The Forger's Daughter: A Novel

Bradford Morrow

Sep 2020 · Grove Atlantic

About this ebook

The author of the acclaimed suspense novel The Forger returns to the dangerously rarified world of literary forgery in this tense sequel.

When a scream shatters the summer night outside their country house in the Hudson Valley, reformed literary forger Will and his wife Meghan find their daughter Maisie shaken and bloodied, holding a parcel her attacker demanded she present to her father. Inside is a literary rarity the likes of which few have ever handled, and a letter laying out impossible demands regarding its future.

After twenty years on the straight and narrow, Will finds himself ensnared in a plot to counterfeit the rarest book in American literature: Edgar Allan Poe’s Tamerlane, of which only a dozen copies are known to exist. Facing threats from his former nemesis Henry Slader, Will must rely on the artistic skills of his older daughter Nicole to help create a flawless forgery of this Holy Grail of American letters.

Part mystery, part case study of the shadowy side of the book trade, and part homage to the writer who invented the detective tale, The Forger’s Daughter draws readers into the diabolically clever—and, for some, inescapable—world of literary forgery.

Ratings and reviews

What a ride! If you enjoy Sherlock Holmes and intricate, convoluted puzzles, this is a novel for you. Will is a much-consulted bibliophile with extensive knowledge of the history of published 19th century American literature, a printer of classic letterpress work, and personal history as a long reformed forger of the same. His wife Meg is the owner of a renowned NYC book store specializing in rare books of that period and the impetus that keeps Will on the straight and narrow path, along with their two daughters, Nicole and Maisie. Nicole is 20-something, just about finished with college, and a talented artist and calligrapher taught at her Daddy's knee. Maisie, Will and Meg's adopted daughter and the child of Meg's deceased partner in the book shop, Mary Chandler, is just 11. Eleven months out of the year were spent in Manhatten. The family traditionally spend August at an old farmhouse they own in the Hudson Valley, and it is there that Will is approached by his old nemesis, Henry Stader, also a forger of manuscripts from back in their younger days, and blackmailed into duplicating a copy of Edgar Allen Poe's first self-published work, a 40-page tale titled Tamerlane, and a cover letter. Will is over twenty years out of practice as a forger of 19th-century works, though over those years he has taught and encouraged Nicole in the art of classic lettering, and due to an extensive hand injury twenty-something years ago - his right hand hatcheted, leaving only the thumb and part of the little finger by nemesis Slader - not as good as he was as a young man with calligraphic work, but his daughter Nicole is excellent - better even than he in his heyday - and she worms her way into helping with the forgery very much against her mother's wishes and at the heartfelt protest of her dad. Henry Slader holds an intense grudge against Will, as he did many years in jail for the attack on Will in Scotland. And he intimates knowledge and photos from back in his forging days that would have Will doing hard-time in New York and completely destroy Meg's business reputation. Then the bumps in the night begin, the little tells that someone has been in the house when they are gone, the missing photo from the family display, and Slader with inside-knowledge that he could only have obtained by spying on the family from the surrounding wooded acreage as they went about their lives. And then Meghan is a witness when a familiar-looking dead man is dumped on a dead-end road. Does she recognize him as the ginger-haired driver who brought Harry Slader to the farmhouse the first time? Who can you turn to when your life is as at stake, as is your freedom and reputation? How do you keep your children safe in their beds at night? I received a free electronic copy of the ARC of this novel from Netgalley, Bradford Morrow, and Grove Atlantic- Mysterious Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.

About the author

Bradford Morrow is the author of eight previous novels, including The Forgers, The Diviner’s Tale, and most recently, The Prague Sonata, as well as a short-story collection, The Uninnocent. He is the founding editor of Conjunctions and has contributed to many anthologies and journals. A professor of literature and Bard Center Fellow at Bard College, he lives in New York City.