The Bedlam Stacks

By: Natasha Pulley

Narrated by: David Thorpe

An astonishing historical novel set in the shadowy, magical forests of South America, which draws on the captivating world of the international best seller The Watchmaker of Filigree Street.

Deep in uncharted Peru, the holy town of Bedlam stands at the edge of a forest. The shrine statues move, and anyone who crosses the border dies. But somewhere inside are cinchona trees, whose bark yields quinine: the only known treatment for malaria.

On the other side of the Pacific, it is 1859, and India is ravaged by the disease. The hunt for a reliable source of quinine is critical, and in its desperation the India Office searches out its last qualified expeditionary. Struggling with a terrible injury from his last mission and the strange occurrences at his family's ruined estate, Merrick Tremayne finds himself under orders to bring back cinchona cuttings at any cost and dispatched, against his own better judgment, to Bedlam.

There he meets Raphael, a priest around whom the villagers spin unsettlingly familiar stories of impossible disappearances and living stone. Gradually Tremayne realises that Raphael is the key to a legacy left by two generations of Tremayne explorers before him, one which will prove more dangerous and valuable than the India Office could ever have imagined.

©2017 Natasha Pulley (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

Critic reviews

"Assured and absorbing...immensely pleasurable reading. Pulley's prose is strong and energetic, with a wry edge, and even the most minor characters are drawn precisely.... Intricate, charming and altogether surprising." (The New York Times book review on The Watchmaker of Filigree Street)

Wild and interesting story

So glad to have found this book and author. The narrator was also pleasing to listen to.

delightful book

looking forward to the third book. many delightful surprises. Natasha Pulleys story's are like nothing I've ever read before.

Great Book. Amazing Narrator.

I was in love with this book from start to finish. I don't think they could have picked a more perfect narrator either. He did a splendid job bringing the characters to life.

Fantastic air of suspense, can drag at times.

I loved this book the second I picked it up. I read it at the library before I bought it as the audio book. I felt like it dragged at times and really held on to it's mysteries until the very end or close to the very end. Which would be fine, if the book wasn't so long. I loved how it kept me wondering about what the mystery was or if there was magic in Peru. In general, I loved this book. But if you do not like characters that take forever to catch a breath while talking about a single subject, this probably is not for you.

Pulley has pulled me in again

Once again, Natasha Pulley has gently pulled me into her lovely magical world and I want to stay there. Once again, her gentle love story has left my heart both full and a little tender from the squeezing. The history is fascinating, the magic is intoxicating and yes, I’ve fallen in love with at least two fictional men yet again.
The narrator brings such a wonderfully sweet charm to Merrik’s voice. He narrates passages that can be confusing whist reading if you’re not paying close attention, with perfect clarity. His Raphael, jarring at first, ends up being lovely, as you get to know him. Accents are on point and never veer into caricatures or stereotypes.
Any time in Natasha Pulley’s worlds is well spent, and Bedlam Stacks is no exception.