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Truth may perhaps come to the price of a pearl, that showeth best by day; but it will not rise to the price of a diamond or a carbuncle, that showeth best in varied lights. The mixture of a lie doth ever add pleasure-' Francis BaconSet in a highly realistic dystopic future, where the lowlands of Britain are flooded, this beautifully-realised novel explores a world where archaeology is banned for fear of social unrest. One bleak morning, a storm across the North Sea unveils a human skull, which is to precipitate a series of events that changes the lives of those involved. And it is the Inglish, a remnant tribe eking out an existence on the edge of Europe, who will be affected the most. This is a compelling vision of England as it might be in the not-so-distant future.
From the Back Cover
'In Nottamun Town not a soul to be seen,
Not a soul would look up, not a soul would look down
Not a soul would look up, not a soul would look down
To show me the way to Nottamun Town.'
The Rhine Islands, 2255
The mass of land previously known as the United Kingdom has been eroded by climate change, and the east of the Islands possessed by the sea.
And it is not only physical history that is vanishing: the cultural past is also being erased from human consciousness. Archaeology has become the 'lost; science - it is blamed for stirring up cultural differences and provoking nationalism - and the authorities believe the study of history and the past can only be safe as long as it is controlled by themselves.
So when a violent storm across the North Sea unveils an undated human skull on Parizo beach in the east of the Islands, a profoundly delicate moral dilemma is also revealed. And it is into this politically explosive environment that the unassuming Merrick, a young graduate, finds himself thrown.
He is led to a group of Aboriginal people who inhabit the marshes near Parizo beach - and his extraordinary meeting with them results in a bizarre and painful experiment.
This is a thrilling novel from an award-winning author. You will rarely read anything so imaginative or absorbing.
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