The Glutton

'Exceptional' Telegraph 'Shocking, sensual and moving... Unfailingly original' The Times The 18th century is drawing to a close, and unrest grips France. Tarare has been born into a life of slender means, but when a sudden act of violence ignites in him a ferocious appetite, his extraordinary abilities to eat make him a marvel throughout the land. Travelling to Paris and beyond, through the heart of the Revolution, he journeys into a world of upheaval and depravity, in which the hunger of one peasant is matched only by the insatiable demands of the people of France. 'A baroque triumph... Unforgettable' Financial Times 'Incredibly impressive... As original as it is refreshing' Irish Times 'A tour de force of sustained, visceral brilliance' Mail on Sunday 'There are few writers who can be truly likened to Hilary Mantel, but Blakemore is one' Observer

'Exceptional' Telegraph 'Shocking, sensual and moving... Unfailingly original' The Times The 18th century is drawing to a close, and unrest grips France. Tarare has been born into a life of slender means, but when a sudden act of violence ignites in him a ferocious appetite, his extraordinary abilities to eat make him a marvel throughout the land. Travelling to Paris and beyond, through the heart of the Revolution, he journeys into a world of upheaval and depravity, in which the hunger of one peasant is matched only by the insatiable demands of the people of France. 'A baroque triumph... Unforgettable' Financial Times 'Incredibly impressive... As original as it is refreshing' Irish Times 'A tour de force of sustained, visceral brilliance' Mail on Sunday 'There are few writers who can be truly likened to Hilary Mantel, but Blakemore is one' Observer

One man with an insatiable hunger: a novel of desire and destruction in Revolutionary France, based on a true story, from the Desmond Elliott Prize-winning author of The Manningtree Witches. Sister Perpetue is not to move. She is not to fall asleep. She is to sit, keeping guard over the patient's room. She has heard the stories of his hunger, which defy belief: that he has eaten all manner of creatures and objects. A child even, if the rumours are to be believed. But it is hard to believe that this slender, frail man is the one they once called The Great Tarare, The Glutton of Lyon. Before, he was just Tarare. Well-meaning and hopelessly curious, born into a world of brawling and sweet cider, to a bereaved mother and a life of slender means. The 18th Century is drawing to a close, unrest grips the heart of France and life in the village is soon shaken. When a sudden act of violence sees Tarare cast out and left for dead, his ferocious appetite is ignited, and it's not long before his extraordinary abilities to eat make him a marvel throughout the land.

One man with an insatiable hunger: a novel of desire and destruction in Revolutionary France, based on a true story, from the Desmond Elliott Prize-winning author of The Manningtree Witches. Sister Perpetue is not to move. She is not to fall asleep. She is to sit, keeping guard over the patient's room. She has heard the stories of his hunger, which defy belief: that he has eaten all manner of creatures and objects. A child even, if the rumours are to be believed. But it is hard to believe that this slender, frail man is the one they once called The Great Tarare, The Glutton of Lyon. Before, he was just Tarare. Well-meaning and hopelessly curious, born into a world of brawling and sweet cider, to a bereaved mother and a life of slender means. The 18th Century is drawing to a close, unrest grips the heart of France and life in the village is soon shaken. When a sudden act of violence sees Tarare cast out and left for dead, his ferocious appetite is ignited, and it's not long before his extraordinary abilities to eat make him a marvel throughout the land.