or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
37 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Company: The Story of a Murderer
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Company: The Story of a Murderer (Paperback)

by Arabella Edge (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
Price: £7.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Wednesday, November 11? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
11 new from £0.98 26 used from £0.01
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover Order it used
Paperback (Reprint) 18 used & new from £0.36
Unbound Order it used
Unknown Binding Order it used

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Tipping the Velvet : The Complete BBC Series [2002] [DVD]

Tipping the Velvet : The Complete BBC Series [2002] [DVD]

DVD ~ Rachael Stirling
4.3 out of 5 stars (30)  £3.88
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

by Stieg Larsson
4.1 out of 5 stars (268)  £3.96
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 200 pages
  • Publisher: Picador; paperback / softback edition (1 Aug 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0330489798
  • ISBN-13: 978-0330489799
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 905,244 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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

Product Description

Review

'Elegant and hypnotically malevolent' Kate Grenville, winner of the Orange Prize 2001


Product Description

"I, Jeronimus, am a man of phials, a measurer of powders on bronze scales, a potion brewer, an opium and arsenic merchant. The primped and perfumed Amsterdam burghers came to me in droves requiring cures for fevers, love balms, the miscarriage of a bastard child and, of course, poisons. Ah, poisons..."

The Company is based on the true story of a Dutch East India flagship, the Batavia, which foundered off the coast of Western Australia in 1629. Jeronimus Cornelisz, a thirty-year-old apothecary with murder, mutiny, rape and torture on his mind, assumes command of the survivors, who all thought they were lucky to be alive. With Cornelisz in control, however, an extraordinary reign of terror begins, leaving those who survived wishing they had gone down with the ship.

'Elegant and hypnotically malevolent' Kate Grenville, winner of the Orange Prize 2001

'A compelling and utterly original story of shipwreck, madness and evil. It is written in gorgeous prose . . . and features a splendidly ruthless villain. A fine, dark novel' Patrick McGrath

See all Product Description

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

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

 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Lord of the Flies revisited, 17 Oct 2007
By Didier (Ghent, Belgium) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
Based on a true story (a gruesome thought indeed, but there it is), "The Company" tells the story of the Batavia, a Dutch East India Company ship that foundered in 1629. The survivors find themselves stranded in Australia, amongst them Jeronimus Cornelisz: apothecary and psychopath.

Using Cornelisz as the 1st person narrator of this doomed voyage, Arabella Edge leads us deep into the workings of a sick mind, and I must confess I've rarely been on both a more fascinating and horrific journey. The language is sparse, and therefore all the more powerful.

"Lord of the Flies" showed us what jolly company a group of boys can be when left to their own devices, "The Company" demonstrates that things don't really improve if the same happens to adults. Chilling and provocative, this is a very powerful book.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4.0 out of 5 stars A Portrait of Evil, 20 Mar 2004
This review is from: The Company: The Story of a Murderer (Hardcover)
Jeronimus Cornelisz, an apothecary who needs to leave Amsterdam in a hurry, boards a ship bound for the Indies in 1629. Soon he is trying to start a mutiny, while pursuing the mysterious Lucretia. Then the ship veers off course and runs aground on a deserted island off the coast of Australia. Cornelisz, undeterred, changes his plans and takes control of the community of survivors with horrific results.

The Company is effectively a study of one man's evil. Rarely has a protagonist in any novel been so utterly depraved. Motivation is irrelevant - Cornelisz is evil, pure and simple and it would be missing the point of the novel to ask why.

The story is sparse and relentless. Arabella Edge has an excellent eye for detail and she guides the story effectively towards its inevitable but slightly understated conclusion.

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



 
5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning debut novel - dark and hypnotic, 2 Nov 2003
By Chiaroscuro (England, UK) - See all my reviews
I am incredibly impressed with this book.

The story of the Batavia's journey, its shipwreck and the passengers' subsequent fight for suvival is told through the words of Jeronimus Cornelisz. And it is done brilliantly.

It is clear from the start that Jeronimus is not the sort of person you would want to spend a short bus journey with, let alone a five month voyage to India. Yet through its first person narrative the book cleverly leads you through a whole maze of emotions. You'll be enticed, appalled, frightened, stunned and - despite yourself - sometimes you'll be empathising with this evidently unhinged individual.

This is all, of course, thanks to Arabella Edge's intelligent and wonderfully individual writing. She has the ability to transport you from your safe little house to the creaking decks of the Batavia, from dank dark nights to sun scorched islands. And there'll be times you'll be relieved you can escape Jeronimus by putting the book down - though I can tell you that's not an easy thing to do.

I recommend this book highly and whole-heartedly.

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


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


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
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject













i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

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