Skip to content
BookSummaries
Sign In
Pax By John Harvey
Education & Languages
Reading GuideSummary & Analysis
English

Pax By John Harvey

By
4.6 (183)
67 views
Status: Free Access Reading Guide
Read the guide and summary Buy Paperback Book
Detailed Guide & Analysis
Educational Reading Guide
Accessible on All Devices

Book Details & References

Language English
Publisher Holland House Books

Reading Guide & Summary

Pax By John Harvey Read

Pax By John Harvey
Pax By John Harvey
(In Pax ) as a postgraduate student more than three decades ago I had reason to be grateful to Dr. Harvey for his Victorian Novelists and their Illustrators, and I am grateful to him now for Pax for quite different reasons. Harvey’s profound understanding of the physical processes in the making of art enriches this, his fifth novel. Peter Paul Rubens comes to London in 1629 on a diplomatic mission from the Spanish Netherlands to Charles I’s court. This is a dual-period narrative in which the boundaries are increasingly blurred, but convincingly so. The artist Stephen Bloodsmith is producing a series of engravings recalling the events of Rubens’ London stay while worrying how much longer he is going to be able to defend his teaching job from cuts. His favored model has long been his wife, described physically in more or less Rubenesque language. He suspects her of betraying him at the same time as he is falling in love with a new model, the equivalent of Rubens’s mysterious Indian Maid, while Rubens is tormented by suspicion of his dead wife and his pupil Antony Van Dyck, and by his conviction that his mission is being spied upon on the orders of Cardinal Richelieu. The themes of love in this , lust, adultery, and 17th-century bawdiness that run through the narrative are signaled in the vivid aperture in Rubens’s painting Allegory of Peace and War which is the basis of the cover design. The “modern” strand of the story is not quite contemporary with today. Nobody has mobile phones, for instance, and how much more complicated cheating is without them! Even if I wasn’t convinced by the adjective “good-mood”, or by the verb “[to] suave”, Pax is beautifully written, in language as vivid as the paintings described – and is a gripping read.

Editorial Note & Copyright: This page offers a reading guide, summary, and educational critical analysis. Our editorial team supports authors and publishers and does not distribute copyrighted files without authorization. To support the author, please consider purchasing the book from your local bookstore or official retailers.

About the Author

John Harvey

Explore all books by John Harvey →

Frequently Asked Questions & Reading Guide

Everything you need to know about this reading guide and literary analysis.

What does this reading guide on « Pax By John Harvey » contain?

This reading guide offers a comprehensive summary, character analysis, key themes, and literary context for John Harvey to assist in your literary understanding.

How to purchase the complete book?

Our editorial team respects copyright and encourages purchasing official editions. You can buy the paperback or hardcover book from your local bookstore or via the official links on this page.

Can I read these reading guides on mobile and tablet?

Yes, all of our guides, summaries, and literary analyses are fully optimized for comfortable reading on desktop, smartphone, and tablet.

Who are these literary summaries intended for?

Our reading guides are intended for students, teachers, and literature enthusiasts looking to deepen their cultural knowledge or prepare for exams.

Join Our Telegram Community

Get the latest books, novels, and daily updates directly on your device. Never miss a new release!

Join Telegram Channel

You May Also Like

More curated books in similar genres