This is an auction for WAINEWRIGHT THE POISONER by Andrew Motion.

Amazon.com reviews:

“In a time rich in unlikely characters, Thomas Griffiths Wainewright (1794-1847) was one of the strangest of all. A painter, writer, London dandy and friend of most of the major figures of the Romantic era (from Blake to Byron, Keats, Lamb, De Quincey and Hazlitt), he was also almost certainly a murderer, possibly several times over. Arrested and convicted of forgery he was transported for life to the barbarous penal colony of Hobart, Tasmania, where he died in obscurity. Behind him he left only rumours and fragments of documents, and a legend of evil. With a brilliant blend of creative imagination and scholarly sleuthing, Andrew Motion evokes Wainewright's double life in a tour de force of the biographer's art. The result is a richly memorable exploration of the darker side of human nature, of the roots of crime, of the nature of biography itself.”

"Motion blends a fictional confession by Wainewright with the actual historical documents of his life. This is an unorthodox approach to get to the heart of the man and no doubt why Motion styles this book an 'experimental biography.' Given the fragmentary records that have been passed down, this is a bold way to reanimate an enigmatic man. Wainewright, it seems, thought very highly of himself (even though he was apparently a second-rate painter and writer), and by presenting both Wainewright's "voice" and the external facts of the case, a vivid psychological portrait emerges."

More very favourable reviews on Amazon.com.

Hardback 2000.

305 pages.

Very good condition.

The cost of shipping is $6.95.

There is of course no charge for shipping if you collect this book from my shop in Palmerston North following the auction.

Payment within seven days, please.