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An Unpardonable Crime
by Andrew Taylor

Published: 2004
Hardcover : 496 pages
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A BookPage Notable Title
This irresistible literary thriller in the tradition of "The Alienist" and "An Instance of the Fingerpost" is set in early 1800s England and involves young Edgar Allan Poe.

Edgar Allan Poe is an American boy in England, a child standing on the edge of mysteries. ...

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Introduction

A BookPage Notable Title
This irresistible literary thriller in the tradition of "The Alienist" and "An Instance of the Fingerpost" is set in early 1800s England and involves young Edgar Allan Poe.

Edgar Allan Poe is an American boy in England, a child standing on the edge of mysteries. In 1819, two Americans arrive in London. Soon afterward a bank collapses. A man is found horribly mutilated on a building site and an heiress flirts with her inferiors. All the while, Poe's young schoolmaster struggles to understand what is happening before he and his loved ones are destroyed. But the truth, like the youthful Poe himself, has its origins in the New World as well as the Old -- in a bitter episode of corruption during the War of 1812.

With settings ranging from the coal-scented urban jungle of late Regency London to the stark winter landscapes of rural Gloucestershire, An Unpardonable Crime is a multilayered literary murder mystery, a historical novel, and a love story. In addition to shedding fascinating light on Edgar Allan Poe, the book is a fast-paced suspenseful read, filled with shocking revelations.

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Excerpt

The Narrative of Thomas Shield
8th September 1819 -- 23rd May 1820

Chapter 1

We owe respect to the living, Voltaire tells us in his Première Lettre sur Oedipe, but to the dead we owe only truth. The truth is that there are days when the world changes, and a man does not notice because his mind is on his own affairs. ... view entire excerpt...

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  "A Dickensian mystery steeped in nineteenth century complexity."by Janeen W. (see profile) 07/17/07

This book didn't engage many of our readers. They felt that it was too complex and convoluted and that the characters didn't engage or sustain their interest.

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