Items related to The Pianoplayers
Following the death of her father, an irregularly employed pianist, Ellen Henshaw becomes a high-class prostitute in Paris during the 1930s and then founds a chain of schools to instruct men in the arts of love and music
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About the Author:
Will Carr is Deputy Director of the International Anthony Burgess Foundation
From Publishers Weekly:
Will Carr is Deputy Director of the International Anthony Burgess Foundation
Burgess's entertaining pen does not flag in this larky exercise in nostalgia. The slim novel is narrated by elderly but still beautiful Ellen Henshaw, born lower-class British but now retired in Provence after a career as an entrepreneurial prostitute. In a lusty, cynical voice, droll with casual obscenities and unwittingly vulgar vernacular, Ellen relates the story of her beloved "poor old dad." A piano player (not a Pianist, she insists) for the old silent movies, Billy Henshaw was a genius before his time, according to Ellen, but drink, womanizing and false pride brought him down; all were responsible for his disastrous decision to take part in a brutal piano marathon. Ellen's rendition of their life in and out of seedy boarding houses, cinemas and music halls in Blackpool and Manchester is littered with malapropisms, the indiscriminate use of capital letters ("It's very hard to get away from Sex and I've never really tried") and mangled French. There are some inspired set pieces here: an on-stage brawl during a vaudeville performance is broad farce; an account of a trip to Italy is Grand Guignol dark comedy. Burgess's little jokes (he includes a page of sheet music; Ellen reads le Carre for her insomnia, since he's "a very dull writer who is good for sending you to sleep") and his fondness for the "good old days," give this novel a palpable charm.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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- PublisherArbor House Pub Co
- Publication date1986
- ISBN 10 0877958327
- ISBN 13 9780877958321
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages208
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The Pianoplayers
Published by
Arbor House Pub Co
(1986)
ISBN 10: 0877958327
ISBN 13: 9780877958321
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Book Description New Hardbound book w/dust jacket in Mylar. ARBOR HOUSE PUBLISHING 1986 - FIRST PRINTING w/full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. COMPLIMENTARY DELIVERY CONFIRMATION INCLUDED. Boards clean, straight and edges sharp. Dust jacket in great condition, price intact, clean and straight, MINOR RUBBING, in archival Mylar jacket. Pages crisp, clean and unmarked. No remainder mark. Ships within 24 hrs from Oregon except for Sundays and Holidays. Thanks for supporting a small family business. Seller Inventory # PI-MIUG-JMFO
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The Pianoplayers
Published by
Arbor House Pub Co
(1986)
ISBN 10: 0877958327
ISBN 13: 9780877958321
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Hardcover
Quantity: 1
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Rating
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # Abebooks285278
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