The Catalans: A Novel
by Patrick O'Brian
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Description
Summoned from his medical practice in China by a bevy of anxious aunts, Alain Roig returns to his Catalan hometown to discover he has been nominated by family members with vested interests in the ancestral property to prevent an impending marriage between his cold, ascetic cousin Xavier and Madeleine, a quiet, introspective village girl of unusual beauty. As Alain seeks to understand his cousin's complex motivations for wooing the unhappy girl, he is slowly drawn into Xavier's dark crisis of show more faith, the well-worn pattern of the sleepy Catalan days and the tight circle of village gossip that surrounds Madeleine. Throughout, Patrick O'Brian's slow, seductive narrative lures the reader into the landscapes, rhythms and passions of Catalonia, while his subtle, insightful characterisation paints a psychological portrait of a unique way of life and two very different men – one generous and impulsive, the other desperate to revive in his soul the dying flames of affection which he senses could be his salvation. show lessTags
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a doctor returns from east to dissuade cousin from unsuitable marriage
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154+ Works 77,012 Members
Patrick O'Brian is the author of twenty volumes in the highly respected Aubrey/Maturin series of novels. (Publisher Provided) Patrick O'Brien was born in Ireland in 1914. His education included the Sorbonne. O'Brian has produced a variety of works, including biographies of Picasso and Sir Joseph Banks and translations of the novels and memoirs of show more Simone de Beauvoir, but he is best known for the creation of an unlikely pair of Napoleonic War-era heroes in the Aubrey-Maturin Series. British naval officer Jack Aubrey and Irish scholar and physician Stephen Maturin have been featured in more than a novels published in Great Britain (five of which have also appeared in America). He died on January 2, 2000. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
El balancí [Edicions 62] (612)
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Els catalans
- Original title
- The Catalans
- Alternate titles
- The frozen flame (1953) (1953)
- Original publication date
- 1953
- Disambiguation notice
- Published in the UK as The frozen flame, and in the USA as The Catalans.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- Members
- 125
- Popularity
- 261,585
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.23)
- Languages
- Catalan, English, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 24
- ASINs
- 4
