An Instance of the Fingerpost

Why it’s on the list: A murder in Restoration Oxford told four times by four narrators, each of whom believes he has the whole story. Set in the world of the early Royal Society — Boyle, Locke, Wren circle around the plot — so the period’s argument about what counts as evidence is the novel’s actual subject.

Where I saw it: In the reply thread to @moseskagan’s question, “What historical fiction should I read next? (Bonus points for something involving building or trade, rather than violence)” (April 13, 2025) — a crowd-sourced list Kyle recovered by hand and saved to his Apple Note “Books To Read”; the full set of replies lives on What historical fiction should I… (tweet). It was listed there as “An Instance of the Fingerpost”.

Connections

• Republic of Letters — the early Royal Society milieu the novel is set inside.
• Isaac Newton — a contemporary of the natural philosophers who populate the book.
• Historical Fiction — the genre the thread was asking about.
• What historical fiction should I… (tweet) — the thread this recommendation came from.