The Coral Thief, Rebecca Stott
The Coral Thief, Rebecca Stott
3 Rating(s)
List: $17.99 | Sale: $12.59
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The Coral Thief
A Novel

Author: Rebecca Stott

Narrator: Simon Prebble

Unabridged: 9 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 09/29/2009


Synopsis

In her virtuosic debut, Ghostwalk, Rebecca Stott unfolded an extraordinary and true mystery involving Isaac Newton and set in seventeenth-century Cambridge. The Coral Thief is another intriguing mystery and love story, centering on pre-Darwinian theories of evolution and set in Paris right after Napoleon's surrender at Waterloo.

Upon his arrival in Paris, where he has come to study anatomy, Daniel Connor, a young medical student from Edinburgh, finds that his letters of introduction and precious coral specimens have been stolen by the beautiful woman with whom he shared a stagecoach. But when he begins searching for his lost items—and the alluring woman who stole them—Daniel is thrust into a tumultuous, underground world of philosopher thieves obsessed with the emerging theories of evolution. As he is pulled into their plot to steal a precious jewel from the Jardin des Plantes, and as he falls in love with the mysterious coral thief, Daniel is introduced to a radical theory of evolution that irrevocably changes his conception of the world in which he lives.

As riveting and beautifully rendered as Ghostwalk, The Coral Thief is a provocative and tantalizing mix of history, love, and philosophy.

About Rebecca Stott

Rebecca Stott is the author of several academic books on Victorian literature and culture; two books of nonfiction, including a partial biography of Charles Darwin; and a cultural history of the oyster. She is also the author of the novel Ghostwalk, which has been translated into twelve languages. She is currently a professor of English literature and creative writing at the University of East Anglia, and she lives in Cambridge.


Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by Manda on 2011-12-18 16:18:57

Historical fiction usually gets me excited but this book left me snoring. The plot is very slow to develop and the characters motivations are so unclear that you dont feel like you understand why the story moves the way it does. I do not recommend this book.

Goodreads review by Katri on February 02, 2012

To me, The Coral Thief promised more than it delivered. The premise is exciting: a young Englishman, Daniel Connor, wants above all to be a scientist and travels to Paris to join the exciting realms of scientific research and thought still blossoming in post-Napoleon Paris in summer 1815. But his li......more

Goodreads review by Belinda on May 23, 2023

4,25 sterren- Nederlandse paperback Ouote: Toen ik eenentwintig was en per postkoets van Edinburgh naar Parijs reisde met in mijn bagage drie zeldzame fossielen en het bot van een mammoet, geloofde ik nog dat de tijd zich in een rechte lijn bewoog. Het was juli q825, nog maar enkele weken nadat Napo......more

Goodreads review by Kathy on August 17, 2019

I was not fully focused on this book as I was reading it between acts at the Chicago Air and Water Show. Due to rainy conditions many of the featured planes curtailed their plans. Tomorrow should be better. Today I really enjoyed the RAF Red Arrows - Thank you, UK! It was brilliant. Our Blue Angels......more

Goodreads review by Miles on August 22, 2016

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I had expected. After all, it's got action, science, history and passion with a mysterious, beautiful, older woman. This should have been something I loved. I did read it quickly, and enjoyed the descriptions of early 1800's Paris and the issues surrounding th......more

Goodreads review by Sara on October 04, 2009

If Rebecca Stott’s goal was to create a vivid feel of Paris after the Napoleonic wars, this novel is a complete success. As for the plot and characters she builds this vibrant setting around, they definitely take a backseat in her vivid re-creation. Her story starts as an intriguing mystery novel, y......more