HomeGroupsTalkZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Loading...

The Dante Club

by Matthew Pearl

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
7,2711681,147 (3.36)220
In 1865 Boston, the members of the Dante Club -- poets and Harvard professors Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell, along with publisher J.T. Fields -- are finishing America's first translation of The Divine Comedy and preparing to unveil Dante's remarkable visions to the New World. The powerful Boston Brahmins at Harvard College are fighting to keep Dante in obscurity, believing that the infiltration of foreign superstitions onto American bookshelves will prove as corrupting as the immigrants living in Boston Harbor. As they struggle to keep their sacred literary cause alive, the plans of the Dante Club are put in further jeopardy when a serial killer unleashes his terror on the city. Only the scholars realize that the gruesome murders are modeled on the descriptions from Dante's Inferno and its account of Hell's torturous punishments. With the lives of the Boston elite and Dante's literary future in America at stake, the Dante Club must find the killer before the authorities discover their secret. The Dante Club is a magnificent blend of fact and fiction, a brilliantly realized paean to Dante, his mythic genius, and his continued grip on our imaginations.… (more)
  1. 70
    The Alienist by Caleb Carr (cmbohn)
    cmbohn: 19th century New York with a serial killer - better than this one.
  2. 30
    The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (adithyajones)
  3. 41
    The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (iubookgirl)
    iubookgirl: If you enjoy books that weave real historical figures and events into a work of fiction, you'll love this book.
  4. 00
    My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk (adithyajones)
  5. 00
    Heresy by S. J. Parris (cbl_tn)
  6. 00
    The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin (adithyajones)
  7. 00
    A Death in Vienna by Frank Tallis (heidialice)
    heidialice: Also published as "Death in Vienna", "Mortal Mischief" is the first in a series of historical fiction murder mysteries set in Vienna, with Freud as a minor character.
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 220 mentions

English (146)  Spanish (7)  Italian (5)  German (3)  Catalan (2)  Danish (1)  Dutch (1)  French (1)  All languages (166)
Showing 1-5 of 146 (next | show all)
8432296325
  archivomorero | May 21, 2023 |
An intelligent mix of history and mystery. The plot is imaginative yet plausible and the clues to the identity of the killer are deftly woven into the storyline. Dante's work and the real life characters are grounded in fact and treated with respect. This is a truly excellent read. ( )
  Lauren2013 | May 5, 2023 |
The story of several Boston literary types, including Oliver Wendell Holmes and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, solving murders that are somehow connected to Dante. The Harvard-connected men are engaged in a slow and convivial translation of Dante's Inferno into English, when murders start to happen that seem to mimic Dante's punishments in the text. Dante is somehow connected to Matthew Pearl's academic work, but the prose is never dull. It is, however, somewhat uneven: the first several chapters read like literary fiction, but as the story gains steam the language becomes more pedestrian even as the action becomes more exciting. An excellent tale even if you know nothing of the men involved. ( )
  lisahistory | Mar 18, 2023 |
The story of several Boston literary types, including Oliver Wendell Holmes and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, solving murders that are somehow connected to Dante. The Harvard-connected men are engaged in a slow and convivial translation of Dante's Inferno into English, when murders start to happen that seem to mimic Dante's punishments in the text. Dante is somehow connected to Matthew Pearl's academic work, but the prose is never dull. It is, however, somewhat uneven: the first several chapters read like literary fiction, but as the story gains steam the language becomes more pedestrian even as the action becomes more exciting. An excellent tale even if you know nothing of the men involved. ( )
  LisaMLane | Mar 18, 2023 |
OK mystery I listened to on audio. Murders based on Dante. ( )
  kslade | Dec 8, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 146 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors (11 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Matthew Pearlprimary authorall editionscalculated
Abelsen, PeterTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

Belongs to Publisher Series

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Dedication
To Lino, my professor, and Ian, my teacher
First words
John Kurtz, the chief of the Boston police, breathed in some of his heft for a better fit between the two chambermaids.
Quotations
The proof of poetry was... that it reduced to the essence of a single line the vague philosophy that floated in all men's minds, so as to render it portable and useful, ready to the hand.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

In 1865 Boston, the members of the Dante Club -- poets and Harvard professors Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell, along with publisher J.T. Fields -- are finishing America's first translation of The Divine Comedy and preparing to unveil Dante's remarkable visions to the New World. The powerful Boston Brahmins at Harvard College are fighting to keep Dante in obscurity, believing that the infiltration of foreign superstitions onto American bookshelves will prove as corrupting as the immigrants living in Boston Harbor. As they struggle to keep their sacred literary cause alive, the plans of the Dante Club are put in further jeopardy when a serial killer unleashes his terror on the city. Only the scholars realize that the gruesome murders are modeled on the descriptions from Dante's Inferno and its account of Hell's torturous punishments. With the lives of the Boston elite and Dante's literary future in America at stake, the Dante Club must find the killer before the authorities discover their secret. The Dante Club is a magnificent blend of fact and fiction, a brilliantly realized paean to Dante, his mythic genius, and his continued grip on our imaginations.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

LibraryThing Author

Matthew Pearl is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing.

profile page | author page

Author Chat

Matthew Pearl chatted with LibraryThing members from Oct 5, 2009 to Oct 16, 2009. Read the chat.

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.36)
0.5 9
1 81
1.5 5
2 170
2.5 50
3 478
3.5 132
4 516
4.5 33
5 177

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 188,583,912 books! | Top bar: Always visible