Leonora Nattrass - Böcker

This book offers a thoroughgoing literary analysis of William Cobbett as a writer. Leonora Nattrass explores the nature and effect of Cobbett's rhetorical strategies, showing through close examination of a broad selection of his polemical writings (from his early American journalism onwards) the complexity, self-consciousness and skill of his stylistic procedures. Her close readings examine the political implications of Cobbett's style within the broader context of eighteenth-and early nineteenth-century political prose, and argue that his perceived ideological and stylistic flaws - inconsistency, bigotry, egoism and political nostalgia - are in fact rhetorical strategies designed to appeal to a range of usually polarized reading audiences. This re-reading revises a critical concensus that Cobbett is an unselfconscious populist whose writings reflect rather than challenge the ideological paradoxes and problems of his time.

This book offers a thoroughgoing literary analysis of William Cobbett as a writer. Leonora Nattrass explores the nature and effect of Cobbett's rhetorical strategies, showing through close examination of a broad selection of his polemical writings (from his early American journalism onwards) the complexity, self-consciousness and skill of his stylistic procedures. Her close readings examine the political implications of Cobbett's style within the broader context of eighteenth-and early nineteenth-century political prose, and argue that his perceived ideological and stylistic flaws - inconsistency, bigotry, egoism and political nostalgia - are in fact rhetorical strategies designed to appeal to a range of usually polarized reading audiences. This re-reading revises a critical concensus that Cobbett is an unselfconscious populist whose writings reflect rather than challenge the ideological paradoxes and problems of his time.

William Cobbett (1763-1835) was a prolific writer, best known as the anti-Radical founder of Cobbett's "Political Register" which ran from 1802-35. This collection of his writings presents the texts fully reset and annotated with biographical and analytical introductions.

William Cobbett (1763-1835) was a prolific writer, best known as the anti-Radical founder of Cobbett's "Political Register" which ran from 1802-35. This collection of his writings presents the texts fully reset and annotated with biographical and analytical introductions.

William Cobbett (1763-1835) was a prolific writer, best known as the anti-Radical founder of Cobbett's "Political Register" which ran from 1802-35. This collection of his writings presents the texts fully reset and annotated with biographical and analytical introductions.

William Cobbett (1763-1835) was a prolific writer, best known as the anti-Radical founder of Cobbett's "Political Register" which ran from 1802-35. This collection of his writings presents the texts fully reset and annotated with biographical and analytical introductions.

William Cobbett (1763-1835) was a prolific writer, best known as the anti-Radical founder of Cobbett's "Political Register" which ran from 1802-35. This collection of his writings presents the texts fully reset and annotated with biographical and analytical introductions.

William Cobbett (1763-1835) was a prolific writer, best known as the anti-Radical founder of Cobbett's "Political Register" which ran from 1802-35. This collection of his writings presents the texts fully reset and annotated with biographical and analytical introductions.

* A TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR ** SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE MONTH ** LONGLISTED FOR THE HWA DEBUT CROWN *'One of the best debuts of the year' - THE TIMES'As nimbly realised as by the genre's master, Andrew Taylor' - FINANCIAL TIMES'Black Drop is a joy from start to finish' - ANDREW TAYLORThis is the confession of Laurence Jago. Clerk. Gentleman. Spy.July 1794, and London is filled with rumours of revolution. The war against the French is not going in Britain's favour, and negotiations with America are on a knife edge.Laurence Jago, Foreign Office clerk, is ever more reliant on opium - the Black Drop - to ease his nightmares. A highly sensitive letter, whose contents could lead to the destruction of the British Army, has been leaked to the press and Laurence is a suspect. Then he discovers the body of a fellow clerk - a supposed suicide - and it seems clear where the blame truly lies.But Laurence is certain both of his friend's innocence, and that he was murdered. But after years of hiding his own secrets from his powerful employers, can Laurence find the true culprit without ending up on the gallows himself?A thrilling historical mystery, perfect for readers of C.J. Sansom, Andrew Taylor, Antonia Hodgson and Laura Shepherd-Robinson.'This opium-fuelled gem is a murderous romp' - JANICE HALLETT'A thrilling slice of pitch-dark historical fiction' - EMMA STONEX'A gripping, intricate story of Georgian high politics' - W.C. RYAN

** A WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH **** SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA HISTORICAL DAGGER AWARD **** AN INSTANT TIMES BESTSELLER ** ** A FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR **'A TRULY GRIPPING READ' - GUARDIAN'FABULOUS, A DELIGHT' - S.G. MACLEAN'A FINE ADVENTURE REMINISCENT OF PATRICK O'BRIAN' - SUNDAY TIMESThis is the secret report of Laurence Jago. Ex-clerk. Unwilling spy. Reluctant sailor. Accidental detective.New Year 1795, and Laurence Jago is aboard the Tankerville mail ship, en route to Philadelphia. Ostensibly travelling as assistant to the irrepressible journalist William Philpott, Laurence's real mission is to aid the civil servant carrying a vital treaty to Congress. A treaty that will prevent the Americans from joining with the French in the war against Britain.However, when the civil servant meets an unfortunate - and supposedly accidental - end and the treaty disappears, Laurence realises only he can now prevent war with the US. Trapped on the ship with travellers including two penniless French aristocrats, an Irish actress and a dancing bear, Laurence must hunt down both the lost treaty and the murderer, before he has a tragic 'accident' himself...The new page-turning historical mystery from the author of BLACK DROP, a 2021 TIMES Book of the Year. Perfect for readers of Andrew Taylor, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and S.J. Parris.

** A WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH **** SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA HISTORICAL DAGGER AWARD **** AN INSTANT TIMES BESTSELLER ** ** A FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR **'A TRULY GRIPPING READ' - GUARDIAN'FABULOUS, A DELIGHT' - S.G. MACLEAN'A FINE ADVENTURE REMINISCENT OF PATRICK O'BRIAN' - SUNDAY TIMESThis is the secret report of Laurence Jago. Ex-clerk. Unwilling spy. Reluctant sailor. Accidental detective.New Year 1795, and Laurence Jago is aboard the Tankerville mail ship, en route to Philadelphia. Ostensibly travelling as assistant to the irrepressible journalist William Philpott, Laurence's real mission is to aid the civil servant carrying a vital treaty to Congress. A treaty that will prevent the Americans from joining with the French in the war against Britain.However, when the civil servant meets an unfortunate - and supposedly accidental - end and the treaty disappears, Laurence realises only he can now prevent war with the US. Trapped on the ship with travellers including two penniless French aristocrats, an Irish actress and a dancing bear, Laurence must hunt down both the lost treaty and the murderer, before he has a tragic 'accident' himself...The new page-turning historical mystery from the author of BLACK DROP, a 2021 TIMES Book of the Year. Perfect for readers of Andrew Taylor, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and S.J. Parris.

** A WATERSTONES THRILLER OF THE MONTH **** AN INSTANT TIMES BESTSELLER **** A FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR **** SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA HISTORICAL DAGGER AWARD **** LONGLISTED FOR THE THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR **'A TRULY GRIPPING READ' - GUARDIAN'FABULOUS, A DELIGHT' - S.G. MACLEAN'A FINE ADVENTURE REMINISCENT OF PATRICK O'BRIAN' - SUNDAY TIMESThis is the secret report of Laurence Jago. Unwilling spy. Reluctant sailor. Accidental detective.New Year 1795, and Laurence Jago is aboard the Tankerville mail ship, en route to Philadelphia. Laurence is travelling undercover, supposedly as a journalist's assistant. But his real mission is to protect a civil servant, en route to Congress with a vital treaty that will stop the Americans from joining the French in their war against Britain.When the civil servant meets an unfortunate - and apparently accidental - end, the treaty disappears, and Laurence realises that only he can keep the Americans out of the war. Trapped on the ship with a strange assortment of travellers including two penniless French aristocrats, an Irish actress and a dancing bear, Laurence must hunt down both the lost treaty and the murderer, before he has a tragic 'accident' himself...The new page-turning historical mystery from the author of BLACK DROP, a 2021 TIMES Book of the Year. Perfect for readers of Andrew Taylor, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and S.J. Parris.

The sequel to 2021's critically acclaimed Black Drop and 2022's bestselling Blue Water, in which reluctant sleuth Laurence Jago becomes enmeshed in a deadly election in his native Cornwall

