A Stolen Tongue
Published by Grove Atlantic
“Part rollicking historical potboiler, part theological mystery” from the acclaimed author of The Dress Lodger and The Mammoth Cheese (Entertainment Weekly).
A riveting mystery that recalls the work of Umberto Eco and Barry Unsworth, A Stolen Tongue is the captivating debut novel that launched critically acclaimed author Sheri Holman’s literary career.
In 1483, Father Felix Fabri sails from Germany to Mount Sinai on a pilgrimage to venerate the relics of Saint Katherine of Alexandria. But at each of the shrines he visits throughout Greece and Palestine, he finds that the remains of Katherine’s body are being stolen piece by piece: her hand, her ear, and then her tongue vanish from their holy resting places. Desperate to discover the thief and save his saint from such appalling desecration, Felix is thrust into a strange mystery that takes him across the desert and plumbs the depths of his soul.
“Holman seduces you into a world of priests, rogues, saints, a world bright with horizon, wonder, piety. Her prose, tart, racy, and somber, will sing in your soul a long while.”—Frank McCourt, Pulitzer Prize-winning, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Angela’s Ashes
“Holman tells a fascinating story. From the opening scene in Crete to the harrowing finale in the Sinai desert, she knows how to create suspense.”—The Washington Post Book World
“Sheri Holman writes with extraordinary assurance and style.”—Miranda Seymour, author of Bugatti Queen
“The best historical thriller I have read since Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose.”—Alain de Botton, author of The Course of Love
A riveting mystery that recalls the work of Umberto Eco and Barry Unsworth, A Stolen Tongue is the captivating debut novel that launched critically acclaimed author Sheri Holman’s literary career.
In 1483, Father Felix Fabri sails from Germany to Mount Sinai on a pilgrimage to venerate the relics of Saint Katherine of Alexandria. But at each of the shrines he visits throughout Greece and Palestine, he finds that the remains of Katherine’s body are being stolen piece by piece: her hand, her ear, and then her tongue vanish from their holy resting places. Desperate to discover the thief and save his saint from such appalling desecration, Felix is thrust into a strange mystery that takes him across the desert and plumbs the depths of his soul.
“Holman seduces you into a world of priests, rogues, saints, a world bright with horizon, wonder, piety. Her prose, tart, racy, and somber, will sing in your soul a long while.”—Frank McCourt, Pulitzer Prize-winning, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Angela’s Ashes
“Holman tells a fascinating story. From the opening scene in Crete to the harrowing finale in the Sinai desert, she knows how to create suspense.”—The Washington Post Book World
“Sheri Holman writes with extraordinary assurance and style.”—Miranda Seymour, author of Bugatti Queen
“The best historical thriller I have read since Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose.”—Alain de Botton, author of The Course of Love
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