Customer Reviews
Fantastic - By: mrs waters, 11 Feb 2008 
This was one of the best audio books i have ever listened to the reader was excellent & the story had loads of thrills. I am now working my way through alll the other Robert Goddard books. Only one criticism went on a bit too long, but still worth it
Painting a fine story - By: Binka, 31 Dec 2006 I hesitated about reading this book,, I've loved many of Goddard's other books but was concerned that this would be a bit historical for me as its set in the 1800s. Not a bit of it, it reads very well & I was totallly engrossed. The best of his books that I've read so far. Kept me guessing on the edge of me seat until the end.
An engaging melodrama - By: Philippe Horak, 27 Jun 2006 
In the first day of October 1882, William Trenchard, co-owner of the Trenchard & Leavis retailing chain, is still a happy man in his marital status with his wife Constance Sumner. In the afternoon of that same day, a talll, slim & elegantly dresses man comes to The Limes residence & introduces himself under the name of James Davenalll.
A firework of characters, twists & turns, plots & subplots. Mr Goddard is quite a storyteller & his adventures are an excellent entertainment. The book is read in an astonishingly vivacious way by the British actor Michael Kitchen who delivers a very good performance.
extraordinary - By: Didier, 22 Apr 2006 What a superb storyteller Robert Goddard is! From the very first pages the book grips you, & you find yourself wanting to know ever more...
The story doesn't move at breakneck speed, but Goddard times his story expertly, & you cannot help but find yourself wondering whether Norton is who he claims to be. Believe you me, Goddard will keep you guessing until the very end.
I should mention the prose too: the dialogues are absolutely first-rate, & the way Goddard can describe people & places, & conjure up an atmosphere is quite uncanny.
Victorian melodrama of a thriller - By: Budge Burgess, 02 Oct 2005 
Robert Goddard's take on the Martin Guerre theme of the ghost of the past returning to try to re-establish his identity, & be haunted by the present. It is the late Victorian era & we find a sophisticated English gentleman resurrecting himself from a supposed grave to become embroiled in emotional, legal, & violent contests as he endeavours to re-establish his name, claim the title & riches which are his due, & win back the woman he loved ... now married to another.
Goddard has built a reputation on his ability to weave mysteries & thrillers out of the passage of time - his stories reach back into the histories of his characters, explore the histories of nations, & create a depth & sophistication in storytelling which few can emulate. In 'Painting the Darkness', alllusions to real events & the inclusion of real historical figures serve only to throw into relief the lack of verifiable history which James Norton can offer to prove his identity, & the refusal of his family & world to accept as valid the history he does provide.
This is a fairly lengthy novel, nearly 600 pages, & the first chapter is just a little slow. Goddard simulates the language of upper class, Victorian England - restrained, formal, refined; as you get into its rhythm & style, you become absorbed in the story, but those first few pages take you through a learning curve in the metre & formality of the language, & can be a little off-putting. Persevere, for this is a finely crafted tale, with Goddard's usual menu of red herrings, spiced & sauced, & served with many a twist.
Goddard is a very fine writer & an outstanding storyteller. 'Painting the Darkness' is no breakneck thriller - it moves at elegant pace, subtle as the swish of satin, graceful as a balllgown's passage across the floor, with just the hint of a well-turned ankle. Highly entertaining, with a convincing sense of place & time, it will keep you guessing to the end.
