The Snake-Oil Dickens Man

From the clamour of P. T. Barnum's circus rushing through the dusty plains of Missouri to the packed theatres of New York, The Snake-Oil Dickens Man is the moving, witty story of a young man's loss of innocence in the search for his father.
It is 1867 and Billy Talbot has been told that he is the illegitimate son of the great author, Charles Dickens. Billy's journey is thick with tricks, disguises and chance meetings that lead him to Hope Scattergood, a consumptive charlatan with his own interest in the great writer. Together Scattergood and Billy devise the 'Dickens Lay', a con that may lead Billy to a meeting with his father, the real Charles Dickens ...

About the author

Ross Gilfillan is a magazine journalist who lives in Suffolk with his wife and three children. He has written two novels, both published by Fourth Estate, ‘The Snake-oil Dickens Man’ in 1998 and ‘The Edge of the Crowd’ in 2001.

Summary

A fast, witty and evocative first novel about the allure of the con man, the journey of a young man in search of his father, the loss of innocence and the works of Charles Dickens. Full of adventure, tricks, imagination and originality, The Snake-oil Dickens Man is the assured debut from an exciting new writer.

Product details

• Authors: Ross Gilfillan, Gilfillan Ross
• Publisher: Fourth Estate
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 01.07.1999
• EAN: 9781857028140
• ISBN: 978-1-85702-814-0
• Dimensions: 129 mm x 198 mm x 19 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; Adventure, FICTION / Thrillers / General, Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), FICTION / Literary, FICTION / Action & Adventure, Thriller / suspense fiction, Thriller / suspense, Modern and contemporary fiction: general and literary, Adventure / action fiction, Title;