Falling Creatures by Katherine Stansfield

When Shilly is taken to the hiring fair at All Drunkard and signed away by her father, she never expects to find love, but once she meets Charlotte Dymond she knows they have a special bond. Hired together by the gruff Mrs. Peter, they travel to Penhale Farm, where Shilly follows besotted in Charlotte’s footsteps as Charlotte teaches her about magic and superstition. Charlotte seems to attract attention wherever she goes and has a number of admirers in the locality, so Shilly can’t be sure who is the lucky recipient of Charlotte’s affection, but when Charlotte is found dead in suspicious circumstances, the locals have only one suspect in mind: Matthew Weeks, another hired hand on the farm. Shilly, however is not convinced and along with a newspaperman from London, a Mr. Williams, she is determined to find answers. It seems that at every turn they are met by lies and deception in this windswept lonely corner of Cornwall, and everyone has secrets including Mr. Williams and Shilly herself.

This is a masterful, mesmerising and haunting mystery full of gothic atmosphere and hints of the strange and supernatural. Based on a real murder mystery from the mid-19^th century, Falling Creatures is a clever, heartfelt and very well-written story with a powerful narrative voice ideal for anyone who enjoyed Sophia Tobin’s The Vanishing, Andrew Hughes The Coroner’s Daughter and Anna Mazzola’s The Unseeing.

This review originally published in HNR Issue 81 (August 2017) see it online HERE

Lawless and the House of Electricity Blog Tour Guest post from William Sutton.

I am delighted to be involved in the blog tour for the latest instalment in the Campbell Lawless series of crime thrillers set in mid Victorian London, perfect reading for the Madwoman in the Attic. Thanks so much to William for the guest post he has provided here about Victorian advertising and to Lydia Gittins at Titan for sending me a copy of the book.


Lawless & the House of Electricity by William Sutton, third in his series of Lawless mysteries exploring the darker sides of Victorian London, is published by Titan Books, and features a mad woman in the attic, whose symptoms are all too Victorian.

ASTHMA CIGARETTES: ADVERTISEMENTS AND INSPIRING ILLNESSES
Victorian advertisements beguile me. They speak volumes of the age, of its anxieties and its swindlers. Dr Batty’s Asthma Cigarettes For the temporary relief of paroxysms Not recommended for children under 6

You couldn’t make this stuff up. Well, you could, but the real examples are better. (View more on Pinterest.)
With all our vitamins, homeopathics and aromatherapies, you might think this is the age of dodgy medications, but you wouldn’t believe the things Victorians tried. In writing Lawless & the House of Electricity, I returned over and again to advertisements and other picture inspirations for two strands of the book: terrorism and illness.




VICTORIAN DIAGNOSES
A wonderful range of ailments is purportedly cured by Dr Williams’ Pink Pills for Pale People: “paralysis, locomotor ataxia, anaemia, weakness, scrofula, sundry ailments”. From this I derived diagnoses, more and less reasonable, for Lady Elodie, the mysterious absentee at Roxbury House.

Arsenical Soap was used to treat “disfigurements: blotches, blemishes, freckles, pimples and pustulance”. The fact that it was poisonous caused problems, and suspicious deaths accelerated through the mid-century. The Arsenic Act of 1851 did not stop the panic over poisonings, as seen in ITV’s drama Dark Angel.

I recommend you read further in Kathryn Harkup’s A is for Arsenic, which gives encyclopaedic detail on the myriad ways you may poison your loved ones (or your characters).



DIABOLICAL DIAGNOSES I got so inspired by all this, I wrote a ditty about it for the Writing Edward King project (hear it on Soundcloud), characterising the wild range of diseases that sent people to those daunting and magnificent asylums that sprung up around the country after the Asylums Act.

I’ll admit that scrofula and pustulance aren’t too common today (at least in Europe, though Dickensian concerns are often still operative in the wider world). But researching hysteria in Asti Hustvedt’s excellent Medical Muses: Hysteria in Nineteenth-Century Paris made me think twice before mocking Victorian medicine.
We may laugh at “strolling congestion, drawing room anguish, dissipation of nerves and imaginary female trouble” (genuine contributory factors cited upon commitment to a Victorian asylum). But if we mock Victorian diagnoses, what will today’s diagnoses look like in future?

