THE WINTER QUEEN: AN ERAST FANDORIN MYSTERY (First UK edition - first impression)

Boris Akunin (Translated from the Russian by Andrew Bromfield)

ISBN 10: 0297829742 / ISBN 13: 9780297829744

Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 2003

About this Item

First impression of the first UK edition, and first edition in English translation, being translated from the Russian into English by Andrew Bromfield. *** The first title in the critically acclaimed crime fiction series of novels featuring the 19th-century James Bond, Erast Fandorin by Boris Akunin. ***Near fine in blue cloth-covered boards with silver titles to the spine. Head and tail of spine very slightly creased. Boards clean and unmarked. Corners sharp. Page block edges slightly foxed and tanned. No reading lean to the binding. Spine tight. Internally also near fine with no inscriptions. Pages clean. No creases or tears. ***In a near fine colour illustrated dustwrapper, which has not been price-clipped, retaining the original publisher's printed price of £9.99. No creases, chips or tears. No fading. Dustwrapper bright. ***249 pages. 224mm x 142mm. ***'Erast Fandorin has been described as 'the James Bond of the 19th century' - its difficult for a gentleman sleuth to keep his mind on a case when the new Dostoyevsky novel has just hit the shops'. ***'Boris Akunin is the pseudonym of Grigory Chkhartishvili. He has been compared to Gogol, Tolstoy and Arthur Conan Doyle, and his Erast Fandorin books have sold over eight million copies in Russia alone. He lives in Moscow.' (Quotes taken from the dustwrapper flaps). ***'Chkhartishvili "prefers to work with historical material" and has been called the "undisputed champion" of Russian crime fiction given that as Boris Akunin he "has written more than a dozen crime novels and has been widely appreciated by discerning readers, and has been translated into many languages'. ***'After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many trashy detective novels were published that featured a lot of gore and sex. Akunin's wife, in common with many other Russians, started to enjoy reading this genre of literature. However, she did not want to be seen reading the novels and she always wrapped them in brown paper to prevent people from seeing what she was reading. This inspired Akunin to create a detective novel which nobody would be ashamed to be caught reading, something between the literature of Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky and the pulp of modern Russian detective novels. He set out to write a cycle about Fandorin with an exploration of every subgenre of the detective novel in mind, from spies to serial killers. In addition, he wanted to address different types of human character in his books. As Akunin identified sixteen subgenres of crime novels, as well as sixteen character types, the novels in the Erast Fandorin series ultimately numbered sixteen, with the final novel, "Not Saying Goodbye", published in 2018. The series is titled New detective, or New Mystery. This title serves to set the novels apart from the postmodernist intellectual novels as well as from the trashy detective novels, but it is also a subtle play on the use of time in the novels.' ***'The first Fandorin novel, "The Winter Queen", was published in Russia in 1998, and the latest and the last one, "Not Saying Goodbye", in 2018. The English translations of the novels have been critically acclaimed by, among others, Ruth Rendell'. (Wiki) ***First UK edition of the first of the Erast Fandorin novels to be translated into English, in nice collectable condition. ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc.

Seller Inventory # 7532

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THE WINTER QUEEN: AN ERAST FANDORIN MYSTERY (First UK edition - first impression)
• Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London
• Publication Date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0297829742
• ISBN 13: 9780297829744
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition in English
• Printing: First Impression
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Crime Fiction & True Crime
  • First Editions
  • Literature in Translation

About this title

Synopsis

This is the first book featuring Erast Fandorin, a gentleman sleuth who solves murders and mysteries in tsarist Russia. A 23-year-old law student commits suicide in broad daylight in Moscow's Alexander Gardens. Fandorin is put on the case to find out what drove him to it, a case that deepens as he discovers that the young man was the son of a rich and influential factory owner. The story is enhanced by its authentic backdrop of nineteenth-century Russia. After all, it's difficult to keep your mind on a case when the new Dostoyevsky novel has just hit the shops. Fandorin has been described as 'the James Bond of the 19th century' and Akunin has been compared to Gogol, Tolstoy and Conan Doyle. The UK publication of these books will be an international literary event and mark the arrival of a startling new voice in the thriller marketplace.

From the Inside Flap

Moscow, May 1876: What would cause a talented young student from a wealthy family to shoot himself in front of a promenading public in the Alexander Gardens? Decadence and boredom, most likely, is what the commander of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Moscow Police thinks, but still he finds it curious enough to send the newest member of the division, Erast Fandorin, a young man of irresistible charm, to the Alexander Gardens precinct for more information.

Fandorin is not satisfied with the conclusion that this is an open-and-shut case, nor with the preliminary detective work the precinct has done—and for good reason: The bizarre and tragic suicide is soon connected to a clear case of murder, witnessed firsthand by Fandorin. There are many unresolved questions. Why, for instance, have both victims left their fortunes to an orphanage run by the English Lady Astair? And who is the beautiful "A.B.," whose signed photograph is found in the apparent suicide's apartment? Relying on his keen intuition, the eager sleuth plunges into an investigation that leads him across Europe, landing him at the deadly center of a terrorist conspiracy of worldwide proportions.

In this thrilling mystery that brings nineteenth-century Russia to vivid life, Akunin has created one of the most eagerly anticipated novels in years.

From the Hardcover edition.