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The Lost Stradivarius
 
 

The Lost Stradivarius [Kindle Edition]

John Meade Falkner
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Print List Price: £5.90
Kindle Price: £0.00 includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
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Product Description

Product Description

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Synopsis

While studying at Oxford, John Maltravers, a talented musician, finds that playing a certain air on his violin brings an invisible guest to his room. The ghostly visits become more frequent, until he eventually sees the figure of a man sitting and listening to his playing. His subsequent discovery of an old Stradivarius violin hidden in a secret cupboard in his room, while improving his skill as a musician, seems to cause a change in his character. As his violin playing becomes an obsession he is drawn away from his old values, his family and even his faith, towards more sinister interests. The tale of the possession of a young man by the restless spirit of an eighteenth century necromancer, "The Lost Stradivarius" is a classic work of supernatural literature.

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 195 KB
  • Print Length: 306 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1116694158
  • Publisher: Public Domain Books (21 Nov 2004)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language English
  • ASIN: B000JMLJC2
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #3,813 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I had heard about the reputation of this novel, apparently a minor masterpiece waiting to be re-discovered, and having read it, I think much of the praise heaped on it by critics and readers is, by and large, justified.

It is not a novel, strictly a long short story as it only runs to one hundred and thirty pages of text; it deals with the discovery of a Stradivarius violin and how this affects the central character, John Maltravers.

The story is written in elegant, matter of fact prose which serves to heighten the supernatural happenings and the fact that the narrators are recalling events which occurred fifty years previously, also adds to the sense of a mysterious tale unfolding from the depths of the past.

However, 'The Lost Stradivarius' is not scary; it won't keep you awake at night. It is, however, unsettling and is really about a man's obsession and the power of music, for good as well as evil.

The story starts off excellently with lots of atmosphere, but does tail off slightly halfway through before recovering to reach its conclusion. Some readers may find the use of coincidences unconvincing, but for me they added to the story's texture rather than detracting from it.

There are aspects of 'The Lost Stradivarius' which reminded me of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and indeed of its author Oscar Wilde, which Tom Paulin, in his introduction to the Hesperus edition, makes apparent.

'The Lost Stradivarius' would make an excellent Radio 4 'Book at Bedtime' and the producers of that series have my permission to take me up on the idea.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Tom Tom
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I first came across this story on Radio 4 afternoon stories in the mid 1970's & enjoyed the atmosphere so much that it left a permanent longing to try & get hold of the book or an audio recording of the original broadcast. That was some 30 years ago & alas I had failed to procure such an item.

You can imagine how surprised & gratified I was when by chance I came across this book at Amazon.

This is a truly fantastic read & I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to be entertained but not terrified out of their minds. It is fascinating how everything comes together at the end & we are left with the true horror of the crime which befell both owners of the Stradivarius, & a warning not to indulge ourselves with things we do not understand & should not understand.....
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Really enjoyable 13 Feb 2012
By Andy
Format:Paperback
.
I saw an exhibition about the author John Meade Falkner at the Dortchester museum whilst on holiday down in Dorset a couple of years ago. During the holiday I also visited the atmospheric and somewhat bleakly beautiful village of Worth Maltravers which is mentioned throughout this novel.

Whilst doing a bit of research (alright then just internet browsing) this book came up here in the Kindle store and gave me cause to remember the visits. The author seems a well regarded man so I saw no reason not to give "The Lost Stratavarious" a read.

The story commences in the form of a letter from the sister of John Maltravers (our main subject) as she writes to her nephew Edward on his coming of age at 21. The book moves along at a page turning Kindle clicking nicely descriptive dark atmospheric pace and I was very quickly enthralled.

I would put this book in the category of an historical ghost story. For me anyway it was a genuine classic which I was very glad to discover. I found the story easy to follow and to picture the described scenes page by page as the tale unfolded. It was without confusion or sideline plots which in my opinion is so often the unecessary case in many novels. This is a perfect treat for those that would like a moderately short "stay with you" spooky story.

Even though I finished reading "The Lost Stratavarious" a few days ago I am still thinking about how good it was and trying to shake it off. A sign of a good book to me is one that after you have read it you tell yourself you will read again one day. This is definitely the case here, even when you know the conclusion to this ghostly tale it is such a well constructed book it will be a pleasure to one day read again.
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Popular Highlights

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&quote;
He moved, as it were, in an ether superior to our mortal atmosphere, and a new region of high resolves and noble possibilities spread itself before his eyes. &quote;
Highlighted by 3 Kindle users
&quote;
Music will prove a ladder to the loftier regions of thought; indeed I have long found for myself that I cannot attain to the highest range of my intellectual power except when hearing good music. All poets, and most writers of prose, will say that their thought is never so exalted, their sense of beauty and proportion never so just, as when they are listening either to the artificial music made by man, or to some of the grander tones of nature, such as the roar of a western ocean, or the sighing of wind in a clump of firs. &quote;
Highlighted by 3 Kindle users
&quote;
"How easy are the paths of ill; How steep and hard the upward ways; A child can roll the stone down hill That breaks a giant's arm to raise." &quote;
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