Jon Ronson’s The Psychopath Test explodes the alarmingly arbitrary origins of today’s diagnostic criteria (psychologists using DSM, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Perhaps we should think how today’s diagnoses will be laughed at in the future.
I resisted classifying Lady’s Elodie’s disease by modern criteria (depression, epileptic absences, fugues). It has more in common with the encephalitis lethargica of Oliver Sacks’ Awakenings and the catalepsy-lethargy-somnambulism of Charcot’s hysterics in the Saltpêtrière Hospital of Paris.
The pictures remind us that the past was once the present: laugh if you dare, but you will be laughed at in turn one day.


TOP VICTORIAN PIC SOURCES
Follow these stars of Twitter and the blogosphere and the world of Victorian pics will open up: 1. My pictorial inspirations on Pinterest 2. British Library’s Open Source archive 3. Whores of Yore (Kate Lister @WhoresofYore). See especially her Word of the Day and Historical Hotties 4. Victorian London (Lee Jackson @VictorianLondon) 5. Wayward Women (Lucy Williams @19thC_Offender

Electric Blog Tour Day 1 (Tags: writing, Vic Pics, diagnoses, ads, inspiration, asylum, madness) 

Madwoman in the Attic #7 Elizabeth Dorothea Cobbe

Elizabeth Lady Tuite was born in Dublin in 1764, the daughter of Colonel Thomas Cobbe and Lady Eliza Beresford. She married Sir Henry Tuite the 8th Baronet in November 1784. She was a poet and a writer for children. She was the great aunt of Frances Power Cobbe and was said to have been a great influence on her. Lady Tuite's husband died in 1805 and she spent much of the rest of her life living in Bath. Lady Tuite's poetry was considered to be in the romantic style. She was one of the set who attended the literary salon of Elizabeth Rawdon; Countess of Moira who was also a relative. Her poetry was included in an anthology "What Sappho would have Said " by Emma Donoghue. She died in 1850.
Further information can be found in A Dictionary of British and American Women Writers 1660-1800 by Janet Todd and The Cambridge Companion to women's Writing in the Romantic Period by Devoney Looser. 

Celebrating 200 years of Jane Austen

The 18th July this year will be the two hundredth anniversary of the death of a literary icon. Creator of some of the most memorable characters in English fiction, Jane Austen was a master storyteller. There will be celebrations among Janeites all year and all over the world but this weekend sees a celebration commence closer to home, in Limerick in Ireland which will continue until December. I am including the full press release below.

JANE AUSTEN200 - LIMERICK

CONTACT: ROSE SERVITOVA

EMAIL: roseservitova@gmail.com

WEBSITE: www.facebook.com/janeausten200limerick

A SERIES OF EVENTS FROM JULY TO DECEMBER 2017 CELEBRATING JANE AUSTEN’S BICENTENARY & LIMERICK’S GEORGIAN HERITAGE

July 16th Austen Afternoon Tea & Talks at No. 1 Perry Square sold out. This event included an introduction to the select teas for the event provided by local tea-merchants, Cahills of Limerick. Serving of Afternoon Tea delights. Historian, Sharon Slater, gives a talk 'Tom LeFroy - Jane's Limerick Beau'."A few words about tea from Emma's friend, Miss Bates of Hampstead" performed by Vanessa Hyde. Presentation and talk from Sinead Ryan Coughlan of the Irish Historical Costumers on Regency Fashion (with model, Sinead Finegan). Melissa Shiels will sing two Irish airs that were found amongst Jane Austen’s music collection.

Other events include;

Culture Night, September 22nd(8pm) at Friarsgate Theatre, Kilmallock, Co. Limerick – a free workshop Historical Costumer & Workshop Presenter, Melissa Shiels, will give a very entertaining and informative talk entitle “Georgian Clothing, Customs and Material Culture”. Melissa will have many examples and recreations at hand for what promises to be a great evening.

