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The Book Forger

The true story of a literary crime that fooled the world
By Joseph Hone
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Brief Description
A true detective story from the age of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers—the literary crime that fooled the world—and the daring young booksellers who uncovered it. 'A page-turner about page-turners' Janice Hallett 'The perfect piece of armchair detection' Ruth Ware 'Hugely entertaining and unexpectedly gripping'... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3000
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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A true detective story from the age of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers—the literary crime that fooled the world—and the daring young booksellers who uncovered it.

'A page-turner about page-turners' Janice Hallett

'The perfect piece of armchair detection' Ruth Ware

'Hugely entertaining and unexpectedly gripping' London Review of Books

London, 1932. Thomas James Wise is the toast of the literary establishment. A prominent collector and businessman, with friends in high places, he is one of the most powerful men in the field of rare books.

One night, two young booksellers stumble upon a strange discrepancy leading them to suspect Wise and his books are not all they seem. Inspired by the vogue for Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes, the pair harness the latest developments in forensic analysis to crack the case. By the time they are done, their investigation will have rocked the book world to its core.

'A thrilling unravelling of bookish fraud that reads like a detective story from the golden age' Roland Philipps, author of A Spy Named Orphan

'Hone is a lively and fluent writer, ratcheting up the temperature with snappy sentences and chapters ending on cliffhangers' Sunday Telegraph

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781529931440

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 August 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 35.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 200g

Pages: 336

Collections

Arts & Culture Education & Reference History & Archaeology History & Military Joseph Hone Non-Fiction Penguin Books

About the Author

Joseph Hone is a prize-winning writer and academic specialising in the history of the book. He studied and taught at Oxford, before holding fellowships at Cambridge, Harvard, and Yale. He is the author of The Paper Chase, which was longlisted for the HWA Non-Fiction Crown, and The Book Forger, publishing in 2024. In 2022 he was awarded the Philip Leverhulme Prize in Languages and Literatures. He lives in Newcastle with his wife and son, and spends much of his time either on the coast or scrabbling around in second-hand bookshops.

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