Not Quite Dead [Hardcover]

John MacLachlan Gray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 13, 2007

On a rust-bucket cargo ship bound from Liverpool to the United States in 1848, an Irish stowaway named Devlin steals a suspicious package after witnessing it changing hands between two sea captains. All he finds is a seemingly worthless pile of papers marked “David Copperfield, Final Four Numbers, by Charles Dickens.” Devlin is determined to see if he can somehow turn events to his advantage by paying a call on Dickens’s American publisher.
            A year later, a newly admitted patient to a Baltimore hospital, a disreputable writer who goes by the name of Edgar Allan Poe, is clearly raving mad, which makes it easy to dismiss his claims to have information about the murder of an innocent woman.

Meanwhile, the eminent English novelist Charles Dickens has embarked on a tour of America, where his views are not received as he would have wished. Dickens’s growing discomfort reaches new heights of intensity when he finds himself sharing disreputable lodgings---and reluctantly collaborating with---none other than Edgar Allan Poe, who has gone into hiding after faking his own death in a desperate attempt to escape the Irish mob.

Like White Stone Day, which The Washington Post hailed as “a Dickens of a thriller,” this is a brilliantly imaginative tale in which crime and literature intersect in surprising ways.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Canadian author Gray (The Fiend in Human) joins the growing ranks of novelists using Edgar Allan Poe as a fictional protagonist, but despite flashes of brilliance—especially in the portrayal of the corrupt Philadelphia of the period—the book falls short of the standard set, for example, by Louis Bayard's The Pale Blue Eye (2006). The first-person narrative of Baltimore doctor William Chivers, a childhood friend of Poe, alternates with the third-person account of Irish rabble-rouser Finn Devlin. Dr. Chivers, who attends the famous author after his collapse in 1849 that in real life led to his demise, agrees to help Poe evade his enemies by colluding in a scheme to fake his death. The plot thickens after Devlin slaughters Charles Dickens's U.S. publisher in a manner reminiscent of one of Poe's tales and later kidnaps Dickens, who's on tour in America. Poe fans may find his prolonged absence from the action not compensated for by the extended portrayal of the tormented Chivers. Still, Gray does a fine job of evoking his mid–19th-century milieu. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

A deep streak of black humor and an imaginative plot make for another rich read from the talented Gray. -- Booklist

Achingly, and really very darkly, funny. Read Not Quite Dead immediately. -- William Gibson (Spook Country) Blog

Not quite Dead is not quite perfect, but it's damn close. -- Hamilton Spectator, 17 November, 2007

This terrific book, Gray's best, is a witty tour de force of historical reconstruction. -- The Globe and Mail, November 17, 2007

Witty, stylish, literate fun. (starred review) -- Kirkus Reviews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (November 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312374712
• ISBN-13: 978-0312374716
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,746,220 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Poe, Dickens and Politics, Oh, my, July 6, 2008

By 

Gayle Surrette "omnivorous reader" (Brandywine, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Not Quite Dead (Hardcover)

Edgar Allan Poe was found lying in a ditch, ill and nearly dead, and was taken to a local Baltimore Hospital where he died. Or did he? Gray, in Not Quite Dead, sets out a series of events that bring Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, American politics, and publishing in 1849 into a book that is part historical, part wishful thinking, and surprisingly believable.

The first third of this book was totally engrossing as Gray set up the characters, atmosphere, time period, and political factions. The style and narrative kept me turning pages as fast as I could read them. The middle third of the book was, unfortunately, a chore to read. I kept going because the first chapters had convinced me that I really wanted to know what was going on. Finally, in the last third of the book, everything came together again and found me staying up late to finish because I couldn't wait 'til morning to find out how it all played out.

Thinking about it after finishing the book, I'd have to say that the reason the middle dragged so much for me was I really didn't care all that much for the main character of Dr. William Cheevers, childhood friend of Poe, who was our point of view character throughout most of the mid-section of the book. But none the less, I'm glad I read Not Quite Dead.

Living not that far from Baltimore, and having lived several years in Providence, RI, it was the mention of Poe that caught my interest. Poe's part is relatively minor, but pivotal, to the plot which seems designed not only to tell a story, but also a way to bring the reader into the time period. While history is frequently dull, when presented as a story, a well researched work of fiction (even when it's bordering on alternate history) can really give the reader a feel for the way people lived and their day-to-day activities that makes the past come alive.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique book, June 13, 2008

By 

MommaMia - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Not Quite Dead (Hardcover)

This story is so well written and is a unique read....I found I couldn't put it down. The way the author took two real authors, Dickens and Poe (who I admire, by the way) and put them in such a unique situation, made for a fantastic, quick read. I learned so much about a place and time I knew nothing of...I didn't realize that politics and the world in general in the US at that time were so dangerous! If you have any love of Dickens or Poe, this is a unique story (am I overusing the word UNIQUE?!) that you are sure to find intriguing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read, January 30, 2008

By 

Jessie Horner - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Quite Dead (Hardcover)

Not Quite Dead is a great read. Despite surprising and outrageous turns the complex plot maintains plausibility and produces a conclusion that is satisfying on all fronts. The story is set in mid 19th century America and the bleak and troubled conditions of the period are detailed with great historical accuracy and nuance by 21st century author John MacLachlan Gray. The characters, who include authors Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Dickens, are wonderfully developed and actually very alive, if one dares repeat the suggestion that life and death can be matters of degree. The emotional priorities of Poe are constrasted to Dickens' pragmatism and this difference manifested in their approach to writing becomes an important plot point. Their differences also provoke a delightful level of consciousness about Gray's own project and the famciful mix his mind has imagined. Still, the best parts of the book may well be the little bits, found on every page: the narrator's wonderful sense of humour and acute observations, his wisdom and care for the human condition that make this such a wonderful read.