The Calligrapher

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The Calligrapher
TheCalligrapher.jpg
First edition (UK)
Author Edward Docx
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Fourth Estate (UK)
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (US)
Publication date
2003
Media typePrint
Pages368
ISBN 1-84115-543-8

The Calligrapher is the debut novel of Edward Docx, published in 2003. It was selected by both San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury as a 'Best Book of the Year'. [1] It was also a finalist for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. As of 2012 it had been translated into eight languages. [2]

Contents

Plot introduction

Narrated by Jasper Jackson, an accomplished calligrapher and serial seducer living off Warwick Avenue, London, the story tells how his seemingly perfect life unravels when his most recent infidelity is discovered and his girlfriend Lucy leaves him. Jasper, though, is soon captivated by a new neighbour Madeleine Belmont, a travel-writer, whilst he is commissioned to transcribe the Songs and Sonnets of John Donne for a wealthy American businessman. The book describes his growing love and commitment to Madeleine, illuminated by observations from the sonnets he is transcribing. But will his relationship with Madeleine last?

Reception

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References

  1. "Edward Docx". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  2. "How to structure your novel: A weekend workshop". The Guardian. 26 August 2015. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  3. Metcalf, Stephen (2 November 2003). "No Lad Is an Island". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  4. White, Diane (9 November 2003). "In war and peace, two selfish seducers follow their bliss". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  5. Rozzo, Mark (16 November 2003). "First Fiction". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  6. "The pursuit of love". The Economist. ISSN   0013-0613 . Retrieved 21 April 2023.