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y separately published work icon The Book of Human Skin single work   novel   historical fiction  
Issue Details: First known date: 2010... 2010 The Book of Human Skin
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Midday, 13th May, 1784: An earthquake in Peru tears up the white streets of Arequipa. As the dust settles, a young girl with fanaticism already branded on her face arrives at the devastated convent of Santa Catalina. At the same moment, oceans away in Venice, the infant Minguillo Fasan tears his way out of his mother's womb. The great Palazzo Espagnol, built on Peruvian silver and New World drugs, has an heir.

'Twelve years later, Venice is in Napoleon's sights and Minguillo, who has already contrived to lose one sibling, is listening to the birth-cries of his new sister Marcella, a delicate, soft-skinned threat to his inheritance. Meanwhile, at Santa Catalina, the scarred young girl has become Sor Loreta, whose craving for sainthood is taking a decidedly sinister turn.

'Minguillo's livid jealousy will condemn his sister to a series of fates as a cripple, a madwoman and a nun. But Marcella Fasan is not quite the soft target Minguillo imagines. Aided by a loyal servant, an irascible portrait-painter, a young doctor obsessed with skin, a warhorse of a Scottish merchant and a cigar-smoking pornographer nun, Marcella pits her sense of humour, her clever pencil and her fierce heart against Minguillo's pitiless machinations. Her journey takes her from Napoleon's shamed Venice to the last picaresque days of colonial Peru - where the fanatical Sor Loreta has plans of her own for the young girl from Venice.

'Bewitching, daring, darkly humorous and alive with historical detail, The Book of Human Skin is a breathtaking story of unmitigated villainy, Holy Anorexia, quack medicine, murder, love and a very unusual form of bibliomania.' (From the publisher's website.)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Bloomsbury ,
      2010 .
      image of person or book cover 4303823448405059436.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 512p.
      Note/s:
      • Publication date: April 2010 (United Kingdom) and May 2010 (Australia).
      ISBN: 9781408805886
Alternative title: Книга Из Человеческой Кожи
Language: Russian
    • c
      Russia,
      c
      c
      Former Soviet Union,
      c
      Eastern Europe, Europe,
      :
      Книжный ,
      2011 .
      image of person or book cover 3642162617980956717.jpg
      This image has been sourced from Goodreads.
      Extent: 576p.
      ISBN: 9785991016568

Other Formats

Works about this Work

Untitled Gay Lynch , 2011 single work review
— Appears in: Transnational Literature , May vol. 3 no. 2 2011;

— Review of The Book of Human Skin Michelle Lovric , 2010 single work novel
Extravagence Is Only Skin Deep Johanna Leggatt , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 19 September 2010; (p. 13)

— Review of The Book of Human Skin Michelle Lovric , 2010 single work novel
Smell the Disgrace Melinda Harvey , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , July-August no. 323 2010; (p. 36-37)

— Review of The Book of Human Skin Michelle Lovric , 2010 single work novel
Venetian Obsession Anna Creer , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 3 July 2010; (p. 23)

— Review of The Book of Human Skin Michelle Lovric , 2010 single work novel
Off the Shelf : Fiction Dianne Dempsey , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 26 June 2010; (p. 26)

— Review of The Book of Human Skin Michelle Lovric , 2010 single work novel
Untitled Cherry Byford-Sibbing , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , May/June vol. 89 no. 8 2010; (p. 35)

— Review of The Book of Human Skin Michelle Lovric , 2010 single work novel
Off the Shelf : Fiction Dianne Dempsey , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 26 June 2010; (p. 26)

— Review of The Book of Human Skin Michelle Lovric , 2010 single work novel
Venetian Obsession Anna Creer , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 3 July 2010; (p. 23)

— Review of The Book of Human Skin Michelle Lovric , 2010 single work novel
Smell the Disgrace Melinda Harvey , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , July-August no. 323 2010; (p. 36-37)

— Review of The Book of Human Skin Michelle Lovric , 2010 single work novel
Extravagence Is Only Skin Deep Johanna Leggatt , 2010 single work review
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 19 September 2010; (p. 13)

— Review of The Book of Human Skin Michelle Lovric , 2010 single work novel
Last amended 9 Feb 2021 13:10:11
Settings:
  • c
    Peru,
    c
    South America, Americas,
  • Venice,
    c
    Italy,
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • 1780s
  • 1790s
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