An Instance of the Fingerpost: Explore the murky world of 17th-century Oxford in this iconic historical thriller

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Extraordinary…this thriller brings not merely a huge cast of characters but a whole century vividly to life.”— Newsweek I thank author Pears for enhancing my poor education. He recounts and alludes to the English Civil War and the uprising of religious sects (counter to the Chuch of England) which undoubtedly informed American Founders with their own nation-building in the next Century.

Oliver Cromwell is dead; the Levellers, Diggers and other such factions -- with their wild dreams of an egalitarian society -- have been destroyed or dispersed; peace, finally, has returned to a ravaged land . . . or has it?Historical fiction tends to gather around the Tudors and Victorians but often skirts the Stuarts. They had an awful lot of messy Civil Wars and their personalities were not what one would call attractive. Unlike writers attempting valiantly to fashion together something new from the fall of Anne Boleyn or similar, An Instance of the Fingerpost offers fresh material even for the hardened historical fiction fiend such as myself. However, even without the refreshing setting and context, Pears' novel marks itself as head and shoulders above the average. Both Prescott and Wallis are, in different ways, less concerned with facts than their appearance, and how these can serve them, with Prescott wanting to prove his father was not a traitor and Wallis always thinking he knows best. There are Idols which we call Idols of the Market. For Men associate by Discourse, and a false and improper Imposition of Words strangely possesses the Understanding, for Words absolutely force the Understanding, and put all Things into Confusion. A] crafty, utterly mesmerizing intellectual thriller…Don’t miss it.”— The Washington Post Book World

The narrators cross paths in their four accounts, but these are not simply a fourfold re-telling of the same few events. Let me confess that I am not a great reader of thrillers or detective fiction. The latter in particular, it seems to me, lies under the tyranny of procedure -- the scene of the crime, the autopsy, the interviews, the suspects, the false accusations -- Hidden papers and codes also figure prominently in the story -- which itself of course also begs to be decoded, but only can be when the final pieces fall into place. The events of An Instance of The Fingerpost are set in motion by the death of an Oxford don and the subsequent trial of Sarah Blundy, the woman accused of his murder. Anthony Wood, a witness to these events, is reconciled to the verdict calling for her execution in the belief that the divine plan will be fulfilled. Considering the fate of Sarah Blundy, what do you think Pears is saying about the construct of social justice versus divine justice? Compare our contemporary assumptions about guilt and innocence against those of the 17th century. Consider other criminal trials of that era, either historical or fictional accounts. For example, during that same period, the Salem witch trials were underway in America. What do these events suggest about how a society defines and administers justice? None of them is reliable in their recounting of the events. These men aren’t Adson von Melk or Matthew Shardlake.Local variation in historic designs [ edit ] A typical Royal Label Factory West Riding "Geared" fingerpost with the parish name and grid reference on the roundel. Cola's rather straightforward account, by an outsider briefly among a community and in a nation in considerable turmoil which he would seem to have nothing to do with and little more than visiting interest in (beyond that rather hopeless-sounding business situation in London, which indeed he can do little about) seems, on its plain face, to be trustworthy enough. Wallis - the cryptographer - who has had dealings with Thurloe (as does young Prestcott). His paranoia causes him to see conspiracies - much as Prestcott does.