September 23rd (2pm) at No.1 Pery Square – Austen Afternoon Tea & Talks – Speakers include editor & journalist, Tim Bullamore on “The Joy of Jane”, Kim Arnold presents a talk “Obstinate Headstrong Girl!: Maxims & Manners in the novels of Jane Austen” and we will have a presentation of men's fashion in the late 18th and early 19th century by the Irish Historical Costumers all accompanied by delicious afternoon tea treats and an occasional song. Attendees will also receive a customised keepsake.

October 5th sees two events facilitated by world-renowned period costume designer and Limerick woman, Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh. Eimer worked as costume designer for “Becoming Jane”, “Love & Friendship”, “Brideshead Revisited” and “The Wind that Shakes the Barley” amongst many others. Eimer will visit her former college, The Limerick School of Art & Design, to present an informative talk to students on working in theatre and film. That evening, at a public event, Eimer is guest at “An Evening with Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh” at the intimate drawing rooms of No. 1 Pery Square (7pm). Here she will have some of the costumes from “Love & Friendship” and partake of a Q&A session.

October 23rd 7.30pm– Oscar-nominated movie director and screenwriter, Whit Stillman will join us for a screening of Austen adaptation, the comedy “Love & Friendship” at the University Concert Hall, Limerick. Niall MacMonagle will host a Q&A session with Whit Stillman directly after the screening.

November 3rd (Friarsgate Theatre, Kilmallock) & November 9th (Belltable, Limerick) host New Zealand woman Penny Ashton’s world tour of “Promise & Promiscuity” in a humourous show as she tackles all of Austen's characters with song, dance and appalling cross-stitching. 

Other events include;

• a talk by Sandra Lefroy on family connections to Austen and William Wordsworth hosted by the Limerick Chapter of the Irish Georgian Society.
• a collaboration between Sound Heritage Ireland and the Irish World Academy of Music & Dance which will see a musical event of the era re-enacted in a Georgian setting.

For further details please check out our facebook page www.facebook.com/janeausten200limerick where links to events/tickets/websites will be available once finalised.

The curator of Jane Austen 200 is Rose Servitova the author of the Longbourn Letters and I asked Rose to tell me about why Jane Austen is such a big influence, why she decided to write a Pride and Prejudice inspired novel and why she felt that Limerick was the perfect place to celebrate 20o years of Jane. This is what she said.

How Jane Austen Inspired Me?

It was at my grandmother’s house on the foothills of the Ox Mountains in Sligo, during summer holidays, that I discovered my love of reading and there, I found all the classics including the works of Jane Austen. I fell in love with her writing and it has stayed with me since. For years, Pride & Prejudice was my comfort blanket - the book I went back to time and again whenever my life sucked for some reason or other. It was like being held, rocked and soothed. The familiar never bored me instead I sought it out whenever the bottom was falling out of my world and it held me together.

For at least ten years, the idea of writing some kind of tribute to Pride & Prejudice had crossed my mind but I had absolutely no idea what to write. Occasionally, Mr Collin’s diary sprung to mind and when I eventually sat down last year and commenced writing, I knew immediately that it would be disastrous. How could anyone read more than a few pages of his self-importance, deluded gibberish? Instantly, the solution came to me in the form of my other favourite character, Mr Bennet. Four letters existed between these two men in Pride & Prejudice so I would merely have to fill in the gaps and continue until it reached a natural conclusion. They contrasted with each other perfectly and gave me the opportunity to write some great dialogue and witty interaction. That is how The Longbourn Letters came about.  I laughed so much when writing it and I hoped that others would too. Because I love Austen so much and find her minor characters so brilliantly drawn, there was no need for me to go off-track but to stay loyal to her portrayal and hopefully add a bit more detail. Her clever, witty dialogue has influenced my writing greatly – it is what I seek out in other novels and hope to emulate in my own.

