance of the Fingerpost is a magnificent tour de force.

(19980610)

Frequently Bought Together

An Instance Of The Fingerpost + The Dream Of Scipio + Stone's Fall
Price For All Three: £19.77

Buy the selected items together
  • The Dream Of Scipio by Iain Pears Paperback £6.74
  • Stone's Fall by Iain Pears Paperback £6.29

Product details

  • Paperback: 704 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New Ed edition (3 Sep 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 009975181X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099751816
  • Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 3.8 x 19.9 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 24,023 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Iain Pears Page
Iain Pears
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Amazon Review

An Instance of the Fingerpost is that rarest of all possible literary beasts--a mystery powered as much by ideas as by suspects, autopsies and smoking guns. Hefty, intricately plotted, and intellectually ambitious, Fingerpost has drawn the inevitable comparisons to Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose; and, for once, the comparison is apt.

The year is 1663, and the setting is Oxford, England, during the height of Restoration political intrigue. When Dr Robert Grove is found dead in his Oxford room, hands clenched and face frozen in a rictus of pain, all the signs point to poison. Rashomon- like, the narrative circles around Grove's murder as four different characters give their version of events: Marco da Cola, a visiting Italian physician--or so he would like the reader to believe; Jack Prestcott, the son of a traitor who fled the country to avoid execution; Dr. John Wallis, a mathematician and cryptographer with a predilection for conspiracy theories; and Anthony Wood, a mild- mannered Oxford antiquarian whose tale proves to be the book's "instance of the fingerpost" (the quote comes from the philosopher Bacon, who, while asserting that all evidence is ultimately fallible, allows for "one instance of a fingerpost that points in one direction only, and allows of no other possibility").

Like The Name of the Rose, this is one whodunit in which the principal mystery is the nature of truth itself. Along the way, Pears displays a keen eye for period details as diverse as the early days of medicine, the convoluted politics of the English Civil War, and the newfangled fashion for wigs. Yet Pears never loses sight of his characters, who manage to be both utterly authentic denizens of the 17th century and utterly authentic human beings. As a mystery, An Instance of the Fingerpost is entertainment of the most intelligent sort; as a novel of ideas, it proves equally satisfying.

Review

"Anyone who reads this will want to tell their friends about it... This is a novel that combines the simple pleasures of Agatha Christie with the intellectual subtlety of Umberto Eco, don't let it pass by unread" (Sunday Times )

"A fictional tour de force which combines erudition with mystery" (P D James )

"The kind of book that has you reading it by torchlight under the bedclothes. An historical detective story set to rival The Name of the Rose, it provides the rare pleasure of combining an intricate plot with insight into the political intrigues of Restoration England" (The Times 20020614)

"Pears brings to life a vibrant 17th-century world...a tour de force" (Daily Telegraph )

"Brilliantly researched and imagined...a remarkable achievement" (Sunday Telegraph )
See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?

› Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 37 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling combination of history and mystery 18 Jun 2003
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
In setting his novel in Oxford during the 1660s, a period of considerable political ferment, Pears has created the ideal backdrop for a lengthy but highly enjoyable novel which combines the best traditions of intellectual scholarship and a plot with real drive. The murder of Dr Robert Grove, a fellow of New College, and the events surrounding it are narrated from four significantly different points of view; Marco da Cola, a Venetian Catholic doctor newly arrived in Britain; Jack Prescott, son of a Royalist traitor and desperate to clear his beloved father's name; John Wallis, one of the mathematical giants whose shoulders bore Newton and a cryptographer to the courts of both Cromwell and Charles II; and Anthony Wood, an antiquary. All of these narratives, whilst necessarily differing in terms of fact, are also clearly defined voices without being caricatured, and the novel is suffused with characters of real depth, whether historical or fictitious, such as prime suspect Sarah Blundy, daughter of a religious dissenter, her mother, and the likes of Lower, Locke, Grove and Boyle.
The main character in the novel, however, is historical Oxford itself. As easy as it is to take this depiction for granted, the consistent references to actual historical figures and contemporary developments in medicine and fashion, as well as the acute observation of the social mores and deep-seated insecurity at the time of the Restoration are, on reflection, simply breathtaking: the depth of Pears' research is astonishing, and never intrudes on the development of the plot.
It is the plot, however, which slightly depreciates the five-star status the backdrop to this novel unquestionably demands. Whilst the conflicting descriptions of the course of events are as skilfully handled as the voices which relate them, I did not find the plot as genuinely 'unputdownable' as other reviewers have maintained. The conclusion, with its inevitable twist, is a bold attempt to resolve the mystery surrounding the discrepancy between accounts, but ultimately evokes a curiously mixed sense of incredulity and dissatisfaction. As spectacular as the setting and the narratives may be, it is this unsatisfactory ending which remains in the reader's mind, a crying shame when much of the novel which preceded the 'instance of the fingerpost' was so utterly exemplary.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Simply Fantastic 13 Oct 2005
By Declan Mclaughlin
Format:Paperback
Where to start?

