'Elegantly written, clever and immensely charming.' - Literary Review.
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 world is turned upside down when he stumbles across a crate of family papers. To his horror, Edward discovers that nine previous generations of his family have come to sticky ends because of their noses.
When he investigates further, Edward finds himself caught up in a Byzantine riddle to which there is no obvious answer.
Like his 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.
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Reviews
'Don't read this book: it will only make you fat. Giles Milton's descriptions of cheese in Edward Trencom's Nose are so tempting and so unrelenting that by the end of the book you'll be eating époisses for breakfast and snacking throughout the day on double gloucester.
'If you must read it, stock up on plenty of crackers . . . Readers will perhaps be familiar with Milton's work as a historian - he is the author of a number of entertaining history books, most notably Nathaniel's Nutmeg(1999), his bestselling book about the 18th-century spice wars. Edward Trencom's Nose is his first novel and, perhaps not surprisingly, it's a historian's novel, the plot consisting largely of numerous episodes and detours into Trencom and Byzantine history . . . 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.' Ian Sansom, The Guardian.
'Edward Trencom's Nose is a perfect example of eccentric English wit . . . this elegantly written novel is clever and immensely charming. Milton has written several works of history . . . [and] Edward Trencom's Nosebenefits from its author's sound historical knowledge. A great tale of unlikely heroism, fortitude and fromage.' Simon Baker, The Literary Review.
'An incredible adventure...it is a story which stretches the imagination...rich, rather English and completely nutty' The Daily Express.