Best of Fiction 2001, The Toronto Star The National Bestseller
“A complex, beautifully written novel…. His previous novel, A Scientific Romance, won the prestigious David Higham Award and was a New York Times notable book. Now, his latest title seems bound for the same critical acclaim.”
—Victoria Times-Colonist
“Richly imagined and crisply written…. Romantic but unsentimental, this is a beautifully constructed story with fascinating characters and authentic details that play off one another in surprising and often shocking ways. The thematic homage to Melville is punctuated with other literary illusions that enrich and deepen an already thoroughly engrossing tale of the South Pacific.”
—Publishers Weekly
“The book is rich with romance and adventure, but so laced with complexities and realism that it never strays toward the sentimental…. Wrights obsessive, passionate characters are intertwined completely through heartbreaking letters. These touching missives reveal surprises and confirm suspicions. They are the grand finale to an already unforgettable novel, meant to be read again and again in disbelief and understanding.”
—USA Today
“Sometimes a novel hooks you in its opening pages and doesn’t let go. Henderson’s Spear is that kind of tale…beautifully executed from start to finish.”
—Winnipeg Free Press
“A fast-paced tale of travel, adventure, family (and royal) secrets, infused with a moral vision reminiscent of Joseph Conrad.”
—The Toronto Star
“Wright’s prose is both strong and lyrical, full of vivid, frequently beautiful imagery…. An outstanding novel by any measure.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“A page-turning adventure tale that grabs the Victorian notion of an Imperial boys’ adventure story and turns it on its masculine axle.”
—The Globe and Mail
“Henderson’s Spear is an intriguing, warm-toned, well-written and spirited novel, a credit to its tradition.”
—Times Literary Supplement
“Combines history, adventure, romance, and mystery in one marvelous amalgam.… Very highly recommended.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“Henderson’s Spear serves history and fiction with equal aplomb, and they are blended as finely as one could wish. This is a thought-provoking and well-wrought novel whose characters and situations lodge in the mind.”
—Los Angeles Times
“Mysteries abound in this well-crafted, leisurely paced novel.… A thoroughly enjoyable tale of paternity, family secrets, adventure and human fallibility.”
—Seattle Times
“A grand family saga, played out over several centuries, continents, and oceans.… Well done indeed.”
—Kirkus Reviews