Author | Andrew Miller |
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Cover artist | Royston Knipe |
Language | English |
Genre | Historical novel |
Set in | Paris, 1786 |
Publisher | Sceptre |
Publication date | 9 June 2011 |
Publication place | England |
Media type | Print and audiobook |
Pages | 346 |
ISBN | 978-1-4447-2425-7 |
OCLC | 729332720 |
823.92 | |
LC Class | PR6063 .I3564 |
Preceded by | One Morning Like a Bird (2008) |
Pure is a 2011 novel by English author Andrew Miller. The book is the sixth novel by Miller and was released on 9 June 2011 in the United Kingdom through Sceptre, an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton. The novel is set in pre-revolutionary France and the upcoming turmoil is a consistent theme throughout. It follows an engineer named Jean-Baptiste Baratte and chronicles his efforts in clearing an overfilled graveyard that is polluting the surrounding area. Baratte makes friends and enemies as the cemetery is both loved and hated by the people of the district.
Miller was inspired to write about the Les Innocents Cemetery after reading historian Philippe Ariès's brief description of its clearing and imagining the theatrics that must have been involved. The novel received positive reviews, particularly noting the quality of the writing. The novel was awarded the Costa Book Award 2011 for "Best Novel" and "Book of the Year", and was nominated for the Walter Scott Prize and South Bank award.