How I got involved in Jane Austen 200 – Limerick

Before The Longbourn Letters was published, I began connecting with Jane Austen fans and groups all over the world. I was amazed to see how many were organising celebrations for her bicentenary and, in particular, I was amazed that cities that did not exist 200 years ago were having dances, plays, talks etc… I thought ‘well done, guys’. I always felt that Limerick was a perfect spot to host a Georgian festival as we have the largest Georgian quarter outside of Dublin but when I looked into the Jane Austen angle, I found that we also had many connections with the author. As a qualified event manager and without wanting the bicentenary to pass unacknowledged, I decided to organise an afternoon tea and talks event to mark the occasion. A number of weeks later, I found myself curating a whole series of events running from July to December that include theatre, fashion, music, dance, literature, screen, talks/workshops and tea!! It’s great to see that other parts of the country are doing likewise with events  being held in Dublin, Cork and elsewhere.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Longbourn-Letters-Correspondence-between-Collins/dp/1911013750/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1499774930&sr=1-1

Rose's book continues the story of the Bennets of Longbourn and Mr and Mrs Collins of Rosings through the letters between the two cousins; the taciturn Mr Bennet and the silly Mr Collins. It is a fitting and joyful response to the original. The perfect book to read this weekend as we celebrate Jane Austen and her legacy.

The Coroner's Daughter by Andrew Hughes

Andrew Hughes' second novel returns to the Dublin setting of his first but earlier in the century to the summer of 1816 when Northern Europe was engulfed in a wintry fog which perplexed scientists and caused much proclamation about the end of the world from religious fanatics. It was known as the year without a summer. The young lady of the title is Abigail Lawless, eighteen years old, a budding scientist full of curiosity and passion for learning. When a young nursemaid in the house of a neighbouring family apparently murders her newborn Abigail cannot help being intrigued about the young woman’s circumstances. She discovers a message from the young maid’s lover and is soon embroiled in an investigation into the fanatical religious sect known as The Brethren and their bitter rivals the rationalist Royal Astronomer Professor Reeves and his followers. Abigail is clever, defiant and resourceful. Her father has provided a thorough scientific education and while he is aware of her intelligence he is also aware of the restrictions society imposes on her, as a woman and there are a number of clashes between father and daughter. Andrew Hughes is a wonderfully talented author bringing Dublin and its surroundings to life with deft characterizations, detailed but never laboured descriptions and a plot which will have readers racing through the pages. An utterly transporting book. Highly recommended especially for fans of Sophia Tobin and Lloyd Shepherd.

Published in February 2017 by Doubleday in hardback 

This review originally appeared in Historical Novels Review Issue 79 Feb 2017

https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-coroners-daughter/

Murder By Ghostlight

Murder by Ghostlight is the latest installment in J. C. Briggs Charles Dickens & Superintendent Jones Investigate series. Having brought a production of Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s Money to Manchester, Charles Dickens discovers a dead body on the stage of the empty theatre and is immediately suspected of murder. With the aid of his friend Superintendent Jones of Bow Street and the local police the pair set out to prove Dickens’ innocence and unravel a web of intrigue surrounding the dead man. This is a fast paced and page turning tale and the author clearly pays homage to Dickens both in the style of writing; Dickensian descriptions of poverty, industry and gloomy weather abound, but also in the colourfully named characters such as razor nosed Eva Stabb and solicitors Tape and Binding. The portrait of Dickens himself is a balanced one, while he enjoys fatherhood he is a neglectful husband and though aware of his own flaws in many instances, he has a tendency to pomposity and the dramatic. This is a cleverly written Victorian mystery which will have broad appeal, while the author doesn’t stint on the gore the narrative is witty and intriguing. Highly recommended for fans of Dickens obviously, but also for anyone who enjoys Oscar de Muriel’s Frey and McGray series of Victorian mysteries, The Sherlock Holmes novels or the novels of Diana Bretherick.

Published by The Mystery Press 2016

This review originally appeared in Historical Novels Review Issue 80 May 2017 and can be viewed here 

