ANGEL WITH TWO FACES BY NICOLA UPSON RARE SIGNED + DOODLED FIRST EDITION BOOK 20/20

Within a relatively short period, Nicola Upson has established herself as one of the most inventive and unusual of crime writers, marrying a sure storytelling grip to a non-pareil skill at evoking both period atmosphere and English locales. However – as Angel with Two Faces comprehensively demonstrates -- her real coup lies in her canny utilisation of a classic English writer, Josephine Tey (of The Franchise Affair and The Daughter of Time fame) as the protagonist of her books. And, what’s more, doing full justice to her much-loved predecessor's memory; it’s easy to feel that Tey herself would be delighted with these fictitious imaginings of her life an investigative figure.

Nicolas work has been acclaimed by no less a figure in the field than PD James. This book set against a strongly realised Cornish landscape, Upson begins her tale with death of a young man in the Loe Pool while on a riding excursion. Archie Penrose, a policeman whose family are the custodians of the estate, looks at the death askance – particularly when another young man goes missing, and a village prelate falls to his death from a nearby cliff. Josephine Tey, a friend of Archie Penrose, finds her wish for a quiet holiday banished when she becomes involved in a grim and baffling mystery.

Doodled Books has 20 rare books in stock that are first edition first printings. These have been signed, lined, dated, doodled and numbered. Take a look at the pictures for more details of this excellent collectable.

Review

The interaction between the duo here is delightfully handled, and the metaphor they adopt – death as an angel with two faces looking at both past and present -- is as allusive and strange as the narrative itself. Let’s hope Nicola Upson has more plans for the imaginary amateur detective life of Josephine Tey. --Barry Forshaw

Product Description
Inspector Archie Penrose has invited Josephine Tey to his family home in Cornwall, a struggling but beautiful country estate on a magnificent stretch of coastline. Still haunted by the dark events of the year before - depicted in An Expert in Murder - and disillusioned with the London stage, Josephine is ready to begin work on her second mystery novel and finds much to inspire her in the landscape and its legends - in particular, a lake on the estate which is said to claim a life every seven years, and the nearby Minack Theatre, an open-air auditorium which overlooks the sea. But death clouds the holiday from the outset: Josephine's arrival coincides with the funeral of a young estate worker, killed in a mysterious riding accident, and another local boy disappears shortly afterwards. When the Minack proves to be a stage for real-life tragedy and an audacious murder, Archie's loyalties are divided between his friends and his job, and he and Josephine must confront the violent reality which lies beneath a seemingly idyllic community - a community with one face turned towards the present, and another looking back to the crimes of the past.

About the Author
Nicola Upson was born in Suffolk and read English at Downing College, Cambridge. She has worked in theatre and as a freelance journalist, and is the author of two works of non-fiction and the recipient of an Escalator Award from Arts Council England. She lives with her partner, and shares her time between Cambridge and Cornwall.

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