Ghosts was published by Secker & Warburg in 1993. Freddie Montgomery — released from prison after serving his sentence for the murder described in The Book of Evidence — is living on an unnamed island, working as an assistant to Professor Kreutznaer, an art historian cataloguing the collection of an elderly recluse. One day a boatload of strangers lands on the island after their vessel runs aground, and their presence forces Freddie to confront both his past and the question of whether he can rejoin the world of the living.
The novel is more elliptical than its predecessor: where The Book of Evidence had the clear structure of a confession, Ghosts is dreamlike, uncertain, hovering between reality and hallucination. The “ghosts” of the title are multiple: Freddie is haunted by his victim; the strangers on the island may be real or imaginary; and the paintings Freddie catalogues are themselves ghosts — images of a vanished world preserved in pigment and canvas.
Banville’s prose reaches new heights of refinement: sentences that seem to dissolve as they are read, descriptions that make the visible world shimmer with uncertainty. The novel asks whether a murderer can return to the world of ordinary human connection — whether guilt permits rehabilitation or condemns the guilty to permanent exile among ghosts.
Collecting Ghosts
First edition (Secker & Warburg, London, 1993): Cloth with dust jacket.
Market values:
- UK first edition, fine/fine: $40–$100
- Very good: $15–$40
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate appreciation. Second in the Frames trilogy.
After the Crime
Ghosts (1993) continues the story of Freddie Montgomery from The Book of Evidence. Released from prison, Freddie has retreated to a small island off the Irish coast, where he assists a reclusive art historian. When a group of tourists are stranded on the island after a boating accident, Freddie observes them with the detached aestheticism that characterized his confession. The novel is more abstract and meditative than its predecessor — less a plot-driven narrative than a sustained meditation on perception, art, and the impossibility of making amends for irreversible harm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to read The Book of Evidence first? It helps significantly. Ghosts depends on knowledge of Freddie’s crime and his peculiar moral sensibility. The trilogy (The Book of Evidence, Ghosts, Athena) is best read in sequence.