Scan barcode
A review by saareman
The Travelling Companion by Ian Rankin
5.0
Slavering Stevenson - Bibliomysteries #29
Review of the Mysterious Press/Open Road eBook (March 22, 2016) of The Mysterious Press hardcover & paperback (2016).
The Travelling Companion gets a top rating from me in the Bibliomysteries series due to both the search for fictional early works by Robert Louis Stevenson and its main setting at one of the most iconic bookstores in the world: Shakespeare and Company in Paris, France.
A young Scot meets [a:George Whitman|1319806|George Whitman|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] in Paris and ends up working at the bookstore for his room and board. On an errand for Whitman he meets a bookseller who may have some rare early manuscripts of Stevenson which had been suppressed due to their scandalous nature. One of these is called The Travelling Companion and another is the first draft of the book later released as [b:Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|51496|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|Robert Louis Stevenson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1318116526l/51496._SY75_.jpg|3164921]. The manuscripts begin to have an uncanny effect on the young man.
It is hard to see on the cover of "The Travelling Companion", but the tiny illustration does appear to be based on the frontage of the Shakespeare and Company store. Image sourced from Wikipedia by Shadowgate from Novara, ITALY - Pantheon, CC BY 2.0, Link.
I enjoyed all the various aspects of The Travelling Companion and especially its bookstore setting which felt completely authentic based on all the various descriptions I have read from the various "tumbleweeds" who slept and worked there. You can read more about the store in the anthology collection [b:Shakespeare and Company, Paris: A History of the Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart|29937876|Shakespeare and Company, Paris A History of the Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart|Krista Halverson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463691010l/29937876._SX50_.jpg|50328542] (2016).
Trivia and Links
Ian Rankin (1960-) is a Scottish writer of hardboiled mystery & crime novels, especially those in the Inspector Rebus (1987-2024+ongoing?) series. His most popular novel is the first in the Rebus series [b:Knots and Crosses|634407|Knots and Crosses (Inspector Rebus, #1)|Ian Rankin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388781809l/634407._SY75_.jpg|3127921] (1987) (based on the number of ratings and reviews on Goodreads). He is considered the leading writer of the sub-genre called Tartan Noir due to his Scottish settings.
The Bibliomysteries series are short stories commissioned by Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Press to be written around the theme of deadly books. They are individually published in 100-copy limited edition signed hardcovers and then as paperbacks and ebooks. They are periodically collected in anthology editions such as [b:Bibliomysteries|32191848|Bibliomysteries|Otto Penzler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1478278696l/32191848._SY75_.jpg|56893092] (2013, containing stories 1-15) and [b:Bibliomysteries: Volume Two|36327114|Bibliomysteries Volume Two|Otto Penzler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1507842055l/36327114._SY75_.jpg|58003435] (2018, containing stories 16-30). There does not appear to be a Goodreads Listopia for them, but on Library Thing the current listing (as of mid-September 2024) includes 40 short stories.
Review of the Mysterious Press/Open Road eBook (March 22, 2016) of The Mysterious Press hardcover & paperback (2016).
The Travelling Companion gets a top rating from me in the Bibliomysteries series due to both the search for fictional early works by Robert Louis Stevenson and its main setting at one of the most iconic bookstores in the world: Shakespeare and Company in Paris, France.
A young Scot meets [a:George Whitman|1319806|George Whitman|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] in Paris and ends up working at the bookstore for his room and board. On an errand for Whitman he meets a bookseller who may have some rare early manuscripts of Stevenson which had been suppressed due to their scandalous nature. One of these is called The Travelling Companion and another is the first draft of the book later released as [b:Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|51496|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|Robert Louis Stevenson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1318116526l/51496._SY75_.jpg|3164921]. The manuscripts begin to have an uncanny effect on the young man.
It is hard to see on the cover of "The Travelling Companion", but the tiny illustration does appear to be based on the frontage of the Shakespeare and Company store. Image sourced from Wikipedia by Shadowgate from Novara, ITALY - Pantheon, CC BY 2.0, Link.
I enjoyed all the various aspects of The Travelling Companion and especially its bookstore setting which felt completely authentic based on all the various descriptions I have read from the various "tumbleweeds" who slept and worked there. You can read more about the store in the anthology collection [b:Shakespeare and Company, Paris: A History of the Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart|29937876|Shakespeare and Company, Paris A History of the Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart|Krista Halverson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463691010l/29937876._SX50_.jpg|50328542] (2016).
Trivia and Links
Ian Rankin (1960-) is a Scottish writer of hardboiled mystery & crime novels, especially those in the Inspector Rebus (1987-2024+ongoing?) series. His most popular novel is the first in the Rebus series [b:Knots and Crosses|634407|Knots and Crosses (Inspector Rebus, #1)|Ian Rankin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388781809l/634407._SY75_.jpg|3127921] (1987) (based on the number of ratings and reviews on Goodreads). He is considered the leading writer of the sub-genre called Tartan Noir due to his Scottish settings.
The Bibliomysteries series are short stories commissioned by Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Press to be written around the theme of deadly books. They are individually published in 100-copy limited edition signed hardcovers and then as paperbacks and ebooks. They are periodically collected in anthology editions such as [b:Bibliomysteries|32191848|Bibliomysteries|Otto Penzler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1478278696l/32191848._SY75_.jpg|56893092] (2013, containing stories 1-15) and [b:Bibliomysteries: Volume Two|36327114|Bibliomysteries Volume Two|Otto Penzler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1507842055l/36327114._SY75_.jpg|58003435] (2018, containing stories 16-30). There does not appear to be a Goodreads Listopia for them, but on Library Thing the current listing (as of mid-September 2024) includes 40 short stories.