Customer Reviews

The Conjurer's Bird: A Novel

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The Conjurer's Bird is a terrific book, and I had a lot of fun reading it. It took off from page one, and I read the book in two sittings.

Davies takes some true facts, and spins them into a wonderful fictional account of a search for a long missing bird, the "Mysterious Bird of Ulieta"

Summary, no spoilers:

The story starts out with natural history professor John (Fitz) Fitzgerald, working in his cluttered office. He gets a phone call from a woman from his past named Gabby. He meets up with Gabby and her new boyfriend, Karl Anderson, who makes an offer to Fitz of a substantial amount of money for his help in finding the missing "Mysterious Bird of Ulieta".

The bird was seen only once, in 1774 when Captain Cook led an expedition to the island of Ulieta in the South Pacific. The bird was preserved, but then lost. The recovery of this missing specimen had become a holy grail for naturalists and scientists.

Fitz refuses to help Karl, but then decides to search for the bird himself, with the aid of his tenant, Katya.

The story then takes off, with multiple parties searching for this mysterious bird, although we know that there may be motivations that haven't been disclosed.

The story is told in alternating chapters, first taking place in the present, and then going back to the times of Captain Cook, and naturalist Sir Joseph Banks, who was the last person known to have the bird.

Fitz and the others know that Banks is the key to the mystery, along with his mistress, the mysterious "Miss B".

Highly recommended, this book is a real page-turner with a satisfying ending. Well done.

Combining natural history, a number of exciting mysteries, and several love stories, author Martin Davies tells the story of a modern day search for the Mysterious Bird of Ulieta, a single example of which was discovered during Captain Cook's second expedition, mounted, and then lost. As the novel opens, famed researcher of extinct birds John Fitzgerald is visited by a former lover from Brazil whose current lover is now in London, trying to locate the remains of this bird for the Ark Project, a program to collect rare or extinct DNA. Though Fitzgerald is asked to help in this search, he refuses the $50,000 offer--he wants to search for the bird himself.

(No spoilers.) The attempt to locate the bird draws the reader into the story of Sir Joseph Banks, the (real) lead naturalist on Captain Cook's first voyage in 1768. Scheduled to hold the same position on the second voyage in 1772, Banks decided at the last minute not to go. Johann Forster, the man who replaced him on that voyage, discovered the bird, mounted it, and gave this bird to Banks upon his return. Banks displayed it for four years, until it inexplicably vanished from his collection.

The second expedition was notable for another actual event, however. When Cook's ship stopped in Madeira, a "Mr. Burnett" was waiting to join the ship as part of Banks's party. After hearing that Banks was not aboard, Mr. Burnett hurriedly returned to England, but Capt. Cook found him odd enough to record that "Every part of Mr. Burnett's behaviour and every action tended to prove that he was a Woman." John Fitzgerald, investigating, thinks finding "Burnett" may be the key to finding the remains of the bird of Ulieta.

A third story line concerns John Fitzgerald's obsessed grandfather, who travels to the Congo, determined to find an unknown African peacock on the strength of having seen one single feather.

Author Davies, a BBC producer, expertly organizes and paces the story, providing numerous surprises throughout and a conclusion worthy of the best mystery writers. His exceptionally efficient prose style and his simple vocabulary and syntax keep the several plot lines from becoming confused, and the story moves along smartly. Obvious parallels among the various story lines create a sense of universality. Occasionally, there is some awkwardness in transitions between sections and even an anachronism (e.g., Sir Joseph Banks referring to a "random act of kindness."), but these are small complaints in a book that manages to tell a fascinating story--full of non-stop action, mystery, and romance. n Mary Whipple

On Captain Cook's second voyage a small bird is captured and preserved. Only one of its kind was seen and hence it was immediately recognized as "special" and returned to England. This should scratch on our 21st century sensibilities....a rare bird that is "killed" to preserve it. Hmmm. The bird is dubbed the bird of Ulieta and is given to Sir Joseph Banks and immediately becomes the center of his collection. Then, the bird disappears.

