The Poison Principle
A Memoir About Family Secrets and Literary Poisonings
$24.75
- Paperback
256 pages
- Release Date
1 March 2017
Summary
When Dr William Macbeth poisoned two of his sons in1927, his wife and sister hid the murders in the intensely private realm of family secrets. Macbeth behaved as if he were immune to consequences and avoided detection and punishment. Or did he? Secrets can be as corrosive as poison, and as time passed, the story of Macbeth haunted and divided his descendants. His grand-daughter, Gail Bell, spent ten years reading the literature of poisoning in order to understand Macbeth’s life. Herself a chemist, she listened for echoes in the great cases of the nineteenth century, in myths, fiction, and poison lore. Intricate, elegant, and beautifully realised, The Poison Principle is a book about family secrets and literary poisonings.
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781925143379 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1925143376 |
| Author: | Gail Bell |
| Publisher: | Xoum |
| Imprint: | Xoum |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 256 |
| Edition: | 2nd |
| Release Date: | 1 March 2017 |
| Weight: | 270g |
| Dimensions: | 135mm x 210mm |
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Critics Review
‘Miraculously well written, compellingly readable … a book of rare distinction.’ The Times
‘[Bell’s] solution to the mystery was - and is - a triumph of perseverance … enthralling.’ The Guardian ‘[The Poison Principle] … measures out, in small loving spoonfuls, grains of information about [a] family story … Between the quiet drip feed of her personal memoir, Bell mixes in stronger flavors: ingredients from criminology and psychology, botany and chemistry.’ The New York Times ‘A gift of a story and Bell tells it to near perfection.’ The Age ‘An elegantly written memoir about her search for the truth behind her family’s darkest secret … a fine thriller, a richly detailed pharmacopoeia and a splendid dissertation on references to poison in literature.’ The Sydney Morning HeraldGail Bell
Gail Bell was born in Sydney, is a graduate in pharmacy and education from the University of Sydney, and has worked in Australia and England. Her travel writing, book reviews, critical essays and long-form journalism have won acclaim and prizes. She is the author of two books, The Poison Principle and Being Shot, and a Quarterly Essay ‘The Worried Well’. She lives on the NSW Central Coast.
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