Cox or The Course Of Time

The famous English clockmaker Alister Cox is invited by the Emperor of China Qiánlóng to his court to build a series of clocks that can measure the passing of time in happiness, grief and on the brink of death. In the Forbidden City, surrounded by luxury and ceremonial magnificence, Cox and his three companions create the most incredible automata from iron, mercury and sand, beset with jewels. Grieving for his own daughter, Cox dedicates his creations to her, seeking solace in their beauty.
But the court is also dominated by fear of violating one of its many rules under pain of death. When Qiánlóng, also known as “Lord of Time”, asks Cox to invent a clock that will represent eternity itself, Cox knows it’s an impossible task: he can neither put himself above the Emperor by finishing his creation nor fail in his attempt to fulfil his master’s wishes. Determined to find a way out, he sets to work on his final masterpiece.

In his characteristic beautiful writing, Christoph Ransmayr describes life in the shadow of one of the most powerful men in history, conjuring up stunning images and details of times and places long lost.