{"product_id":"9781640070431","title":"Drowned Hogg Day","description":"\u003cp\u003e“I have fifty days to live. I don’t mean \u003cem\u003eroughly\u003c\/em\u003e fifty days. I mean \u003cem\u003eexactly\u003c\/em\u003e. My life ends on 30\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e December 2016.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese are the opening lines of \u003cem\u003eDrowned Hogg Day\u003c\/em\u003e. Narrator, Alex Hogg, must come to terms not only with the wreckage of his life but the certainty of his imminent drowning. Part-comedy, part-history, part-thriller, \u003cem\u003eDrowned Hogg Day\u003c\/em\u003e charts the last fifty days of Alex’s life as he discovers a series of extraordinary historical parallels to his situation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlex finds that his predicament mirrors that of two of his predecessors at University College, Oxford. One is Thomas Jefferson Hogg, sent down by the college authorities along with his close friend, Percy Bysshe Shelley. The second is Prince Felix Yusupov, the ringleader of the plot to murder Rasputin in the Moika Palace, St Petersburg. Alex discovers that the assassination of Rasputin took place on 30\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e December 1916 while Shelley married Mary Godwin, the author of \u003cem\u003eFrankenstein,\u003c\/em\u003e on 30\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e December 1816. Spooky coincidence, or the key to understanding and avoiding his own fate?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese three parallel stories are linked in innumerable ways – drownings, Madeira, car crashes, unequal male friendships, etc. Alex finds himself playing golf with Bill Clinton, masquerading as Bill Wyman and almost murdering his boss in the college Development Office, as the plot careers through a series of comic catastrophes. One surprise follows another and suspense is maintained right through to the shocking dénouement – will Alex live or die?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDrowned Hogg Day\u003c\/em\u003e is intended for publication in November\/December 2016, first as a series of blogs and then in book form. Interest in the novel will be stimulated by accompanying historical articles about these two notable centenaries, performances\/recordings of two plays based on the events of 30\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e December 1816\/1916, a cryptic crossword to appear in the \u003cem\u003eGuardian\u003c\/em\u003e or the \u003cem\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/em\u003e on 30\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e December, and so on.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNick Smith is a former Oxford academic and author of \u003cem\u003eBridge Literature, Bridge Behind Bars\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eSuspense in the English Novel\u003c\/em\u003e, as well as a number of plays and historical articles. Nick, the founder and Principal of Oxford Open Learning, appeared on \u003cem\u003eMastermind\u003c\/em\u003e in 2012, answering questions on the Life and Works of Thomas Jefferson Hogg. This is his first novel.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oxford Open Learning","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47136515424496,"sku":"9781640070431","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781640070431_p0.jpg?v=1763684684","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781640070431","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}