I suppose the most engaging aspect of this novel is the ability of Pear's characters to utterly and truly bring you in to who and what they are.

I found myself understanding why they acted as they did, why they saw events in a certain light despite being contradicted by others and even developing a bias for them!

The plot clicks nicely in to place with 'the instance of the fingerpost', Bacon's term for the true account. The revelation in the final part of the story touches, for me, the heart. It caused me to think when i read it and i still find myself thinking over what happened even now.

From da Cola's concealment, through Prescott's madness, Wallis' darkness and eventually Wood's love, this novel is a tour de force of how it should be done - a mixture of knowledge, witty observations, humour and how love and hatred can create two entirely different opinions from a shared incident.

Highly recommended.

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Three stars..no..two!...dammit...three! 29 Sep 2010
By eztigrrrr
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
What a feat. What an accomplishment! I've just waded my way through Iain Pears' Instance of the Fingerpost and those sentiments are the only way I can describe the feeling of my having got though it. Many were the times I came close to putting this book on the dusty pile of my literary outcasts (in fact there is only one other - 100 days of solitude - but that's another story) but something kept me reading and the last part of the four stories very much made up for it....thankfully. This is an intricate, layered, heavy and often tedious story. No matter what some of the other readers have alluded to - make no mistake - this is not a light breezy read and you will not (I repeat NOT!) be reading it by torchlight under your bedcovers. But - if you start - don't give up. You may well feel like quietly putting the book in the oxfam pile after the first part; you may feel like throwing the book off a balcony or tearing it up in a frenzy after the second; and the third might help you off to sleep....but the fourth culminates these parts into a wonderful tale and - in addition - the writing and effort that have gone into this book really are exceptional. If you haven't bought this book yet - think wisely before you embark. If you have - keep at it.
2 Comments | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars An instance of the finger post
Bought this book on recomendation of a friend. Not really my type but was pleasantly surprised with it. It is an interesting read and well worth getting.
Published 2 months ago by nemisis
5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Rare Gem
This is one of those very rare books I would wholeheratedly recommend to anyone with more than half a brain. Read more
Published 2 months ago by An Avid Reader
2.0 out of 5 stars Sooooo long !!!!
Like a previous reviewer I found it difficult to give a star rating. I first heard of the book on Radio 4's book programme. It's very cleverly done but it was really hard going. Read more
Published 4 months ago by AMT
3.0 out of 5 stars Worth persisting but read Stone's Fall in preference
I chose this as I had been blown away by Stone's Fall by the same author. This was also, in retrospect, a good read, although by definition a single story retold by 4 protagonists... Read more
Published 4 months ago by J Surrey
4.0 out of 5 stars A Heady Brew of Montanist Heresy and Political Skullduggery
An interesting book which I grew to enjoy more as I read on. At first, I found the style rather ponderous and was more than a little put off by lapses in the dialogue from the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by D. Astley-cooper
4.0 out of 5 stars Fooled
I had to check the publishing date of this book, it read so much like a classic. I would not have checked if it had not been for the humour - although it reminded me of the early... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Tim
5.0 out of 5 stars an instance of a fingerpost
wery well written by an Oxford scholar, interesting and catching plot, a journey back to seventeenth century Oxford with witnesses of that time, both real and imaginary. Read more
Published 9 months ago by ardo
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful treatment of history and mystery
I bought this book a few years ago and started it, putting it down after forty pages. About a month ago, I attacked it again and was rewarded with one of the best books I've read... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Josey Wales
3.0 out of 5 stars Let down by a silly plot twist
There are several mysteries contained within the book; who killed Robert Grove, who is Marco da Cola and is Sarah Blundy a virtuous woman, a whore or a witch? Read more
Published 11 months ago by J. Pease
5.0 out of 5 stars An Instance of the Fingerpost
This is a very clever and intriguing thriller based in the 17th century just after the return of Charles II. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mrs. M. Safranek
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

There's a problem loading this menu at the moment.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.

    Your Shopping Basket is empty.

    Give it purpose -- fill it with books, DVDs, clothes, electronics and more.

    If you already have an account, sign in.

    There's a problem previewing your shopping basket at the moment.

    Check your Internet connection and go to your cart, or try again.

    View Shopping Basket (0 items)

      Customer Discussions

      This product's forum
      Discussion Replies Latest Post
      No discussions yet

      Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
      Start a new discussion
      Topic:
      First post:
      Prompts for sign-in
       


      Active discussions in related forums
      Search Customer Discussions
      Search all Amazon discussions
         
      Related forums

      Listmania!

      Create a Listmania! list

      Look for similar items by category

      Feedback


      Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges