The Likeness - Softcover

Kirton, Bill

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0957561571 ISBN 13: 9780957561571

Publisher: Bill Kirton, 2016

Synopsis

Aberdeen, 1841. Woodcarver John Grant has an unusual new commission: he’s asked to create a figurehead to feature onstage in the nautical melodramas of a newly-arrived theatre group. Simultaneously, he’s also trying to unravel the mystery of the death of a young woman, whose body has been found in the filth behind the harbour’s fish sheds.His loving relationship with Helen Anderson, which began in The Figurehead, has grown stronger but, despite the fact that they both want to be together, she is uneasy about the restrictions of conventional marriage, in which the woman is effectively the property of the husband. She’s also challenging yet more conventions of a male-dominated society by asking her father, a rich merchant, to let her get involved in his business. He agrees and is impressed at her negotiating skills and the success she brings to her earliest commercial projects.However, both her parents are horrified when she asks to be allowed to sail on one of his ships headed for Boston. The story weaves parallels between the stage fictions, Helen’s business dealings, a sea voyage, stage rehearsals, and John’s investigations. In the end, the answer to the mystery of the death and the apparent impossibility of resolving the romantic dilemma are both resolved, but in highly unexpected ways.

About this title

About the Author:

Bill Kirton was born in Plymouth, England but has lived in Aberdeen, Scotland for most of his life. He’s been a university lecturer, actor, director, TV presenter, written and performed songs and sketches at the Edinburgh Festival, and had many radio plays broadcast by the BBC and the Australian BC. He’s written five books on study and writing skills in Pearson’s ‘Brilliant’ series and his crime novels, Material Evidence, Rough Justice, The Darkness, Shadow Selves, Unsafe Acts, and the historical novel The Figurehead, set in Aberdeen in 1840, have been published in the UK and USA. He’s also published a spoof of the crime/spy genres called The Sparrow Conundrum which has won two awards, a satirical novella on online gaming, Alternative Dimension, and a children’s novel, The Loch Ewe Mystery. His short stories have appeared in several anthologies and Love Hurts was chosen for the Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 2010. His Amazon author pages: http://amzn.to/1kgpl6t (USA) http://amzn.to/1zflLwq (UK) His blog and website: http://www.billkirton.com Twitter: @carver22

About this edition

• Publisher: Bill Kirton
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0957561571
• ISBN 13: 9780957561571
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 392