An Instance of the Fingerport is a 1997 novel by Iain Pears.

Synopsis

A murder in 17. century Oxford is related from the contradictory point of views of four of the characters (all of them unreliable narrators). In literature, a point of view is the related experience of the narrator - not that of the author. ... In literature and film, an unreliable narrator is a first-person narrator, the credibility of whose point of view is seriously compromised, possibly by psychological instability or powerful bias. ...

The setting of the novel is just after the English Civil War, when the king's authority is not yet settled, and conspirations abound.

Another contrast that is portaited in the novel is the one between the scholar phylosophy, based on the ancient and medieval tracts, and the scientific method that was beginning to be applied in physics, chemistry and medicine.

Among the secondary characters are historical figures as the phylosopher John Locke, the scientist Robert Boyle and the mathematician John Wallis. John Locke John Locke (August 29, 1632–October 28, 1704) was a 17th-century philosopher concerned primarily with society and epistemology. ... The Honourable Robert Boyle (January 25, 1627 - December 30, 1691) was an Irish natural philosopher, noted for his work in physics and chemistry. ... John Wallis John Wallis (November 22, 1616 - October 28, 1703) was an English mathematician who is given partial credit for the development of modern calculus. ...