Tampa, Florida, 1898: a frontier where the old world meets the new. Dominating the town is the new Tampa Bay Hotel, with its tangle of Moorish minarets, cupolas and arches; its Byzantine domes and thirteen crescent moons; its electric lighting designed by Edison. This fairy-tale castle anchored by the water's edge is a winter magnet for bankers and industrialists, stockbrokers and shipping merchants, attorneys and architects and celebrities who come from as far away as Europe.
But the hotel has one permanent resident, the enigmatic and exotic Monsieur Goulet III, amateur phrenologist and wig-maker to the plain and the glamorous alike – to any resident of Tampa whose desire for the transformations he creates is matched by pockets deep enough to meet his price.
As the winter of 1898 nears its end, Goulet becomes entranced by the spectacular silver-blonde hair of a beautiful young widow, Marion Unger, and determines that the transformation it inspires him to create will be his masterpiece. But the raw material he needs for its completion is hard to come by, and so he drives his resourceful night-scavenger – a teenage cigar-maker who has fled the war in Cuba – to increasingly extreme efforts.
As the fates of the widow, the wigmaker and the scavenger become ever more tightly entwined, Goulet's true nature, hitherto cleverly and obsessively disguised, begins to show itself, until it becomes clear that he will allow nothing to impede the progress of his ultimate transformation.
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Book Description Hardback. Condition: Good. The book has been read but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact and the cover is intact. Some minor wear to the spine. Seller Inventory # GOR008998734
Book Description Hardback. Condition: Fine. Seller Inventory # GOR013680728
Book Description Hardback. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. Near fine first edition. Book and dustwrapper as new. As an enthusiastic collector myself I make every effort to provide a high level of service. Enquiries welcomed. Paypal accepted. Seller Inventory # 008511
Book Description Cloth. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Uk 1st edition hardback in very good condition. Price unclipped, no inscriptions. Two small nicks on page 300 (see pics), otherise would be near fine. Seller Inventory # 000697
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. A new book from old stock. Seller Inventory # 072436
Book Description Soft cover. Condition: Good to Worn - Curled Edges. First Picador Edition. Seller Inventory # 053244
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: As new. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First UK edition-first printing. Mint condition.Picador,2005.First UK edition-first printing(1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2).Black hardback(gilt lettering to the spine) with Dj(some nicks,crease and scratch on the edges of the Dj cover),both in mint condition.The book is new with a small ink mark and nick on the outer edge of the pages,light shelf wear on the Dj cover.306pp.Price un-clipped. Seller Inventory # 2875
Book Description Hardback. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First UK Edition. Picador, London, 2005. First UK edition. Book condition: near fine and unread. Dust jacket: very good. Unclipped and with only the slightest edge wear. Set in Tampa, Florida in 1898. The enigmatic & exotic Monsieur Goulet III, phrenologist and wigmaker desires a new transformation. He becomes entranced by the spectacular silver-blonde hair of the beautiful young widow, Marion Unger, and determines that the transformation it inspires in him will be his masterpiece. But the raw material he needs is hard to come by and so he drives his resourceful night-scavenger - a teenage cigar maker who as fled the war in Cuba - to extreme efforts. Goulet will allow nothing to stand between him and his creation of the perfect transformation. Book. Seller Inventory # 1304120