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See also www.flaviadeluce.com
384 pages hardcover
RIGHTS SOLDUS: Delacorte Press, Mar 2010
Canada: Doubleday Mar 2010
UK: Orion, Apr 2010
Portugal: Planeta Manuscrito
Italy: Mondadori
Israel: Matar
Germany: Blanvalet
Spain: Planeta
France: Lattes
Korea: Munkakdogne
Poland: Vesper
Brazil: Saraiva
Japan: Tokyo Sogensha
Catalan: Columna
Holland: Luitingh-Sijthoff
Mainland China: Hongwenguan
Denmark: Forlaget Punktum
Croatia: Naklada Ljevak
Taiwan: Azoth
Large print (UK/Commonwealth excl. Canada): Magna Large Print Books
(Photo: Jeff Bassett)
B.C. resident Alan Bradley has published many children's stories as well as lifestyle and arts columns in Canadian newspapers. His adult stories have been broadcast on CBC radio and published in various literary journals. He has also written several screenplays and taught university-level courses in screenwriting. He won the first Saskatchewan Writers Guild Award for Children's Literature for Meet Miss Mullen. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag is the second instalment in the Flavia de Luce series, following highly-acclaimed The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Alan has also published the memoir The Shoebox Bible.
by Alan Bradley
THE SECOND INSTALMENT OF THE FLAVIA DE LUCE MYSTERY SERIES
- A People magazine Pick of the Week
- Alan Bradley guest edits The Afterword literary blog at the National Post
- Beautiful pieces on YouTube - German - Italian
“Bradley is a writer of great charm and insight, and he infuses even minor characters with indelible personality. … Flavia de Luce is a marvel and a delight.” — ALFRED HITCHCOCK MAGAZINE
“[A] delight from the inimitable Alan Bradley.” — BOOKPAGE
“Bradley’s endlessly entertaining follow-up to 2009’s The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie finds precocious 11-year-old Flavia de Luce once again indulging her curiosity about corpses. Wandering near her threadbare ancestral home in early 1950s England, Flavia bumps into famed TV puppeteer Rupert Porson and his pregnant wife, who have been marooned by an ailing van. While they wait for repairs to be completed, they agree to put on a performance for the village of Bishop’s Lacey—but Rupert’s sudden death ends the show. Feigning an innocence entirely at odds with her shrewdness about adult doings, Flavia uses her skills in chemistry and questioning to puzzle out which of the many possible suspects murdered Rupert and why. The author deftly evokes the period, but Flavia’s sparkling narration is the mystery’s chief delight. Comic and irreverent, this entry is sure to build further momentum for the series.” — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“There’s not a reader alive who wouldn’t want to watch Flavia in her lab concocting some nefarious brew.” — KIRKUS REVIEWS
Flavia de Luce didn't intend to investigate another murder — but, then again, Rupert Porson didn't intend to die. When the master puppeteer's van breaks down in Bishop's Lacey, he puts on a show with his loyal assistant, the disarmingly charming Nialla, prone
(by Flavia's estimation) to strange bruises and long, solitary cries in graveyards. While Nialla plays Mother Goose, Rupert's goose gets cooked, the victim of an electrocution that is too perfectly planned to be an accident.
Putting down her sister-punishing chemistry experiments and picking up her bicycle, Gladys, Flavia uncovers long buried secrets of Bishop's Lacey, a seemingly idyllic town that nevertheless has a mad woman living in its woods, a prisoner-of-war with a soft spot for the English countryside, and two childless parents with a devastating secret. It'spossible Rupert Porson's van didn't break down so accidentally in this charming hamlet. It's possible the police won't be able to solve his murder most ingenious. It's possible that his killer may help guide Flavia in wayover her eleven-year-old head, and to a startling discovery that reveals the chemical composition of vengeance.
PRAISE FOR THE WEED THAT STRINGS THE HANGMAN’S BAG
“… the real delight here is [Flavia’s] droll voice and the eccentric cast … utterly beguiling.” — PEOPLE
“It's the evocation of her world that provides these books with such solid underpinnings. There are some memorable narrative setpieces … but at times, the crimes seem a mere makeweight: the characters and sense of place are what count.” — THE DAILY NEWS (NANAIMO)
Praise for the first volume, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
“[T]he sleuthing skills of Flavia both amaze and amuse. ... But make no mistake, Flavia is no Nancy Drew - here is a preteen captivated by mystery with a rakish mind to go with it. Subtle humor abounds - the kind that kids who know they're really smarter than the grown-ups will thrive on. And the writing is better than J.K. Rowling's.” — THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
“You won't meet many characters as intriguing as Flavia de Luce, the heroine of this debut mystery set in post-World War II England. [...] She is a wonderful mixture of brains (her hobby is chemistry, with a particular interest in poisons), wit and the desire for revenge.” — SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
“This utterly unique sleuth is a welcome addition to the genre .” — THE BOSTON GLOBE
“A quirky, delightful whodunit.” — PEOPLE MAGAZINE
“If ever there were a sleuth who's bold, brilliant, and, yes, adorable, it's Flavia de Luce, the precocious 11-year-old at the center of this scrumptious first novel. … Her sisters, Ophelia and Daphne, and the loyal family retainer, Dogger, are among the book's retinue of outstanding characters.” — USA TODAY
“Impressive as a sleuth and enchanting as a mad scientist, Flavia is most endearing as a little girl who has learned how to amuse herself in a big lonely house.” — THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
“It's a rare pleasure to follow Flavia as she investigates her limited but boundless-feeling world. And it's nice to know she'll be back.” — ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
“[P]recocious Flavia is unique. Winner of the Debut Dagger Award, this is a fresh, engaging first novel with appeal for cozy lovers and well beyond.” — LIBRARY JOURNAL
“Canadian Alan Bradley’s first full-length crime novel is delightful. … Expect more from the talented Bradley.” — BOOKLIST, starred review
“Brilliant, irresistible and incorrigible, Flavia has a long future ahead of her. Bradley's mystery debut is a standout.” — KIRKUS, starred review
“A rollicking debut…. enormous fun for the reader.” — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
COMING SOON
Book 3: A Red Herring without Mustard
Camped in her horse-drawn caravan at Buckshaw, a young Gypsy woman is charged with the abduction – and then the murder – of a local child, and Flavia must draw upon her encyclopaedic knowledge of poisons – and Gypsy lore – to prevent a grave miscarriage of justice.
RIGHTS SOLD
US: Bantam Books, 2011
N. America English-language audio: Random House Audio (US)
UK: Orion Books, 2011
Canada: Doubleday, 2011
Italy: Mondadori, 2011
Germany: Blanvalet (Random House), summer 2011
Spain: Editorial Planeta
France: Editions JC Lattès
Korea: Munhakdongne Publishing
Brazil: Editora Saraiva
Mainland Chinese (simplified characters): Beijing Hongwenguan Publishing & Planning Co. Ltd.
Polish language: Vesper