Description

‘Absolutely fascinating . . . A must-read for anyone enthralled by the value and integrity of books’ Janice Hallett, author of The Alperton Angels

A true detective story from the age of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers: the literary crime that fooled the world – and the daring young booksellers who uncovered it

London, 1932. Thomas James Wise is the toast of the literary establishment. A prominent collector and businessman, he is renowned on both sides of the Atlantic for unearthing the most stunning first editions and bringing them to market. Pompous and fearsome, with friends in high places, he is one of the most powerful men in the field of rare books.

One night, two young booksellers – one a dishevelled former communist, the other a martini-swilling fan of detective stories – stumble upon a strange discrepancy. It will lead them to suspect Wise and his books are not all they seem. Inspired by the vogue for Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes, the pair harness the latest developments in forensic analysis to crack the case, but find its extent is greater than they ever could have imagined. By the time they are done, their investigation will have rocked the book world to its core.

This is the true story of unlikely friends coming together to expose the literary crime of the century, and of a maverick bibliophile who forged not only books but an entire life, erasing his past along the way.

‘The perfect piece of armchair detection’ Ruth Ware, author of The Woman in Cabin 10

‘Thrilling . . . reads like a detective story from the golden age’ Roland Philipps, author of A SPY NAMED ORPHAN

‘A great story that is truly stranger than fiction’ Martin Edwards, President of the Detection Club

Publisher Review

‘This is an absolutely fascinating literary detective story. Real-life audacious crimes uncovered by the most intrepid amateur detectives, investigated all over again a hundred years later here, in delicious forensic detail, by Joseph Hone. A must-read for anyone enthralled by the value and integrity of books. A page turner about page turners’ * Janice Hallett, author of The Alperton Angels * ‘I loved this elegant untangling of a real-life literary mystery. With a cast stretching from Robert Browning to Dorothy L Sayers, it’s the perfect piece of armchair detection for any book lover’ * Ruth Ware, author of The Woman in Cabin 10 * ‘A thrilling unravelling of bookish fraud that reads like a detective story from the golden age’ * Roland Philipps, author of A SPY NAMED ORPHAN * ‘Criminally sophisticated skulduggery . . . A thoroughly enjoyable romp through an infamous moment in book history’ * Oliver Darkshire, author of ONCE UPON A TOME * ‘Spies, detectives, forgers, and The Case of the Kernless ‘f’. Another superb piece of narrative scholarship from the best storyteller in book history’ * Dennis Duncan, author of INDEX: A HISTORY OF THE *