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  • Published: 1 October 2010
  • ISBN: 9780552776158
  • Imprint: Black Swan
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 528
  • RRP: $29.99

The Thief of Time




The dazzling first novel from the author of The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas and Mutiny on the Bounty.

Matthieu Zela has lived his life well. In fact, he's lived several lives well. Because Matthew Zela's life is characterised by one amazing fact: his body stopped ageing before the end of the eighteenth century.

Starting in 1758, a young Matthieu flees Paris after witnessing his mother's brutal murder. His only companions are his younger brother Tomas and one true love, Dominique Sauvet. The story of his life takes us from the French Revolution to 1920s Hollywood, from the Great Exhibition to the Wall Street Crash, and by the end of the twentieth century, Matthieu has been an engineer, a rogue, a movie mogul, a soldier, a financier, a lover to many, a cable TV executive and much more besides.

Brilliantly weaving history and personal experience, this is a dazzling story of love, murder, missed chances, treachery - and redemption.

  • Published: 1 October 2010
  • ISBN: 9780552776158
  • Imprint: Black Swan
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 528
  • RRP: $29.99

About the author

John Boyne

John Boyne was born in Ireland in 1971. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, six for younger readers and a collection of short stories. Perhaps best known for his 2006 multi-award-winning book The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, John’s other novels, notably The Absolutist and A History of Loneliness, have been widely praised and are international bestsellers. Most recently, The Heart's Invisible Furies was a Richard & Judy Bookclub word-of-mouth bestseller, and A Ladder to the Sky was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award in association with Listowel Writers’ Week.

His novels are published in over fifty languages.

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Praise for The Thief of Time

An extraordinary début

Sunday Express

A minor masterpiece

Time Out

Boyne should be congratulated for his spirited take on an old theme

Guardian

Boyne is a skilful storyteller, expertly weaving differing stories together

Sunday Tribune