In this extraordinary novel, Karen Maitland delivers a dazzling reinterpretation of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales—an ingenious alchemy of history, mystery, and powerful human drama. The year is 1348. The Black Plague grips the country. In a world ruled by faith and fear, nine desperate strangers, brought together by chance, attempt to outrun the certain death that is running inexorably toward them. Each member of this motley company has a story to tell. From Camelot, the relic-seller who will become the group’s leader, to Cygnus, the one-armed storyteller . . . from the strange, silent child called Narigorm to a painter and his pregnant wife, each has a secret. None is what they seem. And one among them conceals the darkest secret of all—propelling these liars to a destiny they never saw coming. Magical, heart-quickening, and raw, Company of Liars is a work of vaulting imagination from a powerful new voice in historical fiction. Praise for Company of Liars “[Maitland] brings to life a medieval England of muddy streets and half-naked children fighting each other for pieces of dog dung to sell to the tanners, as sheep-stealers swing purple-faced from the gallows. . . . She neatly catches the spirit of primitive superstition that governed every aspect of 14th century life and then rolls on with it for her own story-telling ends. . . . Company of Liars is a richly evocative page-turner which brings to life a lost and terrible period of British history, with a disturbing final twist worthy of a master of the spine-tingler, such as Henry James.”—Daily Express (UK) “Transports readers back to the days of the Black Death . . . Paying homage to The Decameron and The Canterbury Tales, this is a gripping read. . . . As a reader you are taken as close to the plague as you would ever wish to go.”—Bookseller
Told in reverse chronological order, from its enigmatic end to its brilliant beginning, In the Company of Liars is a tantalizing tour de force—a “compelling new novel of intrigue, murder, and terrorism” (The Philadelphia Inquirer).
In 1992, celebrated novelist Ann Patchett launched her remarkable career with the publication of her debut novel, The Patron Saint of Liars.
The truth. Read it. And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE. "Thrilling, beautiful, and blisteringly smart, We Were Liars is utterly unforgettable." —John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars
'Fear and hysteria are portrayed with claustrophobic skill' THE TIMES 'Dark and enthralling... with an unexpected hero' JULIE COHEN From the bestselling author of Company of Liars, Karen Maitland, The Plague Charmer is a darkly compelling ...
'Combines the storytelling traditions of The Canterbury Tales with the supernatural suspense of Mosse's Sepulchre in this atmospheric tale of treachery and magic' Marie Claire on Company of Liars Camelot and Narigorm the rune reader return ...
And now it seemed he had a name, a name she would remember to her grave and beyond – Sir Warren. With trembling hand Warren pointed to Gunilda and feigned ...
You hungry?" I looked carefully up and down the road, before I crept out. Pega held out a big piece of cold mutton in her giant hand. I reached out, then drew back. What if it was witched and I died from the birds pecking at me?
The Falcons of Fire and Ice by Karen Maitland, author of the hugely popular Company of Liars, is a powerful historical thriller which takes you right back to the darkest corners of the 16th century.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “You wouldn’t expect a comic novel about a dictionary to be a thriller too, but this one is.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The addictive prequel to the TikTok phenomenon We Were Liars: the story of another summer, another generation—and the secrets that will haunt them for decades to come.