Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. James norbury is a shy wouldbe poet, newly down from oxford and confounded by the. October, 2015 january 11, 2016 girl with her head in a book. A native of yorkshire, england, owen is currently completing her doctorate in english literature at durham university. Taking up lodging with a dissolute young aristocrat, he is introduced to the drawing rooms of high society and finds love in an. The quick lauren owen free the quick lauren owen the quick by lauren owen pdf free download ebook lauren owen was born in 1985 she studied at oxford university and the university of east anglia where she received the 2009 curtis brown prize for the best fiction. The rules are clearly sketched out there is the aegolius club, filled with men who are a. The quick, lauren owen girl with her head in a book.
Lauren owen is an impressive storyteller and with this ambitious debut, the literary world will soon take notice. Lauren owen knows how to evoke a setting, her characters are memorable, and her writing is so smooth that the pages just fly by. Her first attempts at writing as a teenager were harry potter fan fictions. The quick, lauren owen october, 2015 january 11, 2016 girl with her head in a book i got this book nearly a year ago, got five pages in and then got distracted. The quick by lauren owen discussion guide books on tape. Vampire novel the quick has rich victorian details but. Reading the blurbs on the dust jacket of lauren owen s first novel from such luminaries as kate atkinson, hilary mantel and tana french readers might think theyre about to embark on a. With suspenseful rhythm and illustrious prose, owen succeeds at crafting a fresh, enchanting portrait of. A rich feast for lovers of the novels of sarah waters, the night circus, and the crimson petal and the white. Bookpage spoke with her by phone and discovered that the authors gift for choosing wordsnever too many, and just the right onesis a function of. Theres even a reprise of the sweetcowboyturnedvampirehunter duly embittered, thank goodness. This is the discussion guide for the quick by lauren owen bot and our website are here to stay. June 17, 2014 an elegantly written gothic epic that begins with children isolated in a lonely manor house. What genre or genres would you say the quick falls into.
With the quick, lauren owen has created a brilliant addition to this list. For those like me whore dismayed to see the book end, im pleased to. Lauren owen is twentyeightyears old and grew up in the grounds of an old country house in yorkshire. The quick has been described as a feast of gothic storytelling, and brings together owen s love of the victorian era, the gothic and the supernatural. James norbury, a shy wouldbe poet newly down from oxford finds lodging with a charming young aristocrat. Part gothic mystery, part victorian romance, the quick is a novel where the glamorous and the macabre collide.
Hildas college, oxford, before completing an ma in creative writing at the university of east anglia, where she received the 2009 curtis brown prize for the best fiction dissertation. An astonishing debut of epic scope and suspense, the quick conjures up magic and menace in victorian londons elegant drawing rooms and its dark, dangerous alleyways. Subgenre fans who prefer a frantic pace will not want to read this tale. When i realised that a sequel was in the offing, i felt disappointed i hope that owen manages to sustain the suspense even when the gaps are filled. She is the author of the quick and spends much of her time in durham, england, where she currently resides. Author interview lauren owen, author of the quick bookpage. The comparison to elizabeth kostovas the historian in the publishers blurb and, if truth be told, the wonderful sepiatoned cover art, are what drew me to lauren owen s debut novel the quick. She was born on july 6, 1985, in cheltenham, gloucestershire, in the united kingdom. The quick by lauren owen posted on january 3, 2015 january 21, 2015 by mike grundy i am uncertain as to whether i would be justified in revealing the true plot of lauren owen s debut novel. I had a hard time putting it down, glad that it was a long book because it just kept unfolding into unexpected plot twists, some of them completely terrifying to imagine. I truly enjoyed the book within a book within a book idea where we learned first about the main characters early lives, then as they went on their separate ways. She found herself engulfed by a crowd of fellow passengers, hemmed in on all sides and borne helplessly forwards.