** A TELEGRAPH BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR **** SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA HISTORICAL DAGGER AWARD **'Nattrass's best yet' - S.G. MACLEAN'Wonderfully evocative' - DAILY TELEGRAPH'Authentic and relentlessly pageturning' - SUNDAY EXPRESSA rigged election. A feuding Cornish town. A suspicious death. And a perspicacious pig.May 1796, and former Foreign Office clerk Laurence Jago and his larger-than-life employer, the journalist William Philpott, have escaped America - and Philpott's near imprisonment for libel - by the skin of their teeth. They return to Laurence's hometown of Helston, Cornwall, in the hope of rest and recuperation, but instead find themselves in the middle of a tumultuous election that has the inhabitants of the town at one another's throats.Only two men may vote in this rotten borough, and when one of them dies in suspicious circumstances, Laurence is ordered to investigate on behalf of the town's political patron, his old master the Duke of Leeds. Then the second elector is poisoned and suspicion turns on the town doctor, the gentle Pythagoras Jago, Laurence's own cousin. Suddenly Laurence finds himself ensnared in generations of bad blood and petty rivalries, with his cousin's fate in his hands...The new page-turning historical mystery from the author of Black Drop, a 2021 Times Book of the Year. Perfect for readers of Andrew Taylor and Laura Shepherd-Robinson.

* A TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR ** A SUNDAY TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION PICK OF THE MONTH *'[An] entertaining historical mystery' - SUNDAY TIMES'A wonderfully clever historical novelist' - DAILY TELEGRAPH'Vivid characters and wonderful descriptions make this novel sparkle' - DAILY MAILHe looked as if he had just received some very bad news. In that he was certainly right, for he was perfectly and incontrovertibly dead...London, 1774. Susan Bell spends her days within the confines of Westminster Abbey, one of many who live in the grounds of the ancient building. Her father, the kindly Dean of Westminster, is always busy keeping the many canons and vergers in check, when not being romantically pursued by forceful widows. Life at the abbey is uneventful, even after the unwelcome arrival of Susan's cousin Lindley and his unusual scientific demonstrations. That is until the Society of Antiquaries come armed with a letter from King George III, demanding to open the tomb of Edward I.As the Society prepares to open the tomb, a ghostly figure is seen walking the abbey cloisters, wearing the crown and shroud of the dead king. Then there is further uproar when one of the Antiquaries is found viciously murdered, and the corpse of Edward I is stolen. With her father's position under threat from the scandal, Susan feels duty-bound to investigate these strange occurrences. Could one of the Society members be harbouring a murderous secret? Or is one of the abbey's own a killer?The new historical mystery from the bestselling author of Black Drop, Blue Water and Scarlet Town. Perfect for readers of Andrew Taylor, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and S.J. Parris.'Memorable and utterly engaging' - S.G. MACLEAN'Nattrass is a master storyteller' - JANICE HALLETT'One of my favourite historical fiction authors' - PHILIPPA EAST

* A TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR ** A SUNDAY TIMES HISTORICAL FICTION PICK OF THE MONTH *'A splendid romp from a wonderfully clever historical novelist' - TELEGRAPH'An exhilarating voyage into another era' - FINANCIAL TIMESHe looked as if he had just received some very bad news. In that he was certainly right, for he was perfectly and incontrovertibly dead...London, 1774. Susan Bell - daughter of the kindly Dean of Westminster - enjoys a pleasantly uneventful life within the confines of the abbey. That is until a group of scholars from the Society of Antiquaries comes armed with a letter from King George III, giving them permission to exhume Edward I and examine his body.As they prepare to open the tomb, a ghostly figure is seen wandering the cloisters, wearing the crown of the dead king. Then one of the Antiquaries is found viciously murdered, and the corpse of Edward I is stolen. With the abbey in uproar and her father's position under threat from the scandal, Susan feels bound to investigate. Could one of the Society's members be harbouring a deadly secret, or is one of the abbey's own a killer?The new historical mystery from the bestselling author of Black Drop, Blue Water and Scarlet Town. Perfect for readers of Andrew Taylor, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and S.J. Parris.

'A wonderfully clever historical novelist' - DAILY TELEGRAPH'Leonora Nattrass is a master storyteller' - JANICE HALLETTLeicestershire, 1774. Following a minor royal scandal, Susan Bell's father has lost his post as Dean of Westminster, and the two find themselves exiled to the family's country seat, Fortune Hall. Susan fills her days attempting to prevent her fiancé Lindley from being married off to a richer bride, while her father takes on the tutorship of Francis North, son of the Prime Minister.When a visiting surveyor mysteriously disappears near a fast-flowing river, leaving only his coat and hat behind, the man is presumed to have drowned. Susan alone is not convinced by this explanation, or by that of eccentric visiting librarian Mr Quintrel, who declares the surveyor likely lost in a network of tunnels that form the tomb of the mythical King Lear. But when the young Francis North also disappears, Susan knows that her family's reputation is at stake and she must investigate. What did the surveyor stumble upon that someone would possibly kill to hide? And what darker secrets are waiting to be revealed?