Fast forward to modern day London. A modern day conservationist, John Fitzgerald, is encouraged to search for the lost bird of Ulieta. Some want to add the DNA of the bird to the Ark Gene Project. Fitz quickly realizes that there is more going on than just the search for the lost bird. Several plot lines emerge over the the course of the story and this is where Davies really shines.

The Conjurer's Bird was a pleasant surprise. I stayed up way too late and suffered for it the next day but it was worth it.

Martin Davies' The Conjurer's Bird is a terrific read that will hold the reader spellbound and will not disappoint. Davies' first two novels, Mrs. Hudson and the Malabar Rose and Mrs. Hudson and the Spirits' Curse, have been popular with our library patrons. I anticipate that the Conjurer's Bird will quickly catch on and may even generate a waiting list.

I highly recommend this novel.

Martin Davies has taken a scant few scraps of historical fact and from them woven an intriguing literary mystery that moves smoothly between several subplots and keeps one turning the pages to see what's going to happen next.

Davies builds the central theme of his novel on Joseph Banks, a naturalist who accompanied Captain James Cook on his first voyage of discovery in 1768-71. For reasons that remain a mystery, Banks, who had been preparing to sail with Cook on his second voyage, suddenly declined to participate and broke off his engagement to a woman named Harriet Blosset. At the end of Cook's voyage, Joseph Forster, who replaced him as naturalist, presented Banks with the only known specimen of a thrush-like bird found on the island of Ulieta in the Pacific.

Utilizing speculation from a gossip magazine of the period, Davies develops a mistress with whom Banks falls in love as the reason for his having deserted Cook and for breaking off his engagement.

A second theme of the novel is the quest of John Fitzgerald, a modern-day naturalist, to find the bird of Ulieta before it falls into the hands of several greedy collectors who have more than science on their minds. Adding spice to this mix is the fact one of the collectors is assisted by Fitzgerald's wife while the naturalist is aided by a student-boarder who becomes integral to the chase and his life.

Chapters alternate between the modern and historical events, though the transition is easy in Davies' smooth and lyrical prose.

There is a third theme in the novel involving Fitzgerald's grandfather and his fanatical quest to find the Congo peacock, a bird actually discovered by James Chapin, an American naturalist.

Davies, a BBC producer, previously penned a couple of historical mysteries involving Sherlock Holmes' housekeeper. I haven't read those but plan to now.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It has a lot a similarities to Byatt's "Possession," without all the Victorian poetry to slog through, and a more accessible feel. The storyline switches back and forth from modern-day Fitz, trying to track down the rarest bird specimen in the world, and the story of Joseph Banks, naturalist on James Cook's exploration.

The Conjuror's Bird is rooted in historical fact and real figures appear in its narrative ,especially the eminent eighteenth century naturalist Joseph Banks

The eponymous bird is also real ;it is referred to as "the lost bird of Ulieta" and was discovered in the course of Captain Cook's expedition to the South Seas in 1774 .the one remaining specimen died soon after and was mounted and presented to Banks.It was in his private collection for many years and then simply vanished .

Fitz ,an expert on rare and extinct birds ,is asked by his estranged wife to locate the mounbted specimen using funds supplied by the famous collector Anderson .This hes sets out to do and is aided in the quest by his lodger ,the feisty Swedish student Katya .The search is also monitored by Potts a not overly scrupulous American who also wishes to obtain the bird woth a view to an illegal sale .

The search takes them to Lincoln and London where they soon discover that the identity of "Miss B " the mistress of Joseph Bnaks and whose fate is unknown may well hold the key to the whereabouts of the bird

Intercut with these passages set in contemporary UK are alternating chapters dealing with the lives of Bnks and his mistress who is a talented botanical artist and a woman of independence and strength

There is another ,less important plot strand to do with the obsesive quest by Fitz's grandfather to discover an African peacock

The book is very well written and thankfully no attempt is made to emulate the more ornate literary style of the 18th century in the passages dealing with that era .The sdearch is engrossing and the characters engaging .It makes a somewhat arcane area of historical research come alive and the book is unreservedly recommended to those who like a literary mytery a la Possession by AS Byatt ,or the novels of Umberto Eco without all the tricksiness that is so it=rritating a feature of the Italian writer

I really enjoyed this book enormously. It does have echoes of Possession and I found myself more than once thinking of The Maltese Falcon.

