The title of this book may suggest a horror story complete with zombies and vampires, but The Unburied is actually a scholarly murder mystery which reminded me of The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco or An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears. I wanted to read it because a few years ago I read another Charles Palliser book, The Quincunx, which I really enjoyed. Like The Quincunx, this one is set (mostly) in Victorian England. It begins with a mock 'Editor's Foreword' in which we are told that we are about to read an account which will throw new light on the controversial Thurchester Mystery. This account, known as The Courtine Account, forms the bulk of the book.Dr Edward Courtine, a historian from Cambridge University, has been invited to spend the week before Christmas with Austin Fickling, an old friend from his student days who is now teaching at a school in the cathedral city of Thurchester. He and Austin haven't seen each other since they parted on bad terms twenty years ago, and Courtine is eager to renew their friendship. He also has another reason for wanting to visit Thurchester – he has been studying King Alfred the Great and has learned that an ancient manuscript detailing the events of Alfred's reign may be available in Thurchester Library. On the night of Courtine's arrival he hears the story of a murder that took place in the cathedral two centuries earlier. Courtine is fascinated, but as he begins to investigate he becomes involved in another murder mystery – and discovers Austin's true motive for inviting him to Thurchester.As the main narrator of the book, I found Courtine very irritating, but at the same time I felt slightly sorry for him. For such an obviously intelligent person he was completely lacking in perception, constantly saying the wrong things, missing important clues and failing to notice people behaving suspiciously. Sometimes he would tell us that he was beginning to form a theory or that an idea had occurred to him, but he didn’t let us know what it was. This was good in one way, as it encouraged me to work things out for myself, but it also annoyed me because I was already finding it difficult enough to keep all the threads of the story straight.Although the town of Thurchester and its community are vividly depicted, I didn’t find any of the characters particularly memorable. The fact that some of them had similar names (Slattery, Sheldrick, Sisterton for example) didn't help. There is actually a character list at the back of the book but I was trying not to look at it in case I came across any spoilers. As for the plot, it's so intricate you really need to read this book in as few sittings as possible so you don't forget any important details. There seemed to be a constant stream of unexplained deaths and forged documents, with at least three separate mysteries from different eras all running parallel to each other – and different characters giving different versions of what may or may not have happened. I wished I had been taking notes from the beginning.This is a very atmospheric book with lots of gothic elements, from the freezing fog that accompanies Courtine's arrival in Thurchester to the obligatory 'ghost' supposedly haunting the cathedral. It would have been a good book to read in front of the fire on a cold winter's night. In spite of the slow pace the book was relatively quick to read and although it was certainly confusing, I did enjoy it, especially when the various mysteries began to unravel towards the end. Not as good as The Quincunx, though – if you've never read a Charles Palliser book before, try that one first.
“A big, fat murder mystery. It is a perfectly pitched pastiche of Victorian Gothic … compulsive reading.”That’s what it said on the back cover, quoting the London Evening Standard, and I have to agree.At the heart of the book is The Courtine Account, a document written in 1882 and put away to be opened only after the deaths of certain of those mentioned in its pages.The Courtine Account was finally unsealed in 1919.It was written by Doctor Edward Courtine, a historian, a distinguished academic but a solitary man. A man who had separated himself from the world, and as a result lacked insight and understanding of other men.It was clear that something was amiss. Subtle hints were dropped as the story advanced and eventually the truth of the man’s history would be revealed.He was invited to spend the week before Christmas with Austin Fickling, a student friend who had become a teacher in the cathedral city of Thurchester. The two hadn’t met for more than twenty years, and there had been bad feeling between them, but Courtine welcomed the invitation.He was eager to visit Thurchester as he had a great interest in King Alfred the Great, and he had learned that an earlier historian with the same interest had worked Thurchester Library, and had maybe left behind papers that were never catalogued.It didn’t occur him to wonder why Fickling had been so eager to extend that invitation, and why he behaved so erratically.Fickling told him stories. Stories of a ghost that was said to walk in the town. The ghost of a man who was murdered at the cathedral two centuries before. Courtine is fascinated and so he has a great deal to research, a great deal to discuss at the library and at the cathedral.He is so caught up in his research, so disinterested in what might motivate other men, that he doesn’t wonder why the owner of the house said to be haunted by the murdered man invites him into his home. Even though that man’s door is always locked, opening only to allow servants to enter and leave, and never, never admitting guests.And, of course, it is too late that Courtine realises that he has become a pawn in a murderous conspiracy.He struggles both to uncover the truth, and to have it believed.The Unburied is a book that ebbs and flows.An introduction, in 1919 with The Courtine Account finally unsealed in a wonderful piece of drama.Then the pace slows as the account itself begins. There are many conversations, many small details. Stories are told, retold, discussed …It’s still a pleasure to read, but a more subtle pleasure. Close attention is required, but it pays, it really does.The pastiche of Victorian Gothic is pitch perfect. Others (I’m thinking particularly of Sarah Waters and the late Michael Cox) may have written with more verve, more drama, but The Unburied is just as fine, in a quieter, more cerebral way.And the two murder mysteries, two centuries apart, were intriguing.The pace rose again as the account the Courtine Account ended with a quite splendid courtroom drama, and the author’s realisation that all he can do is set down what he knows.The finale picked up the 1919 story again, and tied up some, but not all, of the loose ends. There was maybe a little too much revelation at the final hour, a little too much contrivance, and, I think, a little cheat, but there was so much in this book to think about that I could quite easily forgive that.Because I would so like to travel back to Thurcester, to observe and ponder those mysteries just a little more …
What do You think about The Unburied (2000)?
