Jill Paton Walsh crafts incisive and thought-provoking narratives that delve into the depths of the human experience. Her style is both poetic and direct, allowing readers to immerse themselves in her complex characters and themes. Through her storytelling, she explores themes of identity, memory, and moral ambiguity, creating works that resonate long after the final page. Her distinctive voice and literary skill mark her as a significant author.
It is, perhaps, the fifteenth century and the ordered tranquillity of a Mediterranean island is about to be shattered by the appearance of two outsiders: one, a castaway, plucked from the sea by fishermen, whose beliefs represent a challenge to the established order;
'Here I have set down all that I know of the Plague'It's 1665 and Mall Percival is a shepherd girl living in a Derbyshire village.
It is 1945. As the German Army retreats and the tide of war sweeps back over Eastern Europe, the lives of the inhabitants are changed forever.
Peter Wimsey is pleased to discover that along with a Dukedom he has inherited the duties of 'visitor' at an Oxford college. When the fellows appeal to him to resolve a dispute, he and Harriet set off happily to spend some time in Oxford. But the dispute turns out to be embittered. The voting is evenly balanced between two passionate parties - evenly balanced, that is, until several of the fellows unexpectedly die. The Warden has a casting vote, but the Warden has disappeared. And the causes of death of the deceased fellows bear an uncanny resemblance to the murder methods in Peter's past cases - methods that Harriet has used in her published novels.
Hoping to attract a generous endowment, St Agatha's College, Cambridge, invites fabulously wealthy Sir Julius Farran to dine. The evening is a disaster for everyone but Imogen Quy: Farran asks her to come and work for him. She declines, but when Farran dies, suddenly and shockingly, she has to look into it. His death left a large hole in his company accounts that could mean financial ruin for St Agatha's. To save her college, Imogen starts to cast her cool eye over the financier's heirs, employees and enemies. What is right about the death of Sir Julius? What is wrong about it? And why did it happen? After all, her name rhymes with ''why''.
Booker shortlisted author Jill Paton Walsh returns with the second Imogen Quy mystery
Another foolhardy Cambridge college-climber has died attempting Harding's Folly. This time it's John Talentire, one of the brightest young dons at St Agatha's, and the verdict is accident, compounded by idiocy. But Imogen Quy - her name rhymes with 'why' - can't help wondering how such a clever young man died so stupidly. And when a wildly eccentric production of Hamlet is interrupted by a murder accusation, Imogen has to look into it, uncovering more crimes than she expected...
The second book in the classic British detective series featuring amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey, with a new introduction by journalist and crime novelist Ruth Dudley Edwards.
Booker shortlisted author Jill Paton Walsh introduces us to popular detective Imogen Quy