Death of a medium
In "Death of a Medium" Raymond Deane blends the staple
ingredients of Gothic fiction into a many-layered narrative of quest:
Mortimer Livingstone, a failed composer in nineteenth century Dublin,
seeks his father who himself seeks the Duc d'Urval, an age-old libertine,
who in turn seeks liuberation from the curse of eternal life. These
several quests culminate in a fiery and hallucinatory dénouement
in a dream-like Paris, presided over by Madame la Guillotine...
Gothic extravaganza, poker-faced burlesque, allegory of self-discovery
and/or self-delusion - however one approaches it, "Death of a
Medium" is above all a fast-paced yarn that will tempt you to
read it at a single sitting.
[Front cover shows a detail of a painting "Figures by a Coffin" by
the 19th century Irish painter David McDonald, reproduced courtesy
of the National Gallery of Ireland.]
ISBN 1 870489 04 7
Available on ANTIQBOOK or AbeBooks
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