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The Chimney Sweeper's Boy: A Novel (Random House Large Print (Cloth/Paper))
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780375702938
Edition: Lrg
Format: Large Print
ISBN: 0375702938
Label: Random House Large Print
Manufacturer: Random House Large Print
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 534
Publication Date: May 26, 1998
Publisher: Random House Large Print
Studio: Random House Large Print
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Editorial Review:
Writing as Ruth Rendell, Barbara Vine has earned the Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement. In The Chimney Sweeper's Boy, Vine proves herself the equal of her alter ego and a master of the psychological thriller--as well as the police procedural--in this riveting novel. Why bestselling novelist Gerald Candless assumed a new identity years before his marriage and the birth of his two daughters isn't revealed until the penultimate chapter of the book, but the effect of his deception on his family drives Vine's deft character studies. In Gerald's wife, Ursula, and his daughters, Hope and Sarah, Vine has created three complex women in the thrall of an equally complicated and compelling man. As Sarah unravels the mystery of her father's deception, Gerald gradually becomes a more sympathetic figure. But Ursula, whose strange marital bargain with Gerald and whose distant relationship with her daughters tug at the heart, stays with the reader long after this distinguished, literary mystery is finished. --Jane Adams
An unforgettable tale of mystery and obsession by Barbara Vine (pseudonym of Ruth Rendell, winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement)This is the utterly absorbing story of best-selling novelist Gerald Candless, whose sudden death from a heart attack leaves behind a wife and two doting daughters. To sort through her grief, one of his daughters, Sarah, decides to write a biography of her internationally celebrated father.
Within hours of beginning her research, Sarah comes across the first of what will be many shocking revelations. As her life is slowly torn apart, a terrible logic finally emerges to explain her mother's remoteness, her father's need to continually reinvent himself in his work, and a long-forgotten London murder.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - The ending did not disappoint
It's true that there is no dearth of unlikable characters in this book. Some are downright odious. As someone who doesn't regard likable, sympathetic characters as prerequisite to a tale told well, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, my first venture into the much-lauded Rendell/Vine world. Although I was wearied towards the middle (enough with the clues already, just tell me who Gerald Candless really is) it was an altogether fascinating story. The constant shift from past to present and back ... Read More
Rating: - ''You could find out his whole life from his novels, yet not find it out at all."
With the death of successful author and Booker Prize nominee Gerald Candless, his family, living on the fog-shrouded coast of England, has a variety of reactions. His wife Ursula, who has suffered his sexual rejection since the birth of their two daughters, now in their twenties, is at last free of his domination. His daughters, both of whom have been doted upon by their father, are devastated, and resentful that their mother, whom their father ignored, seems far less bereaved than they are. When ... Read More
Rating:  - Intriguing beginning, disappointing end
I love Barbara Vine. I think she is one of the most thought-provoking and edgy writers of our times. "A Fatal Inversion" is one of my favorite books, and a perfect example of a surprise-ending novel. But this title, "The Chimney Sweeper's Boy," fails to live up to the author's normally high standards.
This is the story of a man who was idolized by his daughters and resented by his wife who has been hiding a whole other side to his personality rarely glimsed by his inner circle. The journey ... Read More
Rating: - A page-turner that doesn't live up to its promise.
Yes, as the reviewer from Richmond, Virginia has mentioned, the book doesn't live up to its promise. But the sharp character studies, most especially Ursula, the wronged wife, are remarkable. I also enjoyed the titillating sexual love affair between Sarah and her sadistic boy-toy. By the end, however, I was terribly disappointed; I felt the book came to an abrupt halt, as if the publisher had given the author an ultimatum on how many pages they could publish. She set up some very tragic lives, and I wanted ... Read More
Rating:  - A wonderful way to discover Barbara Vine
I discovered Barbara Vine through this book while living in Hampstead this summer, a location that is featured in many of her other books. It was so compelling that having recently completed about 10 of her Barbara Vine novels (which I believe are superior to the Ruth Rendell novels by the same author), I read this book again. It is truly fascinating, and a total page-turner, stay-up-late-until-you-finish it experience. Having read almost all of her novels now, I think it holds up as one of the best. She writes ... Read More
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