The Great Swindle: Prize-winning historical fiction by a master of suspense

The vast sweep of the novel and its array of extraordinary secondary characters have attracted comparisons with the works of Balzac. Moving, angry, intelligent - and compulsive
A big, swirling tale that itself reads like a 19th-century novel ... thick with detail, immersing the reader in its elaborately bleak world
This book is thick with detail, immersing the reader in its elaborately bleak world ... an irresistible story
Exceptionally powerful examination of the aftermath of war and of the people whose lives were washed away in its wake
Lemaitre's novel is a rare synthesis of the tragic and the comic - a masterclass in nail-biting suspense ... Frank Wynne is a superb translator who captures the rude exuberance of the original French
Engrossing . . . one of the most pleasurable reading experiences of recent years
Lemaitre's deadpan ironic tone is beautifully caught by his regular translator Frank Wynne. A kind of Ealing comedy with a bruised but still beating heart, this is the most purely enjoyable book I've read this year
A fast-paced tale, filled with twists and turns, following a mischievous, disillusioned view of post-war France
A masterly epic of post-war France, where impostures triumph and capitalists grow rich from the ruins
You feel the author's indignation ... Who really profits from war? Crooks, the vengeful and frauds: The Great Swindle is political as much as it is picaresque