Very well written, seamlessly changing from one historical period to the next and a wonderful ending. I look forward to more work from Martin Davies.

The Conjurer's Bird is actually two stories in one, both very well written. First we have a modern day mystery, a search for a mysterious bird, long lost. Secondly, the author gives us a rather nice Victorian love story. Both stories of course are linked and run parallel, one making the other more interesting, and in fact are quite necessary. The author is quite a good story teller and certainly has done some research. The entire work is rather low keyed, an easy read and, as I said, quite enjoyable. Character developement is better in this work than some of the others in this particular genre I have read. Several of the key characters are based on real people and having read biographies on all of them, found the author held pretty true with his characterization of them. While not what I would call a thriller by any means, it was one of those books I hated to put down and looked forward to the next chapter. Of course I am a birder and love Victorian stories and love history, so this was more or less my cup of tea. Those that enjoyed this one might like to check out The Darwin Conspiracy by John Darnton. All in all I enjoyed this work very much and highly recommend it.

Martin Davies' The Conjurer's Bird wraps two stories around a handful of intriguing historical facts: A thrush-like bird, called here the "Mysterious Bird of Ulieta," was discovered on James Cook's second voyage of exploration (1772-1775). The bird was described by the naturalist onboard and drawn by his son, a draughtsman, and the specimen was stuffed and mounted and given to another naturalist, Joseph Banks, at the end of the voyage. No other example of the bird has ever been found, and the single specimen in Banks' possession has since disappeared. Banks himself, who accompanied Cook on his first voyage, failed to go on the second because of a last-minute disagreement about accommodations. But a certain "Mr. Burnett" had apparently not heard of the change in plans and was awaiting Banks in Madeira when Cook arrived there. Mr. Burnett was widely assumed to in fact be a woman.

In the modern-day segment of his novel Davies follows the efforts of a small group of acquaintances to locate the lost specimen of the Ulieta bird. Davies' focus is on Fitz, who teaches natural science and dabbles in taxidermy and who has a mystery of sorts in his own past--something painful and life-altering that's dredged up when an old flame seeks his help in locating the bird. While the others are after the specimen for profit, Fitz's motivations are more noble, and he becomes interested while investigating the bird's history in the human side of the story--the reasons for Banks' failure to join the second expedition, his affair with a certain Miss B___n. Banks' story--told largely from the point of view of his mistress--forms the second thread of Davies' novel.

The two stories Davies weaves together are both well told, and the author's solution to the mystery of "Mr. Burnett" seems to me ingenious. I also appreciate that Davies' modern story echoes that of Banks--but subtley; we are not beaten over the head with similarities between the two men and their situations. The book offers a clever plot and a good mystery, with bits of romance and history stirred in. A good read.

-- Debra Hamel

Naturalist Joseph Banks became famous after voyaging with Captain Cook on his first voyage of discovery to the far side of the world. Banks had been fortunate to encounter many sights and sounds that no other Englishman had ever had the opportunity to see, but none of them had come close to capturing his imagination like the image of the elusive woman, a woman with the most striking green eyes, who haunted the woods close to his home.

A couple of hundred years later a man stumbles on an old portrait of a young woman with alarmingly striking eyes, but who is she.

John Fitzgerald the discoverer of the portrait, has lost too much, the brash assertiveness of his youth. The belief that one day he was bound to make a name for himself and the love of his life, Gabby. But an unexpected call from his lost love brings it all rushing back to him and also embroils him in a mystery that repels and fascinates him at one and the same time.

Now he is in a desperate race to solve the puzzle of the Conjuror's Bird. And the woman in the portrait could provide the key.