Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Romance

The Coral Thief

Name: The Coral Thief
Author: Rebecca Stott
ISBN: 9780385531481

by Rebecca Stott

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Overview

Paris, 1815. Napoleon has just surrendered at Waterloo and is on his way to the island of St. Helena to begin his exile. Meanwhile, Daniel Connor, a young medical student from Edinburgh, has just arrived in Paris to study anatomy at the Jardin des Plantes–only to realize that his letters of introduction and a gift of precious coral specimens, on which his tenure with the legendary Dr. Cuvier depends, have been stolen by the beautiful woman with whom he shared a stagecoach.

In the fervor and tumult of post revolutionary Paris, nothing is quite as it seems. In trying to recover his lost valuables, Daniel discovers that his beautiful adversary is in fact a philosopher-thief who lives in a shadowy world of outlaws and émigrés. Daniel’s fall into this underworld is also a flight, for as he falls in love with the mysterious coral thief and she draws him into an audacious plot that will leave him with a future very different from the one he has envisioned for himself, Daniel discovers a radical theory of evolution and mutability that irrevocably changes his conception of the world in which he lives.

The Coral Thief, as riveting and beautifully rendered as Ghostwalk, Rebecca Stott’s first novel, is a provocative and tantalizing mix of history, philosophy, and suspense. It conjures up vividly both the feats of Napoleon and the accomplishments of those working without fame or glory to change our ideas of who we are and the world in which we live.

Synopsis

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST AND BOOKLIST

Paris, 1815. Daniel Connor, a young medical student from Edinburgh, has arrived to study anatomy at the Jardin des Plantes—only to realize that his letters of introduction and precious coral specimens, on which his tenure with the legendary Dr. Cuvier depends, have been stolen. His thief turns out to be a beautiful woman who lives in a shadowy realm of outlaws, philosophers, and émigrés. As Daniel falls in love with her, he discovers a radical theory of evolution that irrevocably changes his conception of the world.

The Washington Post - Anna Mundow

In her first novel, Ghostwalk…Rebecca Stott established herself as a subtle writer who wears her scholarship lightly…Thanks to Stott's deftness and sly humor, Ghostwalk was as sprightly as it was enlightening. The same can be said of her latest novel, The Coral Thief…With consummate skill and compassion, Stott plunges Daniel the innocent into a serpentine plot that involves spies, philosophers, revolutionaries and scientists. Treasure may be at the heart of Stott's mystery, but fossils and corals are equally precious in this hybrid novel of action and ideas. Like Daniel, the reader emerges from The Coral Thief having had an adventure and an education.

About the Author, Rebecca Stott

Rebecca Stott is a professor of English literature and creative writing at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. She is the author of the novels The Coral Thief and Ghostwalk and a biography, Darwin and the Barnacle, and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio. She lives in Cambridge, England.

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Editorials

Anna Mundow

Publishers Weekly

At once an engrossing historical, a love story about an unlikely passion and a novel of ideas that lucidly presents philosophical speculation about natural science, Stott's second novel (after Ghostwalk) is a powerful offering from an immensely talented writer. Narrated by young Englishman Daniel Connor, fresh out of medical school and traveling to a coveted research position in post-Napoleonic Paris in 1815, the novel begins with his realization that his scientific credentials, including a priceless coral specimen, have been stolen by the beautiful woman who sat next to him in the coach. She turns out to be Lucienne Bernard, a notorious thief being pursued by the chief of the Bureau de la Sûreté, Henri Jagot (based on a real figure and bound to make readers think of Javert). A cat and mouse game ensues, as Jagot tries to enlist Connor to trap Lucienne, but Connor falls deeply in love with the philosopher-thief and eventually makes a decision that might cost him his career, his freedom and his spiritual beliefs. Vividly atmospheric, propulsive and intricately plotted, this is a surefire page turner with literary heft and wide appeal. (Sept.)

Library Journal

In 1815 on his way to Paris, young medical student Daniel Conner is robbed of his letters of introduction and his rare coral samples by a mysterious woman. Thus begins his frantic search for his belongings and the thief in postrevolutionary Paris. To restore his name and appointment at the famous Jardin des Plantes botanical garden and museum, Daniel is drawn into an underground of thieves, philosophers, students, artists, and thugs. When he finally tracks down Lucienne, the beautiful coral thief, Daniel becomes intoxicated with her mystery and her vast knowledge of the natural world. As he learns about Lucienne's dark secrets, Daniel is slowly pulled into a daring heist to steal a precious diamond hidden in the museum where he works. VERDICT Like Catherine Delors's Mistress of the Revolution, this strong historical novel by the author of Ghostwalk contrasts the era's passion for science, philosophy, and history with its desire for love, devotion, and beauty. The prose is elegant and well paced, and the plot is filled with exciting twists and turns. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/09.]—Ron Samul, New London, CT

Kirkus Reviews

Stott (Ghostwalk, 2007, etc.) once again juxtaposes science with a tale of love, mystery and intrigue, setting this volatile mix against a backdrop of critical events in post-Revolutionary France. Daniel Connor, whose dark curls and handsome face invite comparisons to the boys painted by Caravaggio, meets fascinating intellectual Lucienne and her small daughter Delphine in coach en route to Paris in 1815. The Emperor Napoleon has been vanquished and is on a ship bound for his place of exile on the island of Saint Helena, leaving behind a changing city. Former master criminal Jagot has risen to a position of power with the police, and this cunning, ruthless man has more than a passing interest in the exotic Lucienne. Daniel, a medical student, hopes to escape his tedious existence by landing a position as an assistant to the famous French naturalist Georges Cuvier; he carries with him letters of introduction, scientific notebooks, a priceless manuscript, some corals and a mammoth bone. His future in Paris looks grim when he awakes at the Barrier of Saint Denis on the city's outskirts to find Lucienne and Delphine gone from the coach, along with his irreplaceable papers and specimens. After filing a complaint with Jagot at the Palais de Justice, Daniel discovers that Lucienne is not a thief (exactly), but she's also not everything she seems. Her fascination with "transformism" (the philosophy of evolution) both compels and repels the classically educated Daniel. But he is increasingly drawn to the much older Lucienne, a survivor of the Revolution who "was perpetually both whispering secrets and withholding them." Despite misgivings, Daniel risks his future in a gamble that will foreverchange the way he thinks. Skillfully embeds early 19th-century culture, history and attitudes into a story that flows like the Seine and floods the senses.