Front cover of The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable, paperback

The Instrumentalist : A spellbinding novel that will transport you to 18th-century Venice - Harriet Constable

Harriet Constable

£9.99
  • Pages · 336 pages
  • Publication Date · 17/07/2025
  • Genre · Fiction: special features
Collect in store Pick it up free from the shop in Oxford's Covered Market, usually quicker than the post.
Delivery Standard tracked £1.99, free on orders over £20. Express tracked £2.99.
Book Lovers' Happy Hour Three cocktails matched to your taste, three books chosen for you, an hour and a half at the bar. £60 per person. Book a place →

The Times top ten bestseller`As tightly tuned as a thriller' Telegraph`A marvel' Kiran Millwood Hargrave`Compelling, vividly described magic' Observer`Historical fiction as it should be written' Mail on Sunday`Remarkable' New York Times Anna Maria may have no name, no fortune, no family. But she has her ambition, and her talent. Her best hope lies in her teacher, Antonio Vivaldi. Soon she is his star pupil. But as Anna Maria's star rises, not everyone is happy. Because Anna Maria's shining light threatens to eclipse that of her mentor. The prodigy becomes the rival... She will leave her mark, whatever it takes. Her story will be heard. Shortlisted for the HWA Debut Crown Award`A compassionate coming-of-age tale . Constable understands the power music has to sustain us' Observer `Had me spellbound from start to finish' Emma Stonex `Constable infuses historical fact with richly wrought fictional details, to investigate admiration and resentment, ego and legacy' i paper `A whirlwind of all-consuming, dizzying ambition . Spectacularly imagined' Mail on Sunday `Vibrates with colour and passion . I was completely swept up' Elodie Harper `An immersive, impassioned tale full of colour and sound' Guardian

Only at Gulp Fiction

Book Lovers' Happy Hour

An hour and a half at the bar, with three cocktails matched to your taste and three books chosen for you. Tell us what you like when you book, and we'll have them waiting when you arrive.

  • 1½ hours
  • £60 per person
  • 3 cocktails, 3 books
Book Happy Hour

Up to four of you can come — book a place each and choose the same time slot, then tell us who you're with. For larger groups, email gulpfictionbooks@gmail.com and we'll arrange it.

Three customers at the window table in Gulp Fiction, cocktails in hand beside a stack of books, with Oxford's Covered Market visible through the glass

Collect in store

Order online and pick it up from the shop. It's free, and usually quicker than the post.

Find us

Units 28–29, Covered Market, Oxford OX1 3DU. Mon–Wed 10–5, Thu–Sat 10–10, Sun 11–4.

Book a table

The bar is open late Thursday to Saturday. Reserve a table for a drink among the books.