Kirjahaku

Based on actual events about an American merchant vessel discovered off the coast of Spain in 1872, this novel--from the prize-winning author of Property--is a spellbinding exploration of love, nature, and the fictions that pass as truth. - "A sly and masterly historical novel, written with intelligence and flair." --The New York Times Book Review1872: the American merchant vessel Mary Celeste is discovered adrift off the coast of Spain. Her cargo is intact and there is no sign of struggle, but her crew has disappeared, never to be found. As news of the derelict ghost ship spreads, the Mary Celeste captures imaginations around the world--from a Philadelphia spiritualist medium named Violet Petra to an unknown young writer named Arthur Conan Doyle. In a haunted, death-obsessed age, the Mary Celeste is by turns a provocative mystery, an inspiration to creativity, and the tragic story of a family doomed by the sea.

Twelve extraordinary short stories from the award-winning, bestselling author of Property that explore human morality and our shared losses and joys, shifting from realism to myth, from the Louisiana bayou to the streets of Rome and beyond. - "Complex and wonderful.... A long, cool drink of water." --The New York Times Book Review In these stories, Martin mines her three literary preoccupations--animals, artists, and metamorphoses--to unforgettable effect. In "The Consolation of Nature," a family battles a giant rat that has invaded their home. "The Open Door" follows an American poet in Rome, forced to choose between her lover and a world so new it takes her breath away. In "Et in Academic Ego," a seventeen-year-old bayou orphan falls in love with a centaur who transforms her life. And the title story conjures up a hideous mermaid who fatally seduces a fisherman. Sophisticated, incisive, deeply felt and always surprising, Sea Lovers showcases the enduring work of an indispensable writer.

* Winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction 2003. * A powerful, startling novel set in America's Deep South in the early 19th century - a story of freedom, both political and personal.

* A fascinating twist to the classic tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

"Acutely observed...charmingly old-fashioned."--Los Angeles TimesIn Italian Fever, Valerie Martin redefines the Gothic novel in a compelling tale of one woman's headlong tumble into a mystery, art, and eros.Part romance, part gothic suspense story and wholly entertaining, Italian Fever is the story of the awakening of Lucy Stark, an American pragmatist. Lucy leads a quiet, solitary life working for a best-selling (but remarkably untalented) writer. When he dies at his villa in Tuscany, Lucy flies to Tuscany to settle his affairs. What begins as a grim chore soon threatens Stark's Emersonian self-reliance--and her very sense of what is real. The villa harbors secrets: a missing manuscript, neighbors whose Byzantine arrogance veils their dark past, a phantom whose nocturnal visits tear a gaping hole in Lucy's well-honed skepticism. And to complicate matters: Massimo, a married man whose tender attentions render Lucy breathless. Smart, sophisticated, achingly beautiful, Italian Fever is one of the most original and compelling novels of the year. "Spellbinding. . . . A virtuoso. . . . Martin's competence has kindled into brilliance." --The New York Times Book Review"Entertainment apart . . . Martin has written a novel of ideas." --The New York Times"Acutely observed. . .charmingly old-fashioned." --Los Angeles Times"Filled with suspense and surprise in the telling." --The Boston Globe

From the award-winning author of Property and bestselling author of Mary Reilly--"a bold retelling of a familiar, beloved story" (Los Angeles Times), inspired by the fresco cycles that depict the life of St. Francis of Assisi. Drawing from myriad sources and moving in reverse chronological order, she begins in the dark, final days, with a suffering Francesco on the verge of death, then shows us the unwashed and innocent revolutionary, unafraid to lecture a pope on Christ's message. We see his mystical friendship with Chiara di Offreducci, a nobleman's daughter who turns her back on the world to join him, and finally, the frivolous young Francesco on the deserted road where his encounter with a leper leads him to an ecstatic embrace of God. Salvation is at once an illuminating glimpse into the medieval world and an original and intimate portrait of the man whose legend has resonated through the centuries.

WINNER OF THE ORANGE PRIZE - Set in 1828 on a Louisiana sugar plantation, this novel from the bestselling author of Mary Reilly presents a "fresh, unsentimental look at what slave-owning does to (and for) one's interior life.... The writing--so prised and clean limbed--is a marvel" (Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize-winning author of Beloved).Manon Gaudet, pretty, bitterly intelligent, and monstrously self-absorbed, seethes under the dominion of her boorish husband. In particular his relationship with her slave Sarah, who is both his victim and his mistress. Exploring the permutations of Manon's own obsession with Sarah against the backdrop of an impending slave rebellion, Property unfolds with the speed and menace of heat lightning, casting a startling light from the past upon the assumptions we still make about the powerful and powerful.