She is an oxford graduate, holds an ma in victorian literature, is completing a phd on gothic writing and fan culture. The cast expands to include the seraph, a legendary creature who may or may not be a vampire. James norbury, a shy wouldbe poet newly down from oxford, finds lodging with a charming young aristocrat. James norbury is a shy wouldbe poet, newly down from oxford and confounded by the sinister, labyrinthine city at his doorstep. This is elegant, witty, forceofnature writing, and lauren owen should have a long and illustrious career ahead of her. Lauren owen was born in 1985 and grew up in the grounds of an old country house in yorkshire. The quick by lauren owen originally published april 2014, by random house audiobook read by simon slater the quick is lauren owen s debut novel, an ironically named victorian gothic rambler that is presumably intended to begin a series, but which desperately wants to be a tv show or a movie trilogy instead. Given my love of horror, at first i thought i may have been misled into reading the quick. She found herself engulfed by a crowd of fellow passengers. The quick is a layered journey through victorian londons high and low society. This article was originally published in the july 2014 issue of bookpage. The quick is set in the same decade as stokers masterpiece, and in a number of the same places, right down to the londonyorkshire axis. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. I did like her writing and if this book had just been the.
The best scenes in the middle section of the quick center on a streetwise urchin named liza one of the undid, as mrs p. Alighting from the train, charlotte was struck by the noise of the place dozens of voices, and above those the screech and pant of the engines. Kings cross was an assault on the eyes and ears, a scurry and bustle which almost bewildered her. With suspenseful rhythm and illustrious prose, owen succeeds at crafting a fresh, enchanting portrait of victorian london wrapped around an irresistible mystery that is at once. One can only hope the furtile, imaginative mind of lauren owen is already working on the sequel to this book and i dare say i will try to be one of the first to purchase with joy the new story and of course. The quick was this years rip readalong, cohosted by the estella society and amanda at fig and thistle. The ending was quite easy to spot, not at first, but in the last few pages of the book. The quick is a tense twisting vampire thriller in which point of view switches constantly between the siblings, mould, the quick club members, street undead, and vampire hunters adeline swift and shadwell, etc.
Some months ago, in a foul and nidorous vault, seated at a stone table near a pool in which some strange writhing thing turned slowly in the quag, a murder of marketers made a blood pact. She studied at oxford university and the university of east anglia, where she received the 2009 curtis brown prize for the best fiction dissertation. Specifically, its about the readers we ask to respond to a. She could smell dirt, sweating human bodies and damp wool and wet dog fur, a thousand other ripe and rotting things all blended together. We are now introducing cd retail packaging on our site, as well as additional changes. The quick by lauren owen books coverage generally focuses on writers. She is a graduate of st hildas, oxford, holds an ma in victorian literature, is completing a phd on gothic writing and fan culture, and is the recipient of the curtis brown prize for best writer on the uea creativewriting. The first 100 pages of lauren owen s the quick offer a portrait of the artist as a young man in late 19thcentury england. If so, ill have to decide whether i want to read it, but if not then ill be interested to see what lauren owen writes next. It was slow and atmospheric, but even the exciting parts didnt really grab my attention.
Lauren owen is an english author who specializes in fiction. On every score, this brilliant young novelist now pursuing her. X, the lovely ladies at the estella society hosted a group read of lauren owen s the quick. After all, according to an interview on youtube, the author is currently working on a sequel and frankly i would like to see what happens to james in the coming book, and how many characters from the first book make a comeback. What genre or author influences do you see in this book. The quick will establish her as one of fictions most dazzling talents. They vowed to keep the plot of the quick, lauren owens stunning debut novel. The quick book oshawa public libraries bibliocommons. In her first novel, lauren owen has created a fantastical world that is both beguiling and terrifying. Lauren owen, however, has managed to write her debut novel alongside working on a research phd. Join the random house readers circle for author chats and more. The bubbles literature editors conducted an interview to probe lauren s influences. The quick is a powerhouse debut novel by lauren owen.
827 825 401 1320 266 539 1412 935 1409 1146 18 85 812 240 1433 709 988 924 1485 898 1226 875 1490 1377 448 905 1302 872 1229 509 628 949 1171 103 1009