Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
219 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Chimney Sweeper's Boy
 
 

See 1 customer image
Share your own customer images
Search inside another edition of this book

The Chimney Sweeper's Boy (Paperback)

by Barbara Vine (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £3.99 & eligible for Free UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £4.00 (50%)
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
Usually dispatched within 6 to 9 days.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

11 new from £1.45 207 used from £0.01 1 collectible from £0.01
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover (Large print e.) £18.95 £18.95 4 used & new from £18.87
Paperback £8.99 £6.99 37 used & new from £0.33
Library Binding Order it used
Paperback (Large Print) 5 used & new from £2.14
Audio Cassette (Abridged,Audiobook) 10 used & new from £0.90
Turtleback Order it used

Frequently Bought Together

The Chimney Sweeper's Boy + The Brimstone Wedding + The Minotaur
Price For All Three: £15.47

Some of these items ship sooner than the others. Show details

  • This item: The Chimney Sweeper's Boy by Barbara Vine

    Usually dispatched within 6 to 9 days.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    Eligible for FREE UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • The Brimstone Wedding by Barbara Vine

    Usually dispatched within 7 to 13 days.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • The Minotaur by Barbara Vine

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Brimstone Wedding

The Brimstone Wedding

by Barbara Vine
4.3 out of 5 stars (7)  £5.49
Asta's Book

Asta's Book

by Barbara Vine
4.9 out of 5 stars (8) 
The Minotaur

The Minotaur

by Barbara Vine
4.3 out of 5 stars (23)  £5.99
King Solomon's Carpet

King Solomon's Carpet

by Barbara Vine
4.7 out of 5 stars (3)  £6.29
A Dark-adapted Eye

A Dark-adapted Eye

by Barbara Vine
5.0 out of 5 stars (9)  £7.19
› Explore similar items

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: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 244,992 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

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

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

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.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Chimney Sweeper's Boy
71% buy the item featured on this page:
The Chimney Sweeper's Boy 3.7 out of 5 stars (21)
£3.99
A Dark-adapted Eye
9% buy
A Dark-adapted Eye 5.0 out of 5 stars (9)
£7.19
The Birthday Present
8% buy
The Birthday Present 3.0 out of 5 stars (8)
£3.99
The Blood Doctor
6% buy
The Blood Doctor 3.3 out of 5 stars (32)
£5.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

21 Reviews
5 star:
 (7)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:
 (5)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT AS ALWAYS!, 5 Dec 2003
By Val De Beer "Val De Beer" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
I foolishly allowed myself to be put off reading this book because of some of the negative views expressed by readers here, and now I can only conclude that they misunderstood the ending.
I have just finished reading it and I am amazed by the excellence of the writing, and the exciting plot.
It is a very clever piece of PI work that Sarah does in finding out what her father was like and realising why he changed his name, and history - which must have been an almost intolerable burden to place himself under.
It also makes one understand how bigoted people have caused so much pain in the past, and the lengths which unconventional people had to go to, to be accepted by society.
Then finally,at the end, the denouement is so shocking and unexpected, that Sarah finally realises all that has happened to her father.
I would recommmend this book to all intelligent lovers of the type of psychological thrillers which Barbara Vine writes.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
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.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Would come back for more., 22 Jun 2004
By Rich Milligan (Thatcham, Berkshire) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Chimney Sweeper's Boy (Paperback)
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. The story is well crafted and moves well from the present to the past with good narrative descriptions of the characters' memories of previous events. That said the characters themselves are all pretty unlikable, especially Gerald Candless, and I found myself never being able to empathise with their opinions and views.

Other reviewers mention the dissapointing ending and I too found it a bit of a cop-out, although the exact nature of the end still made my eyes widen.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Lost potential
I am a big Rendell/Vine fan, so it pains me to say this, but this book was rather a letdown in the end. Read more
Published 28 days ago by AmberJ

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing & annoying
An intriguing enough first chapter. The rest of the novel is ponderous and tedious. The 'shock' ending simply fails to convince.
Published 17 months ago by Dominic Swayne

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 19 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 19 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

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

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

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


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

The Body Shop

The Body Shop - Vitamin C Skin Boost
Protect and boost your glow with The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost.

›Shop The Body Shop

  

More From Ruth Rendell

Bridesmaid/Fear Painted...

Bridesmaid/Fear Painted Devil

"--a finely crafted tale of lust and lies with a bit of a Fatal... Read more
£7.99 £2.39

 

Up to 53% off Braun Series Shavers

Braun Series 3 390cc Clean & Renew System Rechargeable Foil Electric Shaver
Get in touch with your smooth side with Braun Series shavers, now with Gillette blade technology.

›Discover Braun Series at Amazon.co.uk

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates