The Snake-Oil Dickens Man

The Snake-Oil Dickens Man
Ross Gilfillan

A fast, witty and evocative first novel about the allure of the con man, the journey of a young man in search of his father, the loss of innocence and the works of Charles Dickens. Full of adventure, tricks, imagination and originality, The Snake-oil Dickens Man is the assured debut from an exciting writer.It is 1867 and Charles Dickens has arrived in Boston on his second reading tour of America. Meanwhile in Hayes, Missouri, Billy Talbot leaves town in search of his father after he has been told that he is the illegitimate son of the author of Great Expectations. Billy’s journey is rich with tricks, disguises and chance meetings that lead him to Hope Scattergood, a consumptive charlatan with his own interest in the great writer. Together Scattergood and Billy devise the ‘Dickens Lay’, a con that may lead Billy to a meeting with his father, the real Charles Dickens.The Snake-oil Dickens Man, tells a story that stretches from the clamour of Barnum’s circus rushing through the grassy plains of Missouri to the packed and riotous theatres of New York, and resonates with the writings of Charles Dickens. The Snake-oil Dickens Man is a funny and unforgettable tale of adventure, confidence tricks and the loss of innocence.

Copyright (#ulink_da865c19-2070-5daa-8113-723c05d4a8ba)

Fourth Estate

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First published in Great Britain in 1998

Copyright © Ross Gilfillan 1998

Ross Gilfillan asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9781857028140

Ebook Edition © MARCH 2016 ISBN: 9780007485062

Version: 2017-02-03

Praise (#ulink_dc9ce33f-3197-5a90-addc-aa07b3eb43da)

‘A quality romp set in the America of the late 1860s … Robustly written, and with plenty of Dickensian resonances, Gilfillan’s first novel is an ingenious and entertaining read.’ Mail on Sunday

‘Weaves a fascinating tale … The atmosphere of 1867 is brilliantly captured.’ Oxford Mail

‘Compulsive, quirky, beautifully constructed, a read that has you wondering why no one has ever tried it before.’ Birmingham Post

Dedication (#ulink_805b9b1b-8732-517c-845d-10a95334b85c)

To my wife Lisaand Fae, Tom and Alice

Contents

Cover (#ua0048e25-7dbd-5356-a18e-269ee5767efb)

Title Page (#u106c1945-2ba5-5f75-852c-3c557bcecac9)

Copyright (#ulink_64cd0497-a0a5-5933-9901-e292fa1cb840)

Praise (#ulink_b81fe947-55f9-54c3-bf6e-8ded5847d464)

Dedication (#ulink_9bf94969-62b4-5b2a-892c-d8a442dd7fb9)

Prologue (#ulink_0a7bd454-15aa-52d9-82dd-12e8876bbb36)

Chapter One (#ulink_1f3c53bd-d602-57fd-adeb-5e439f465beb)

Chapter Two (#ulink_21d7f03a-12da-5416-938c-5c5d54eb6777)

Chapter Three (#ulink_937cb39c-ab46-5e48-96a9-0203c6a69d8f)

Chapter Four (#ulink_df4f36dd-3657-5380-ade6-85496caf39d4)

Chapter Five (#ulink_697d4f09-2274-5558-a3ae-d8250bad1c1b)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Keep Reading (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)