June 2021
The Raphael Affair
by Iain Pears
Moderators:
Susanna Perrucchini and Sarah Murdoch
Book available from:
Biblio, Amazon, Open Library, and Alibris
Back to Guide Collective Book Club
BOOK CLUB EVENTS
Recordings of these events will be available one week after their scheduled dates at the bottom of this page.
• INTRODUCTION: Monday, June 7, 2021 | 11am PT | 2pm ET | 8pm GMT +1
Susanna Perrucchini and Sarah Murdoch continue their cultural exploration of Italy via entertaining mystery books with Ian Pears’s The Raphael Affair. presents a live introduction to The Raphael Affair. Join Susanna and Sarah for a live introduction to the novel and be part of the conversation on the Guide Collective Facebook Page.
• DISCUSSION: Monday, June 28, 2021 | 11am PT | 2pm ET | 8pm GMT +1
GC Book Club Members will connect live with Susanna via a member-exclusive Zoom session. Members will be able to share their own insights from the reading, engage with one another, and ask about questions related to the book as well as to Italian art and history. Bring your book and feel free to enjoy your favorite snacks or drinks!
To become a new GCBC member and receive the Group Discussion Zoom link, please email GC at theguidecollective@gmail.com. Link will be sent via email by 9pm PT on Sunday, June 27, 2021.
Note: Existing members who are already on the GCBC mailing list will automatically receive an email with the link.
• Throughout the month, share your reading progress with GCBC in the comments below on our social channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Set in the Eternal City of Rome, The Raphael Affair is the first in a series of mystery novels by Ian Pears that intertwine art, history, literature, and local culture. Protagonist Jonathan Argyll, an English art scholar, is in search of a long-lost work of art by the incomparable Italian painter of the Renaissance, Raphael. After the work suddenly “resurfaces” in a small Roman church, a disturbing chain of events is triggered, including vandalism and murder. Along with Flavia di Stefano (an official with the Italian National Art Theft Squad), he tries to unravel the mystery of the painting and avoid losing his own life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Iain Pears is an English art historian, novelist and journalist. He was educated at Warwick School, Warwick, Wadham College and Wolfson College, Oxford. Before writing, he worked as a reporter for the BBC, Channel 4 (UK) and ZDF (Germany) and correspondent for Reuters from 1982 to 1990 in Italy, France, UK and US. In 1987 he became a Getty Fellow in the Arts and Humanities at Yale University. His well-known novel series features Jonathan Argyll, art historian, though international fame first arrived with his best selling book An Instance of the Fingerpost (1998), which was translated into several languages. Pears currently lives with his wife and children in Oxford.
