A world on the brink of catastrophe. A two thousand year old mystery. A lost gospel. Seeking adventure, a young man flees the drudgery of shopkeeping in Tsarist Russia to make a new life among the bohemians and revolutionaries of 19th century Paris. Travelling undercover in the mountains of British India, he discovers a manuscript that transforms the world's understanding of the historical Jesus. Decades later, in a Europe threatened by unimaginable tragedy, he makes a despairing attempt to right a historic injustice. This breathtaking novel by the award-winning author of Far North and Strange Bodies tells the extraordinary tale of Nicolas Notovitch and his secret gospel. It is the epic story of a young man on the make in a turbulent world of spies and double-cross, propaganda and revolutionary violence, lost love and nascent anti-semitism -a world which eerily foreshadows our own era of post-truth politics. Based on real events, The Secret Books is at once a page-turning adventure and an examination of the stories that humans are willing to kill and die for.

Nothing is more dangerous than a story

About the Author
Marcel Theroux is the author of four previous novels: The Paperchase, winner of the 2002 Somerset Maugham Award; A Blow to the Heart; Far North, which was short-listed for America's prestigious National Book Award; and Strange Bodies. He lives in London.


Book Information
ISBN 9780571281947
Author Marcel Theroux
Format Hardback
Page Count 384
Imprint Faber & Faber
Publisher Faber & Faber
Weight(grams) 515g
Dimensions(mm) 222mm * 145mm * 33mm