Hearing Voices: A Novel

By A.N. Wilson

Book Overview

In this delightful novel, both mystery and comedy of manners, A. N. Wilson continues the strange tale of Julian Ramsay, chronicler of that distinguished literary family, the Lampitts. The story opens in the mid-1960s on a note of gruesome drama, as the fabulously wealthy Virgil D. Everett, Jr., is pushed to his death from a Manhattan skyscraper. Does Everett's murder have anything to do with his ownership of the manuscripts known as the Lampitt Papers? Over thirty years later, actor and Lampitt biographer Julian Ramsay finds himself in New York with his One Man Show about James Lampitt's life and experiences. Ramsay's recollections take us on a fascinating journey back to the late 1960s, encompassing America, England, and Italy at a time of groundbreaking scientific research and intense theological debate. It is a journey that may reveal the secret to Everett's death and, ultimately, the true content of the Lampitt Papers. This witty and insightful drama will enchant readers already familiar with the Lampitt family, and it is a richly rewarding novel in its own right.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393316335
• ISBN13: 9780393316339
• Release Date: June 1997
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Not great AN Wilson but any AN Wilson is better than most.

I have to agree with the New Jersey reviewer but I'd still give it 5 stars. The earlier Lampitts are better. I find it interesting that Anthony Powell also nodded when he tried to bring his "Music of Time" characters into the 60's. The gurus and hippies could not be satirized as easily, or had to be satirized in a different way. Esther Freud's "Hideous Kinky" does a better job on them.