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The Historian: A Novel (Limited, Signed Edition)
by KOSTOVA, Elizabeth
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Fine
- ISBN 10
- 0316011770
- ISBN 13
- 9780316011778
- Seller
-
Asheville, North Carolina, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Asheville, NC: The Captain's Bookshelf, 2005. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Fine. Octavo. x, 642 pp. 6.25 x 9.75 in. Fine in original decorated paper-covered boards and fine illustrated paper-covered slipcase. Of 150 specially bound and signed copies, this is number 58 and signed by Kostova on the colophon. The dragon illustration on front cover is by Luis Campos and the slipcase is covered in a color reproduction of a 16th century map of the Balkans region.
Synopsis
To you, perceptive reader, I bequeath my history....Late one night, exploring her father's library, a young woman finds an ancient book and a cache of yellowing letters. The letters are all addressed to "My dear and unfortunate successor," and they plunge her into a world she never dreamed of-a labyrinth where the secrets of her father's past and her mother's mysterious fate connect to an inconceivable evil hidden in the depths of history.The letters provide links to one of the darkest powers that humanity has ever known-and to a centuries-long quest to find the source of that darkness and wipe it out. It is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula. Generations of historians have risked their reputations, their sanity, and even their lives to learn the truth about Vlad the Impaler and Dracula. Now one young woman must decide whether to take up this quest herself-to follow her father in a hunt that nearly brought him to ruin years ago, when he was a vibrant young scholar and her mother was still alive. What does the legend of Vlad the Impaler have to do with the modern world? Is it possible that the Dracula of myth truly existed-and that he has lived on, century after century, pursuing his own unknowable ends? The answers to these questions cross time and borders, as first the father and then the daughter search for clues, from dusty Ivy League libraries to Istanbul, Budapest, and the depths of Eastern Europe. In city after city, in monasteries and archives, in letters and in secret conversations, the horrible truth emerges about Vlad the Impaler's dark reign-and about a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive down through the ages.Parsing obscure signs and hidden texts, reading codes worked into the fabric of medieval monastic traditions-and evading the unknown adversaries who will go to any lengths to conceal and protect Vlad's ancient powers-one woman comes ever closer to the secret of her own past and a confrontation with the very definition of evil. Elizabeth Kostova's debut novel is an adventure of monumental proportions, a relentless tale that blends fact and fantasy, history and the present, with an assurance that is almost unbearably suspenseful-and utterly unforgettable.
Reviews
On Jan 17 2007, Fict said:
Riding a bit on the coat tails of the Da Vinci Code and awfully similar in theme, but at least much better written with something approaching real-life dialogue.
On Dec 16 2005, Raabe said:
Excellent fictional account of the mystery of Vlad Tepes.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Bagatelle Books, IOBA
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 6679
- Title
- The Historian: A Novel (Limited, Signed Edition)
- Author
- KOSTOVA, Elizabeth
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition, First Printing
- ISBN 10
- 0316011770
- ISBN 13
- 9780316011778
- Publisher
- The Captain's Bookshelf
- Place of Publication
- Asheville, NC
- Date Published
- 2005
Terms of Sale
Bagatelle Books, IOBA
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Bagatelle Books, IOBA
Biblio member since 2019
Asheville, North Carolina
About Bagatelle Books, IOBA
We are a brick-and-mortar independent bookstore in West Asheville, North Carolina.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Colophon
- The colophon contains information about a book's publisher, the typesetting, printer, and possibly even includes a printer's...
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