Edward Trencom's Nose: Summary and book reviews of Edward Trencom's Nose by Giles Milton, plus links to an excerpt from Edward Trencom's Nose and a biography of Giles Milton.
Edward Trencom's Nose A Novel of History, Dark Intrigue, and Cheese
by Giles Milton
Hardcover: Apr 2007,
320 pages.
Paperback: Jun 2008,
320 pages.
Situated on London’s Foster Lane, there is a quintessentially Georgian, redbrick house with a green door bearing the sign TRENCOMS, 1662. It’s the home of the Trencom family’s cheese store, a generational establishment begun by Humphrey Trencom that now, 303 years later, is run by Edward Trencom. Quaint though it may seem, it bears witness to a strange occurrence of “accidents” that seem to befall every generation of the curd-loving family.…
Edward Trencom has bumbled through life, relying on his trusty nose to turn the family cheese shop into the most celebrated fromagerie in England. This was no ordinary nose, but one long, aquiline, and furnishing the trademark circular bump over the bridge---the very same nose bestowed on all the Trencom men. It was extraordinary, able to discern the composition, maturity, and quality of cheese---and the Trencom noses had sniffed, whiffed, and judged the very best cheeses of the world.
But on an ordinary day, Edward’s world is turned upside down when he stumbles across a crate of family papers. To his horror, he discovers that nine previous generations of his family have come to sticky ends because of their noses. When he investigates---despite his grandfather’s caveat never to look into the origin of his nose---Edward finds himself caught up in a Byzantine riddle to which there is no obvious answer. And like his ill-fated ancestors, he is hunted down by rival forces whose identity and purpose remain a total mystery.
Trapped between the mad, the bad, and a cheese to die for, Edward Trencom’s nose must make a choice---and for the last nine generations it has made the catastrophically wrong decision.
Giles Milton’s deliciously comic debut novel is a mouthwatering blend of Tom Sharpe and P. G. Wodehouse. From the noble Roquefort to the piquant Èpoisses, every page is permeated by the pungent odor of cheese.
Giles Milton marks his fiction debut with an olfactory shaggy dog story that meanders happily through three hundred years of history and ten generations of Trencom males, who are linked by an uncommonly distinguished and sensitive nose, a love of cheese, and a habit of dying early from unnatural causes. (Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Popmatters
[A] highly entertaining novel that follows in a long tradition of other highly entertaining but largely inconsequential books about British eccentrics who get themselves in rather a muddle and somehow make it through. P.G. Wodehouse made a long a career out of just such books. Milton's own contribution to the recipe is his passion for historical oddities. This addition still doesn’t turn Edward Trencom's Nose into an enduring work of literature, but it does make it worth reading in addition to all the others.
Publishers Weekly
The international intrigue is a little thin, but Milton's amusing depiction of the world of cheese fanciers and their quirky personalities should delight even those who aren't fond of dairy products.
The Daily Telegraph (UK) - Elena Seymenliyska
But while Milton's fiction debut shares the light touch of his popular histories (Nathaniel's Nutmeg; White Gold), he is better at telling stories than making things up. Edward is a charming chap in the Bertie Wooster mold, whose company is distinctly moreish.
Yet away from the fug of his burping Stiltons and farting Roqueforts, he is a phlegmatic sleuth in a Byzantine plot with not enough bite.
The Guardian (UK) - Ian Sansom
Comic novels are difficult to write: any old halfwit can produce 400 pages of stinking high seriousness, but it takes a real wit to manage 400 pages of mild, fragrant good humour. Edward Trencom's Nose is a whimsical wheel of a book: creamy, light, powdery, with a nice bloomy rind; recommended with a sauvignon blanc.
LoveReading
The pungent odour of cheese will waft off the page in what for me is the debut novel of the year so far. [A] deliciously written comic novel that brings together three quite disparate ingredients – history, cheese and mystery.
Le Soir (Belgium)
A first novel with an unexpected theme and packed with adventure. It is erudite and funny - the more so if you happen to be a fan of toulomotyri, or any other sort of cheese.
Le Figaro Magazine (France)
Milton's novel is testimony to the excellent health of British literature .. a formidable achievement.
Le Figaro Litteraire (France) Edward Trencom's Nose is a hymn to the glory of cheese .... Told through a series of flash-backs ... it's told with a lightness that is guaranteed to avoid indigestion.
Le Temps (Switzerland)
In his first novel, Milton demonstrates his well mastered skill for intrigue, suspense and adventure - all overlaid with British humor of the best sort ... [He] deploys a veritable treasury of erudition and narrative suspense.
Cheese can be made from the the
milk of any mammal capable of
being milked. Simply put, cheese
making is the process of
removing water from milk. The
simplest method is to add an
acid such as lemon juice or
vinegar directly to the milk; an
alternative method uses bacteria
to create an acid in the milk;
the bacteria also provides
flavor and character to the
finished product. The acid
causes the milk protein to
separate into curds (milk
protein solids) and whey
(liquid). The enzyme rennet (or
a rennet substitute) is then
added to coagulate the curds.
Rennet is extracted from the
membranes of calves' stomachs;
rennet substitutes can be
produced from various fungi and
bacteria....
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(1277 words).
The Daily Telegraph (UK) - Elena Seymenliyska
The Guardian (UK) - Ian Sansom
