Book description
Set amongst the rolling vineyards and gentle courtyards of a small
seaside village in Catalonia, Patrick O'Brian's second novel is a
poignant story of tumultuous love, complex faith and one man's desperate
bid to reclaim his humanity.
Summoned from his medical practice in China by a bevy of anxious aunts,
Alain Roig returns to his Catalan hometown to discover he has been
nominated by family members with vested interests in the ancestral
property to prevent an impending marriage between his cold, ascetic
cousin Xavier and Madeleine, a quiet, introspective village girl of
unusual beauty. As Alain seeks to understand his cousin's complex
motivations for wooing the unhappy girl, he is slowly drawn into
Xavier's dark crisis of faith, the well-worn pattern of the sleepy
Catalan days and the tight circle of village gossip that surrounds Madeleine.
Throughout, Patrick O'Brian's slow, seductive narrative lures the
reader into the landscapes, rhythms and passions of Catalonia, while his
subtle, insightful characterisation paints a psychological portrait of a
unique way of life and two very different men - one generous and
impulsive, the other desperate to revive in his soul the dying flames of
affection which he senses could be his salvation.
With themes and characters that in many ways prefigure his enormously
successful Aubrey/Maturin series, THE CATALANS demonstrates all the
insight, lyricism and psychological drama that made O'Brian one of the
best storytellers of his generation. 'You are in for the treat of your
lives. Thank God for Patrick O'Brian: his genius illuminates the
literature of the English language, and lightens the lives of those who
read him.' Irish Times
'The best historical novels ever written.' New York Times
Any contemporary novelist should recognize in Patrick O'Brian a Master
of the Art.' Sunday Telegraph Patrick O'Brian, until his death in
2000, was one of our greatest contemporary novelists. He is the author
of the acclaimed Aubrey-Maturin tales and the biographer of Joseph Banks
and Picasso. He is the author of many other books including Testimonies,
and his Collected Short Stories. In 1995 he was the first recipient of
the Heywood Hill Prize for a lifetime's contribution to literature. In
the same year he was awarded the CBE. In 1997 he received an honorary
doctorate of letters from Trinity College, Dublin. He lived for many
years in South West France and he died in Dublin in January 2000.
