Beggars Banquet (Windsor Selection) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Ian Rankin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2003 | Series: Windsor Selection

Over the years, Ian Rankin has amassed an incredible portfolio of short stories. Published in crime magazines, composed for events, broadcast on radio, they all share the best qualities of his phenomenally popular mystery novels. 10 years ago, A Good Hanging - Ian's first short story collection - demonstrated this talent and now after nearly a decade at the top of popular fiction, Ian is releasing a follow-up. This is the third of three volumes on audio which include all twenty-one stories of the Beggars Banquet book, read unabridged. The Wider Scheme reveals more than first meets the eye. Unknown Pleasures looks at the new millennium from the dark side. Inspector Rebus investigates a blackmail in In The Frame. The Confession, which started out as a radio piece, is set in a police interview room. A hitman gets more than he bargained for in a crowded fairground in The Hanged Man. Rebus learns a thing or two from a veteran jailbreaker in Window of Opportunity. The Serpents Back explores the seedy side of Edinburgh in the 1790s. And in No Sanity Clause Rebus sees his girlfriend kissing Santa Claus. All bear the hallmark of great crime writing. The hugely versatile James Macpherson relishes the variety of characters.

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'It is a great pleasure to welcome BEGGARS BANQUET...In a collection of such diversity not every story can succeed, but Rankin's strike rate is high enough to entertain and satisfy' Marcel Berlins, THE TIMES 'Perhaps you're the kind of reader who fights shy of short story collections? Well, if you're any kind of a DI Rebus fan (and what crime enthusiast isn't?), there are eight count them eight stories featuring our favourite Scottish copper. And who could say no to a collection so rich in Rebus?' Barry Forshaw, AMAZON 'masterfully plotted, clear and succinct' THE SCOTSMAN 'Whether or not Rebus is present, the capital city's landscape still plays a brooding role and offers its rich seam of legends and history as ingredients for the Rankin master brew...if you prefer your serving of crime highly spiced, then you will savour this new Rankin take away' John Skinner THE HERALD 'Ranging from the macabre The Hanged Man to the unfortunate The Only True Comedian right back to the sinister Someone Got To Eddie they all bear the hallmark of great crime writing' TANGLED WEB 'Rankin has a sure touch, sweatily intense plots and, in Rebus, the most screwed up cop since Dirty Harry left town' TNT 'Equally as well paced and as engrossing as his longer novels' WATERSTONES BOOKS QUARTERLY 'The Banquet collection gives us some wonderful moments...Well worth investigating' EVENING HERALD, Dublin 'Rankin forays into short stories to exhilarating effect' You Really Must Read, SUNDAY TIMES 'It is fascinating to watch Rankin's narrative skills in a small compass...(he) can hold (his) own on any territory and in any genre' SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY 'Each tale is a gem. This is a great collection and essential for any crime fan' PRIZES GALORE 'With one simple idea, Rankin can still mesmerise every bit as much as with several plot strands careering towards a flashpoint over 300 pages *** Top Rankin' MIDWEEK 'A most readable collection' IRISH TIMES 'There's not a dud in the pack, with each story perfectly judged and bearing all the hallmarks of a great writer at the peak of his powers. Great summer reading' TIME OUT 'Rankin's laconic style is well suited to the short story form...Ian Rankin is on top form. A must' NEW BOOKS MAGAZINE Plus small mentions in THE MIRROR, HAM & HIGH and in GUARDIAN events listings. Regional press reviews in: YORKSHIRE EVE POST, COVENTRY EVE TELEGRAPH, BOURNEMOUTH DAILY ECHO, YORK EVE PRESS, OXFORD TIMES, BIRMINGHAM SUNDAY MERCURY, EASTERN DAILY PRESS, KENT MESSENGER (all editions thoughout Kent), INVERNESS COURIER --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Ian Rankin is probably Britain's top crime writer. His first Rebus novel was published in 1987. The books are now in translation, as well as being increasingly popular in the USA. Ian Rankin has been a Hawthornden Fellow and is winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award as well as two Crime Writers' Association 'Daggers' for short stories: his novel Black and Blue won the 1997 Gold Dagger. He lives in Edinburgh and is married with two sons. James Macpherson has played DCI Jardine in Taggart for sixteen years, and has acted on stage in plays as diverse as The Taming of the Shrew and works by Hamish Wilson. He has presented a regular books programme for Radio Scotland - for which he has interviewed Ian Rankin. He won a Gold Award for his reading of Strip Jack at the Spoken Word Awards 2004. He lives in Glasgow. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: Chivers Large print (Chivers, Windsor, Paragon & C (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0754018717
• ISBN-13: 978-0754018711
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,048,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A cut above other short story collections, June 14, 2006

By 

K. Yuen (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beggar's Banquet (Hardcover)

This anthology of crime wins on both quantity and quality, and is truly an excellent value. Not every story is a revelation--a couple are even slightly cliched, and the Christmas one is slightly cheesy, although better executed than most of that nature. This is far outweighed by the number of gems in this volume--I particularly enjoy "Herbert in Motion"'s unusual narrator and concept. "Talk Show" is another favorite. All of the stories are enjoyable.

Only a few of the tales are stylistically different from the rest. His strength is good old-fashioned quality story-telling, with an excellent sense of setting, interesting characters, and usually good plotting. Overall, this is truly the most satisfying short story collection I have encountered. (Please don't buy it if you don't like short stories in general--the stories are still limited by their form. A character can't be well-developed in 20 pages, no matter the quality of the characterization.)

All the stories take place in Scotland, and seven of the twenty-one stories feature Inspector Rebus. I never read Rankin before, so I found the chronology of Rebus's personal life confusing, even after looking up the publication dates of the stories. Each story stands alone, with no prior knowledge of Rankin's other books needed. An introduction, with some illumination of the origins of some of the stories is provided.

Both "A Deep Hole" and "Herbert in Motion" won Daggers for best short story. "A Deep Hole" was also shortlisted for the Anthony award.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crime, Edinburgh Style, October 27, 2005

By 

Norrcorp (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beggar's Banquet (Hardcover)

I've been a Rebus fan for several years now, so I happily purchased this book when I spotted it in an Edinburgh bookshop. I happened to be travelling from the States, so I had the additional pleasure of reading the book while surrounded by the locations where the short stories are set.

Unlike many authors of novels, Rankin also excels in the short story form. In addition to seven Rebus short stories (a couple of which could have easily been stretched into novels), I particularly enjoyed many of the non-Rebus stories. In particular "Someone Got to Eddie" (an informant is killed), "Principles of Accounts" (a professional kidnapper matches wits with the police), "Herbert in Motion" (the curator of a museum forges paintings) and "The Wider Scheme" (a solicitor becomes involved in the hunt for a murderer).

I certainly hope Rankin keeps up his short story writing and that there will be additional collections in the future.