It took me three goes to get through this opus. 'Don't know why I kept plowing through to the 399th page. Perhaps it was the dust jacket's enthusiastic description: "brilliantly written...ingenious and atmospheric." Or perhaps it's because I'm very interested in 1880's England. In any case, I found several serious flaws in this novel: 1)the narrators and the other characters speak with the same voice, style; 2)some of the characters have modern attitudes that seem jarring set in this time and location; 3)the novel was very windy and could benefit by a deft Hemingwayesque editing; and 4)the unforgivable flaw in a mystery: I solved the case on p. 215. After that, I just felt like kicking the characters in the butt for obtuseness and the author for wasting my time. *sigh* Let this be an object lesson in not trusting either dust jackets nor goodreads ratings (3.46).
—Trilby
An interesting book which deserves a second read as I'm not sure I quite appreciated it first time round. At first glance, it contains all the elements I would ordinarily leap at in a novel, as I'm a sucker for books about books or antiquarian mysteries. However, I struggled to really get my teeth into this one. I found myself flicking through the pages at quite a pace, anxious to find out the mystery. I'm ordinarily not so impatient, but the purposefully obtuse and often convoluted nature of the storyteller did frustrate me!But I could forgive all of that if I liked the characters. Unfortunately, I found it difficult to empathise or sympathise with anyone involved in the story.That's not to say that the book isn't well written. It is, with an engaging plot and clever twists, and the tale certainly keeps you hanging on for resolution until the very end (however, by the last few pages you do find yourself flicking back to the start to refresh your memory on certain crucial points!). But I think it will definitely be a book that is more enjoyable on the second read, once the reader is familiar with the names, the plot and the motives. So I will possibly revise my rating once I've re-read it to make sure I've done it justice.So yes, I would recommend a read on the grounds that it is an interesting premise, well executed, though I'm still not quite sure if I enjoyed it. However, it was far better than The Keep by Jennifer Egan which seemed to suffer with the same convoluted manner yet in a much less tolerable manner.
—Shel
Marvelous. Dense. Convoluted. Marvelous. I use the word richly too much but this is indeed a richly detailed and plotted near-masterpiece. Palliser plays with the style of Victorian novel to create a dense, multiple narrative piece that is not so much a ghost story as it is rather a haunted tale. The majority of this story is the account of Edward Courtine, historian and scholar, of his Christmas visit to the cathedral town of Thurchester and his part as witness to a notorious crime. The contemporary (to him) tale he tells is fascinating enough but as a historian he strives to uncover the truth behind three earlier murders, one during the reign of Alfred the Great (involving the king) , one from the English Civil War period and two other murders during the 17th century. All play into the idea of perspective, who defines history and how every tale has many different truths to it. Layer upon layer of history (both real and imagined) adds to the intrigue and creates an almost claustrophobic background to the 19th century murder. An incredibly atmospheric tale, featuring a very unreliable narrator (not so much unreliable as oblivious to what is really going on around him) who discovers as much about himself as he does about the mysteries. A further framing device of introduction and appendix introduces other character elements and truths. Overall, a very, very fun read. Not as obscure and dense as Umberto Eco. A very good way to close out the year and ring in the new with a book I will be returning to again in the future.
—John
