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The Chimney Sweeper's Boy (Paperback)

by Barbara Vine (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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  • This item: The Chimney Sweeper's Boy by Barbara Vine

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Product details

  • Paperback: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin; New edition edition (2 Mar 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0140272348
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140272345
  • Product Dimensions: 18.2 x 11.3 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 409,007 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #24 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > V > Vine, Barbara

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Product Description

Product Description

When successful author Gerald Candless dies of a sudden heart attack, his eldest, adoring daughter Sarah embarks on a memoir of him and soon discovers that her perfect father was not all he appeared to be. That in fact he wasn’t Gerald Candless at all. But then, who was he? And what terrible secret had driven him to live a lie for all those years? ‘So ingeniously constructed, its truth and falsehoods are so deftly and convincingly interwoven, that its solution … is as jolting as a flash of lightning’ Sunday Times


About the Author

Barbara Vine is Ruth Rendell. Twelve novels have been published under this pen-name, including A Dark-Adapted Eye, which won the Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger Award. Ruth Rendell sits in the House of Lords as a Labour peer. She lives in Maida Vale, London.
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Customer Reviews

20 Reviews
5 star:
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 (5)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:
 (5)
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Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Enthralling, 17 Jan 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: The Chimney Sweeper's Boy (Paperback)
This is the first book I've read by Ruth Rendell writing under the pseudonym of Barbara Vine. However, judging by the other reviews, it is a little different from her usual format. I really enjoyed this story and became more interested in the secret past of Gerald Candless and by the time I reached the last couple of chapters, I was really gripped as the truth about Gerald was revealed. I can understand how some reviewers may have lost interest in the story, as they were probably expecting a thriller, but I must admit that this is my kind of book. I will still try other books by Barbara Vine as I like detective and thriller books as well and, if this novel is anything to go by, I really enjoyed her style of writing.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Lost potential, 22 Jun 2009
This review is from: The Chimney Sweeper's Boy (Paperback)
I am a big Rendell/Vine fan, so it pains me to say this, but this book was rather a letdown in the end. Initially the book seemed to have great potential, but as I read on the characters started to grate and many things didn't ring true, in my opinion. I didn't find any of the characters to be sympathetic...they were all spoilt. I think the reader was supposed to sympathise with Ursula's plight, which I did to a degree (to start with), but soon it became clear that she enjoyed wallowing in her own misery. Her life wasn't horrific at all and she was unwilling to take any responsibility for the break down in the relationship with her two children. She didn't seem to make any effort with them and blamed Gerald for `stealing their love.' I really don't think that's possible, unless you allow it to happen. I can't believe that Sarah ended up with Jason...mightily unrealistic! What was the point of the Adam stuff and the constant references to Sarah drinking too much? (the latter was never cleared up) The shock ending wasn't that shocking at all. I guessed what it was and hoped that it wasn't going to be that, but unfortunately it was. I find it hard to believe that Gerald became asexual after that experience and was jolted into creating a whole new life for himself and never, ever seeing the family again that he purported to love so much. Surely he could have gone to them after Desmond's murder? Gerald also underwent a total personality change after `the fateful incident.' Ending on a more positive note the descriptions of the beach were beautiful.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing & annoying, 17 Feb 2008
This review is from: The Chimney Sweeper's Boy (Penguin Celebrations) (Paperback)
An intriguing enough first chapter. The rest of the novel is ponderous and tedious. The 'shock' ending simply fails to convince.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars A bit stilted
The Chimney Sweeper's Boy was the first Barbara Vine novel I'd read, although I have read several Ruth Rendalls (Vine's true persona). Read more
Published 23 months ago by Ingaborga

4.0 out of 5 stars ''You could find out his whole life from his novels, yet not find it out at all."
With the death of successful author and Booker Prize nominee Gerald Candless, his family, living on the fog-shrouded coast of England, has a variety of responses. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mary Whipple

4.0 out of 5 stars Predictable?
I love Barbara Vine, but I admit that this was a slight disappointment in the plot's predictability. Read more
Published on 5 Jan 2007 by Lucy M

3.0 out of 5 stars Would come back for more.
This is the first Barbara Vine book I have read and it has certainly not put me off trying more.

The story is well written and keeps the readers' interest throughout the book... Read more

Published on 22 Jun 2004 by Rich Milligan

2.0 out of 5 stars I had difficulty getting involved with this book.
The mystery component of The Chimney Sweeper's Boy is entertaining enough, I suppose, but there were too many convenient coincidences for me to suspend my disbelief. Read more
Published on 17 Jan 2001

2.0 out of 5 stars Well below her best
The opening chapters lay the foundations for a classic Vine 'whydunnit'. A famous author dies and his daughter is commissioned to write his biography. Read more
Published on 16 April 2000 by geoff.osborne@beeb.com

4.0 out of 5 stars An enthralling read .... to a point
I enjoyed reading this book but did find my interest trailing off towards the end - I read most of it very quickly then read the last 20 pages a few days later. Read more
Published on 25 Oct 1999

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but by no means brilliant
This was the first Barbara Vine novel I read and after reading the reviews I felt I should add my own. Read more
Published on 29 Aug 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars A compulsive "Who is he?" pageturner
I've always thought Barabara Vine's best novel was her first, "A Dark Adapted Eye", and that she'd never quite recaptured the same level of compulsive storytelling... Read more
Published on 27 Jul 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT READ!
Once again, Barbara Vine has taken the genre to new heights. The first chapter was a bit boring, but I stuck with it and found myself completely taken with the characters and... Read more
Published on 27 Jul 1999

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