Description
Book SynopsisThe Providential Origins of Maximiliano Rubin is a story of quiet grief, loud ambition and pragmatic compromise, whose ending is likely to surprise! Inspired by real events, this literary historical fiction novel explores the clash of art, science and religion in 1886 Madrid and comes from one of our best new historical fiction storytellers. Abandoned by his lover, savaged by the critics and hounded by the taxman, Spain's foremost realist writer Benito Galdos perches perilously on the window ledge of his third-floor apartment. Half a mile away, renowned alienist Luis Simarro prepares his attempt to replicate a ground-breaking experimental laboratory technique. In another corner of the city, Father Cayetano, an insane assassin priest, prepares for a showdown with the bishop. In a society scarred by three civil wars in fifty years, and where children are born bearing grudges, any distraction which prolongs the fragile peace is welcome. As the country looks on, the trio of Benito, Luis and Cayetano are ineluctably drawn together to contest the source of madness and the existence of free-will. As their lives and ambitions collide, Benito and Luis come to learn that Cayetano is both more and less than he seems.
Trade Review"A debut historical novel set in 19th-century Spain offers a trove of philosophical, social, and political clashes. ;On April, 18, 1886, Cayetano ... a defrocked priest, shot and killed the bishop of Madrid in front of hundreds of witnesses. The murderer and the crime are real, ... Will Cayetano live or die? Enter two protagonists, also (real) historical figures... Benito and Luis are former friends... Fortunes are ever shifting, mistrust abounds.. Luis a scientist... deftly portrayed. Benito a believer in free will ... becomes Battersby’s intuitive hero, holding humane values and puzzling things out... Battersby’s rich details ... transport readers to the turbulent era of his complex protagonists. ;This worthwhile read brings a little-known tragedy to vivid life." - KIRKUS REVIEWS