https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/murder-by-ghostlight/

Madwoman in the Attic #5 Marguerite Power, Countess of Blessington

Marguerite Power was born at Knockbrit, Clonmel, Co Tipperary in 1789. She was the daughter of Ellen Sheehy and Edmund Power who owned a small amount of land. According to her first biographer her father known as 'Buck' Power was a gambler and drinker and Maguerite had an unhappy childhood as the family were constantly in debt. Her father traded Marguerite in payment for gambling debts to Captain Maurice St Leger Farmer, so at 15 Marguerite went from unhappy child to unhappy bride. Her husband starved, beat and imprisoned his wife. The law at the time would offer her no protection and Marguerite's only option was to separate from her husband. When he was posted to India by the army she refused to go with him and instead  moved to London. She was immediately a cause for scandal as she was a 'separated woman' but still a teenager. However her good looks and sparking wit made her extremely popular as a society hostess. Marguerite began an affair with Charles John Gardiner, First Earl of Blessington while both of them were still married but his wife died in 1814 and Farmer died in debtor's prison in 1817 so the pair married in 1818. Blessington was a wealthy and indulgent husband and Marguerite was generous to a fault insisting on helping out a number of relatives in Ireland and England. In 1822 the Blessingtons set out on a Grand Tour. Marguerite was well known in literary circles and struck up a friendship with Byron at Genoa. She later wrote Conversations with Lord Byron. (1834) At Naples she met Irish writer Richard Robert Madden who later wrote her biography (1855). While they were travelling on the continent John invited the dashing Count D'Orsay who had been part of their London circle to join them. With all of them living together and indulging in a life of extravagance it was probably inevitable that D'Orsay and Marguerite began an affair but with a young and healthy husband Marguerite knew that it could be years before they could be together so she devised a plan. She persuaded her husband to arrange a match between his daughter Harriet from his first marriage to D'Orsay so that they could continue to spend time together without any gossip. Ironically just a few months after the marriage in 1829 Blessington suffered a sudden stroke and died  in Paris. He left Marguerite plenty of money, jewels and estates and she establishment her household back in London persuading D'Orsay and Harriet to live with her, after just three years though Harriet walked out exposing her husband and step mother to scandal. Typically D'Orsay was accepted quickly back into society but Marguerite was not. Marguerite turned to writing to support herself and her literary salons were revived. Her home Gore House is now the site of the Albert Hall and writers who visited her included Charles Dickens and Benjamin Disraeli. Marguerite wrote novels; The Repealers or Grace Cassidy (1834), The Governess (1839),  Strathern (1845), The Fatal Error (1847) and travel books The Idler in France (1839) The Idler in Italy (1841) as well as contributing to newspapers and periodicals, she was one of the first writers to have her work serialised in The Sunday Times. Astute in her own business dealings but not in her private life Marguerite and D'Orsay had to leave London to escape their creditors in 1849. Just a few weeks later Marguerite was dead, like her husband before her she suffered a massive stroke in Paris. She is buried at St Germain. 

My Name is Victoria by Lucy Worsley

Lucy Worsley’s second book for young readers is the story of Miss V. Conroy who is brought to Kensington Palace to act as a companion to the young Princess Victoria. Her father John Conroy is the architect of the Kensington system of which Miss V. is expected to become a part, because Miss V. is very good at keeping secrets. Her father calls her his mouse because she is so calm and quiet in contrast to the wild and wilful Princess. The system is meant to protect the Princess from those who would do her harm and to keep her away from the bad influences including her mother the Duchess of Kent. Miss V. is very soon torn between loyalty to her father and her growing friendship with Victoria as she begins to see how the system keeps Victoria locked away from the world and might even be damaging to her health.

This book is an absolute delight and will appeal of course to fans of Lucy’s television work and her previous novel for young adults Eliza Rose but I believe My Name is Victoria will have even broader appeal, with a successful first series of Victoria and a second series confirmed the interest in the younger years of Queen Victoria has never been so intense. With this book I believe Lucy Worsley has really found her voice as a writer of historical fiction for children. Ideal for fans of Katherine Woodfine and Emma Carroll.  

Thanks so much to Shelley and Louise at Love Reading and the publisher for sending me a copy to review.

My Name is Victoria will be published on the 9th March in the UK and Ireland by Bloomsbury. 

