The Name of the Rose

About this book

ONE OF TIME MAGAZINES 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME A spectacular best seller and now a classic The Name of the Rose catapulted Umberto Eco an Italian professor of semiotics turned novelist to international prominence. An erudite murder mystery set in a fourteenth-century monastery it is not only a gripping story but also a brilliant exploration of medieval philosophy history theology and logic. In 1327 Brother William of Baskerville is sent to investigate a wealthy Italian abbey whose monks are suspected of heresy. When his mission is overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths patterned on the book of Revelation Brother William turns detective following the trail of a conspiracy that brings him face-to-face with the abbeys labyrinthine secrets the subversive effects of laughter and the medieval Inquisition. Caught in a power struggle between the emperor he serves and the pope who rules the Church Brother William comes to see that what is at stake is larger than any mere political disputethat his investigation is being blocked by those who fear imagination curiosity and the power of ideas. The Name of the Rose offers the reader not only an ingeniously constructed mysterycomplete with secret symbols and coded manuscriptsbut also an unparalleled portrait of the medieval world on the brink of profound transformation.