Dream of Scipio - by Iain Pears (Paperback)

About the Book

The bestselling author of "An Instance of the Fingerpost" intertwines three intellectual mysteries, three love stories--and three of the darkest moments in human history: the final days of the Roman Empire, the grim years of the Black Death, and the direst hours of World War II.

Book Synopsis

In national bestseller The Dream of Scipio, acclaimed author Iain Pears intertwines three intellectual mysteries, three love stories, and three of the darkest moments in human history. United by a classical text called "The Dream of Scipio," three men struggle to find refuge for their hearts and minds from the madness that surrounds them in the final days of the Roman Empire, in the grim years of the Black Death, and in the direst hours of World War II. An ALA Booklist Editors' Choice.

Iain Pears's An Instance of the Fingerpost and The Portrait are also available from Riverhead Books.

Review Quotes

"A thrilling journey through history, into the human heart and soul."—Washington Post

"Braiding together parallel plots of romance and political intrigue set in Provence during three dark eras, The Dream of Scipio is a murder mystery on the grandest scale...[Pears] invests his complex story with piquancy, irony, and humor. Their is much to ponder here, from Neoplatonic philosophy to anti-Semitism to public duty...Eye-opening."—People

"A multilayered tale of moral choice, love, danger and loss."—The New York Times Book Review

"An adventure and achievement to match An Instance of the Fingerpost."—San Francisco Chronicle

"A dazzling triptych of love and ideas...Pears leaves us with a dream, not only of destruction, but of immense and unexpected heroism."—Boston Globe

"[An] ambitious, heartfelt, and thought-provoking book, one that should find a home in the heart of every thinking reader."—Portland Oregonian

"This is a dream that will stay with the reader for a long, long time."—Montreal Gazette

"A novel for our time about all time. Wildly entertaining."—The Christian Science Monitor

"Complex, surprising and thought-provoking, a dream of a novel in more senses than one."—Wall Street Journal

About the Author

Iain Pears was born in 1955. Educated at Wadham College, Oxford, he has worked as a journalist, an art historian, and a television consultant in England, France, Italy, and the United States. He is the author of seven highly praised detective novels, a book of art history, and countless articles on artistic, financial, and historical subjects, as well as the international bestseller An Instance of the Fingerpost. He lives in Oxford, England.