From the acclaimed author of the bestselling Italian Fever and award-winning Property, comes a fresh twist on the classic Jekyll and Hyde story, a novel told from the perspective of Dr. Jekyll's dutiful and intelligent housemaid. "Part psychological novel, part social history, part eerie horror tale ... dark and moving and powerful." --The Washington Post Faithfully weaving in details from Robert Louis Stevenson's classic, Martin introduces an original and captivating character: Mary is a survivor--scarred but still strong--familiar with evil, yet brimming with devotion and love. As a bond grows between Mary and her tortured employer, she is sent on errands to unsavory districts of London and entrusted with secrets she would rather not know. Unable to confront her hideous suspicions about Dr. Jekyll, Mary ultimately proves the lengths to which she'll go to protect him. Through her astute reflections, we hear the rest of the classic Jekyll and Hyde story, and this familiar tale is made more terrifying than we remember it, more complex than we imagined possible.

From the bestselling author of Mary Reilly and prize-winning author of Property comes a riveting story of three women in New Orleans who must face the repercussions of sex, betrayal and the wilder side of human nature. - "Haunting.... An utterly compelling work of fiction." --The New York TimesThree surprising women, their lives riven by divorce both literal and metaphorical: Ellen Clayton, reeling from her husband's decision to leave her after twenty years, finds meaning in caring for her teenage daughters and in her work as the veterinarian at the New Orleans Zoo. Her young assistant Camille, preyed on by a series of contemptuous men, experiences bizarre episodes in which she feels herself transforming into one of the great cats in her care. And Elisabeth Boyer, a passionate Creole aristocrat trapped on her husband's antebellum plantation, finds deliverance in the form of a black leopard, a powerful, merciless ally from the wild. Their unfolding stories blur distinctions of time, class and social construct to reveal the ordinary and extraordinary measures required to make our fractured world whole.

From the prize-winning and beloved author Valerie Martin (Mary Reilly, Property, Italian Fever) comes an "utterly brilliant" (Daily Mail) tale of female subversion and agency in a patriarchal world, with two brilliantly crafted protagonists at its center. It's 1954 on far-flung Verona Island, a tropical paradise with a fragile economy and a rising crime rate. Prostitution is legal and Lila Gulliver is proud of her business, a high-end brothel where her clients are guaranteed privacy and discretion. When Carit Bercy, a young, destitute, and beautiful blind woman arrives at her door seeking employment, Lila decides to give her a chance. Carit proves a valuable asset to the house, as well as a psychological puzzle to her employer. One hot night, Ian Drohan, a handsome youth and the scion of the wealthiest family on the island, visits Lila's house and falls madly in love with Carit . Lila doubts his sincerity and fears for Carit 's future. Carit has no such fears. In fact, Carit is a reckless force of nature, determined to succeed in ways Lila hasn't even contemplated. Spirits of the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, as well as the devilish denizens of the magical island in The Tempest haunt this steamy tale of passionate love, found, lost, and found again.

An "immensely satisfying" story (The Guardian) of family, war, art, and betrayal set around an ancient, ancestral home in the Tuscan countryside from the bestselling, award-winning author of Property. When Jan Vidor, an American writer and academic, rents an apartment in a Tuscan villa for the summer, she plans to spend her break working on a novel about Mussolini. Instead, she finds herself captivated by her aristocratic landlady, the elegant, acerbic Beatrice Salviati Bartolo Doyle, whose family has owned Villa Chiara for generations. Jan is intrigued by Beatrice's stories of World War II, particularly by the tragic fate of her uncle Sandro, who was mysteriously murdered in the driveway of the villa at the conclusion of the war. Day by day, Beatrice makes Jan privy to her family history. As years go by and the friendship is sustained by infrequent meetings, Jan finds she can't resist writing Beatrice's story. But as she works on the novel, it becomes clear that the villa itself is at risk and that Beatrice is incapable of saving it. Jan understands that she is telling the story of a catastrophe her friend might prefer to conceal. She presses on.

From the Orange Prize-winning author of Property, the story of a woman on the run from sexual obsession'An impressive writer...I admire her straightforward style and the intelligence and strength of her heroine' Ann TylerHelene is a woman constantly on the run. A social worker, she spends her days trying to sort out other people's lives. But her need for professional detachment carries through to her private life where she is pursued by a series of needy men - one simply mad and obsessive, another a drug addict whose habit is all-consuming, the third the partner of her best friend who has a cruel, selfish streak. People see in her the sort of person in whom they can confide their secrets and desires but Helene is determined never to give up the option to walk away.

