Please note: In order to keep Hive up to date and provide users with the best features, we are no longer able to fully support Internet Explorer. The site is still available to you, however some sections of the site may appear broken. We would encourage you to move to a more modern browser like Firefox, Edge or Chrome in order to experience the site fully.

The Whole Armour and The Secret Ladder, Paperback / softback Book

The Whole Armour and The Secret Ladder Paperback / softback

Paperback / softback

Description

Set in British Guyana, the final two books (first published in 1962 and 1963) of The Guyana Quartet continue Wilson Harris's literary exploration of the legacy and future of the former colony, which began with The Palace of the Peacock. The Whole Armour tells the story of Christo, accused of a murder he didn't commit, and on the run in the jungle swamplands of the Pomeroon River.

When the man who is harbouring him dies, and when it becomes clear that his resourceful mother, Magda, doesn't believe he is innocent in either case, Christo stages his own death and steps into a dangerous otherworld, where hallucinatory premonitions keep pace with dreamlike reality.

The Secret Ladder, the final book of the Guyana Quartet, follows the government surveyor Russell Fenwick, an unwilling and diffident captain of a strong-willed crew - all of them uneasy in one another's company - on a journey along the Canje River.

When they encounter Poseidon, the oldest inhabitant of the area - descendent, so it is rumoured, of an escaped slave - his accusations of unfair dealings and the threat of rebellion that he carries with him upset the group further.

As Fenwick, a scientist in a near-magical world, awaits the rain so that he can take his measurements, the clash between interlopers and rebels builds to a nightmarish climax.

Information

£14.00

 
Free Home Delivery

on all orders

 
Pick up orders

from local bookshops

Information