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The Curator

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( 2,873 ratings, 683 reviews)
Brief Description
Half fairy tale and half historical account of a revolution that never was, Owen King's The Curator is full of sly humour, sensuality, and strangeness - Holly Black From Sunday Times bestselling author Owen King comes a Dickensian fantasy of illusion and charm where cats are... Read More
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From Sunday Times bestselling author Owen King comes a Dickensian fantasy of illusion and charm where cats are revered as religious figures, thieves are noble, scholars are revolutionaries, and conjurers the most wonderful criminals.

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Half fairy tale and half historical account of a revolution that never was, Owen King's The Curator is full of sly humour, sensuality, and strangeness - Holly Black From Sunday Times bestselling author Owen King comes a Dickensian fantasy of illusion and charm where cats are revered as religious figures, thieves are noble, scholars are revolutionaries, and conjurers the most wonderful criminals.

At first glance, the world has not changed: the trams on the boulevards, the grand hotels, the cafes abuzz with conversation. The street kids still play on the two great bridges that divide the city, and the smart set still venture down to the Morgue Ship for an evening's entertainment.

Yet it only takes a spark to ignite a revolution.

For young Dora, a maid at the university, the moment brings liberation. She finds herself walking out with one of the student radicals, Robert, free to investigate what her brother Ambrose may have seen at the Institute for Psykical Research before he died.

But it is another establishment that Dora is given to look after, The Museum of the Worker. This strange, forgotten edifice is occupied by waxwork tableaux of miners, nurses, shopkeepers and other disturbingly lifelike figures.

As the revolution and counter-revolution outside unleash forces of love, betrayal, magic and terrifying darkness, Dora's search for the truth behind a mystery that she has long concealed will unravel a monstrous conspiracy and bring her to the very edge of worlds.

In The Curator, Owen King has created an extraordinary time and place - historical, fantastical, yet compellingly real, and a heroine who is courageous, curious and utterly memorable. The Curator feels a little like Owen King somehow brought a curiosity cabinet to life. There are terrors here, but also marvels and delights, and a set of the most interesting characters I've met in some time. Put The Curator on the same shelf as other classics of the uncanny and uncategorisable, like Susanna Clarke's Piranesi and Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast. I loved it - Kelly Link Owen King's The Curator is a rich read. Language, characters, and a fascinating world combine to create an intensely satisfying experience - Charlaine Harris

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781399715126

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 12 March 2024

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Hodder Paperback

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 34.0mm

Width: 126.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 340g

Pages: 480

About the Author

Owen King is the author of the novel Double Feature and We're All in This Together: A Novella and Stories. He is the coauthor of Sleeping Beauties and Intro to Alien Invasion and the coeditor of Who Can Save Us Now? Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories. He lives in Upstate New York with his family.

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