About the Book
A modern
tale of sexual mores and city life, Edward Docx's brilliant
debut is a witty novel of spurned lovers, elaborately planned
seduction, plotted revenge, and surprising secrets. Jasper
Jackson is a rapacious heartbreaker who is greatly overdue
for a reckoning. He is also a passionate, charming, sophisticated
young Londoner, well versed in life's finer enjoyments -
art and wine, great food and engaging friendships - who
happens to eke out his stylish existence in the improbable
vocation of calligraphy. While working on a commission to
transcribe the love poetry of John Donne, he glimpses an
alluring woman in the courtyard outside his window. Madeleine
is in every way his match - sexy, intelligent, and, above
all, elusive. But his mission to seduce her marks the start
of his unraveling. A contemporary comedy of manners for
fans of Nick Hornby or Julian Barnes, The Calligrapher
dazzles with its acute observations about truth and deceit
in the eternal battle of love.
Critics
/ Reviews
"Pure
delight."
—Entertainment Weekly
"Audacious
and deeply entertaining."
—Newsday
"Arch,
funny, and accomplished . . . a distinctive pleasure."
—Washington Post Book World
"A
sexy, satisfying read."
—Economist
"A
sly and hilarious look at orchestrated romance and self-deception."
—Time Out New York
"Howlingly
funny . . . As a satire on our age, this sparkling debut
is faultless."
—Independent on Sunday
