Summary of Hawksmoor
“Hawksmoor” weaves together two hauntingly parallel stories. In the early 18th century, architect Nicholas Dyer is commissioned to build seven churches in London’s East End. But Dyer is no ordinary architect: he is a secret Satanist who incorporates human sacrifice into the foundations of his buildings. Centuries later, in the 1980s, detective Nicholas Hawksmoor investigates a series of murders that have taken place in and around these very same churches.
Reasons to read Hawksmoor
More than a historical murder detective, “Hawksmoor” is a dark novel of ideas — an intellectual puzzle blending history, mystery, and philosophical reflection. The book won two major literary awards in 1985: the Whitbread Novel Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize. Ackroyd draws heavily on real history: six of the seven churches in the novel were genuinely designed by the historical architect Nicholas Hawksmoor: Christ Church, Spitalfields; St George’s, Bloomsbury; St Mary Woolnoth; St George-in-the-East; St Anne’s, Limehouse; and St Alfege, Greenwich. Only Little St Hugh is fictional. While the real Hawksmoor was indeed a Freemason, there is, of course, no evidence that he worshipped the devil or committed murder. Peter Ackroyd is a renowned British author. Other notable works by Ackroyd include his novels “The Great Fire of London” and “Chatterton”, and his non-fiction masterpiece “London: The Biography”.
Setting: London (England, UK)
Original title: Hawksmoor
Year of publication: 1985
Nr of pages: 224
