Historical Fiction's Finest: THE CONJUROR'S BIRD

THE CONJUROR’S BIRD
Martin Davies, Hodder & Stoughton, 2005, £12.99, hb, 309pp, 0340896167/ £10.99, pb, 0340896175
Pub. in the US as The Conjurer’s Bird, Shaye Areheart, 2006, $24.00, hb, 1400097339


Like A.S. Byatt’s novel Possession, Martin Davies’ The Conjuror’s Bird is a literary thriller. The book weaves together past and present in a spellbinding double narrative of contemporary conservationists and thwarted 18th century lovers. Fitz, once on the verge of breakthrough in the scientific world, is summoned by his ex-wife to track down the long lost Bird of Ulieta, which was sighted on Cook’s 1774 expedition to the South Seas. A single specimen of the bird was brought back to England. Then both the bird species and the specimen vanished.

Fitz immerses himself in the life of Sir Joseph Banks, famous 18th century naturalist and one-time owner of the bird specimen. Soon Fitz finds himself enchanted by the figure of Banks’ elusive mistress, who disappeared out of history without so much as leaving her name behind. It becomes clear that this woman is the key to finding out what happened to the specimen. Meanwhile the stakes are raised when Fitz’s ex-wife reveals the true and murky purpose behind the search. Fitz encounters fierce competition and fights foul play. In the end, he must become a conjuror and trickster to ward off unscrupulous competitors hot on the trail of the bird.

Davies’ writing is elegant and lyrical. He paints an arresting portrait of Banks’ shadowy mistress, a woman whose ambitions and yearnings place her centuries ahead of her time. A haunting story, highly recommended. --Mary Sharratt

This review appeared in the February 2006 issue of The Historical Novels Review.