'Sexy, absorbing and insightful ... a great read' PEOPLEEvery woman holds the power to enchant or to destroy. In New Orleans, three women from completely different backgrounds face a turning point in their lives. Ellen, a vet at a New Orleans zoo, is trying to contain an infectious disease that threatens the zoo's animals. At the same time, she must come to terms with her crumbling marriage. Alongside her works Camille, an enigmatic and disturbed young woman whose terrifying fantasies threaten to overwhelm her. Finally there is Elisabeth, 'The Catwoman of St Francisville,' who was hanged in 1845 for murdering her bullying husband in horrific circumstances.In a compelling tale that bristles with energy and a sense of foreboding, their stories converge to reveal the secrets behind the 'untamed' aspects of human nature.

'Few have written so surprisingly, so convincingly, as Valerie Martin about sexual obsession and the perverse twistings of the human heart' Margaret Atwood'The writing - so prised and clean limbed - is a marvel' Toni MorrisonSet in New Orleans, this is a novel about a love triangle. Married mother, Emma Miller, is bored with her husband, her job and her life so she begins a passionate, often violent, affair with Pascal Toussaint, a sadist with whom she becomes obsessed. Pascal, in the meantime, is fixated on a young novice called Claire D'anjou. Claire seems rather cold, is devout to an extreme, and is prone to visions. Pascal's father describes her as 'not satisfied with being only mortal'. Emma endures the same sort of self-effacement in her relationship with Paul as Claire does in her struggle towards religious purity. This is all set against the backdrop of a city overrun by rats and awash with a mysterious plague.

'There are shades of Highsmith here, and Wilde's Dorian Gray. This novel is marvellous and unmissable' THE TIMES'Valerie Martin is a goddess. Her prose is so sharp, intense and wickedly witty, you'll whip through this story like lightning... Glamour, intrigue and passions run high in this scintillating novel' EASY LIVING'Martin draws us skilfully and boldly into a world in which near drownings, lost loves, stalkers and the loaded gun which must finally go off, are not nearly as terrifying as the unknowability of the human psyche' DAILY TELEGRAPHIn the seamy theatre world of 1970s New York, where rents are cheap and love is free, aspiring actor Edward Day joins his friends for a summer weekend on the New Jersey Shore. But something happens - and Edward's life will never be the same again. He is saved from drowning by the mysterious Guy Margate, a man with whom he shares both a marked physical resemblance and an implacable attraction to the beautiful, talented, neurotic Madeleine. Ever after, in encounters provoked by envy and resentment, Edward is torn between his desire for Madeleine and his indebtedness to the querulous Guy. Professional and personal jealousies come to a head when Edward is cast opposite Madeleine in an acclaimed production of Uncle Vanya, their respective roles painfully mirroring the reality of their personal situations. As the sexual tensions of the play spill over outside the theatre walls, Guy - Edward's reluctant saviour and now Madeleine's husband - makes the ultimate act of protest...

'A compelling, wonderfully observed study of families and the histories from which they evolve ... a strikingly resonant and emotive novel' TIME OUT'Serene echoes of Ian McEwan's SATURDAY' FINANCIAL TIMES'Mesmerizing ... a war novel that gives you a glimpse of what war might really mean ... Trespass revels in truth' WASHINGTON POSTToby and Salome are a young, modern couple living in New York, but their backgrounds are world apart. He is a middle-class all-American boy from a family of academics; she is a Croatian refugee raised in New Orleans.When Salome unexpectedly becomes pregnant, they decide to spend their lives together and hastily marry. But finding a way to reconcile their families and pasts proves a difficult task. Toby's mother's deep-seated mistrust of Salome causes tension, leaving her unable to accept her new daughter-in-law. But Salome' s past, full of dangerous secrets, is more horrifying than any of them could imagine - and the violence that destroyed her homeland is far from over...

The generosity of Martin’s understanding opens every character to the full, astounding range of human possibility. Her revelations build mesmerizing excitement, a surprising kindness, and an unexpected sanity in the darkness.

Two women, Chloe Dale, an artist comfortably ensconced in bucolic suburbia, and Salome Drago, a wily, seductive refugee from a country that no longer exists, confront each other in a Manhattan restaurant, and the battle lines are drawn. Toby Dale, son of the artist and ardent suitor of the refugee, is in no position to choose sides. Outside, the drumbeats for the impending invasion of Iraq drown out all argument, and those who object will soon be reduced to standing in the street. The story of two families--suspicious, territorial, na ve in their confidence that they are free of the past--Trespass unfolds with commanding force. It is a bracing, tender novel for the 21st century.