Product Description

A bestselling Richard and Judy Book Club title, THE CONJUROR'S BIRD is a dazzling debut, spanning three centuries of secrets and surprises.

It seems a long time ago that Fitz and Gabby were together, with his work on extinct species about to make him world-famous. Now, it's his career that is almost extinct.

Suddenly, though, the beautiful Gabby reappears in his life. She wants his help in tracing the history of The Mysterious Bird of Ulieta, a creature once owned by the great 18th Century naturalist Joseph Banks.

It soon becomes clear that Fitz is getting involved in something more complicated - and dangerous - than the search for a stuffed bird.

To solve the puzzle, he must uncover the identity of the amazing woman Banks loved - a woman who has disappeared from history as effectively as the specimen he is hunting.

Read by David Schofield and Lally Schofield

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #133524 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-02
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

The Times
'A pacy confection of history, mystery and romance'

Independent
'Two gripping, intercut narratives ... a lyricism that captures the joy of the natural world'

Guardian
'[An] absorbing historical detective story ... a beautifully evoked narrative from the past'

Customer Reviews

the conjurors bird
I committed 2 grave sins of book buying with this one - (1) i bought it because i liked the cover, and, (2) because it was cheap. After a fairly slow start i really enjoyed it,(i would go as far as to say i couldn't put it down!) very original and a nice surprise for a bargain buy!!

Delightful read
I have just read this book for the second time and am pleased to say that I enjoyed it just as much, if not possibly more, than the first time! Perhaps because the book is rooted in fact, the characters seemed all the more believable. This is a gentle read - no explosive fireworks - but gives an incredible insight into an age long gone and a love doomed from the start.

A Gripping Blend of Past and Present

Naturalist Joseph Banks became famous after voyaging with Captain Cook on his first voyage of discovery to the far side of the world. Banks had been fortunate to encounter many sights and sounds that no other Englishman had ever had the opportunity to see, but none of them had come close to capturing his imagination like the image of the elusive woman, a woman with the most striking green eyes, who haunted the woods close to his home.

A couple of hundred years later a man stumbles on an old portrait of a young woman with alarmingly striking eyes, but who is she.

John Fitzgerald the discoverer of the portrait, has lost too much, the brash assertiveness of his youth. The belief that one day he was bound to make a name for himself and the love of his life, Gabby. But an unexpected call from his lost love brings it all rushing back to him and also embroils him in a mystery that repels and fascinates him at one and the same time.

Now he is in a desperate race to solve the puzzle of the Conjuror's Bird. And the woman in the portrait could provide the key.