Arrowood by Mick Finlay

Arrowood is the debut novel from Mick Finlay. It's set in South London in 1895 and it features a consulting detective, but this is not Sherlock Holmes. The tagline for this story is "London Society takes their problems to Sherlock Holmes everyone else goes to Arrowood." Arrowood is fat, balding, often drunk. He's a terrible brother an even worse employer and friend and he hates Sherlock Holmes with a burning passion. The police generally aren't interested in his help so he has to use unconventional or even illegal methods to find information but somehow he and his partner Barnett seem to get the job done. When a young French woman seeks their help in locating her missing brother Barnett and Arrowood soon find themselves embroiled in a mystery that includes a dangerous criminal gang, Irish American revolutionaries and corruption at the highest levels of power. The writing is furious and fast paced Finlay knows his way around Victorian London and like Arrowood he knows people; from the drunks at the bar to the kind hearted women like Arrowood's sister who nurse the sick and the destitute, to the servants quarters and flop houses this is a Victorian London that's richly peopled and beautifully drawn. If you a fan of Sarah Pinborough's Mayhem or if love the camaraderie of Frey and McGray in Oscar de Muriel's books then Arrowood is for you. If you are fan of Sherlock Holmes you will probably love it all the more. All the familiar Sherlockian tropes are there but they are subtle and carefully used and the whole story is also shaded with political ideas and a darker and grittier tone than Conan Doyle ever used. This is a fantastic start to what I hope will be a longer series.
Thanks very much to the team at LoveReading and to the publishers HQ (Harper Collins) for the chance to read and review this novel before release.
Arrowood will be out on 23rd March 2017 in hardcover

The Moonstone's Curse by Sam Siciliano

The Moonstone's Curse is the latest title in Titan Books Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series. I am always happy to read anything set in the Sherlock universe and this book was a fine addition to that world neatly blending plot and characters from Wilkie Collins The Moonstone with Sherlock's London society. Well to do aristocrat Charles Bromley seeks the help of Holmes and his cousin Dr Henry Vernier because he believes his wife is in imminent danger. His wife Alice has inherited the priceless diamond known as the Moonstone from her father Neville who inherited it from his mother Rachel Verinder the original recipient of the diamond in Wilkie Collins novel of 1868. Bromley goes on to explain the diamond's bloody history and the belief that Alice's ancestor had stolen the diamond during the siege of Srirangaptana and murdered the man tasked with guarding it. Alice is convinced that because of this bloody history the Moonstone is cursed. She believes that it killed her parents and she wants to get rid of it. However Alice is prevented from selling the diamond by a clause in her inheritance which means the diamond must pass intact to her surviving kin. Alice has recently begun to see faces at the window and is convinced that someone has come from India to take the diamond back. Sherlock Holmes is of course intrigued and the game is indeed afoot. Following on the trail of a murdered jeweller Holmes and Vernier are soon entangled in the mystery of The Moonstone and under its sinister spell. Tying Sherlock Holmes to what most would consider the first detective or mystery novel is a smart move on the part of the author and one that Siciliano has pulled off before; his previous Sherlock Holmes novels include The White Worm inspired by one of Bram Stoker's less successful outings. The Moonstone's Curse is however a twisty mystery full of intriguing characters especially Vernier and his wife Michelle Doudet-Vernier  also a doctor. The contrast between the frightened and laudanum addicted Alice and the redoubtable Michelle offers a marked commentary on Victorian feminity.
I really enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading more of the adventures of Holmes and the Verniers.

The Moonstone's Curse is published today 14th February and is available in paperback and ebook from Titan Books. Thanks so much to Phillipa Ward for sending me a copy.

The Witches of New York by Ami McKay

The Witches of New York is the third novel from bestselling author Ami McKay. While the new novel sees the return of Moth from her previous novel The Virgin Cure it can be read as a stand alone. The story opens in New York in September 1880 with Moth; now Adelaide and her dear friend Eleanor who have opened Tea & Sympathy a tea shop where they offer spells, remedies and advice to the well heeled ladies of Manhattan. While Eleanor is the expert on remedies and tea, Adelaide is a talented seer and happy to proclaim herself a witch. Having lost an eye to an acid attack from a jealous rival she revels in her witchy appearance. The ladies workload has increased and so Adelaide places an advert seeking an apprentice and Beatrice comes into their lives. Beatrice has travelled from small town upstate New York seeking adventure and magic and she is a wonderful addition to the store but it soon becomes obvious that she has incredible magical abilities. While Eleanor wants to help the girl to develop at her own pace Adelaide wants to test out Beatrice’s abilities and before long Beatrice disappears. Has she run away? Or has she been taken? Because in a society that condemns women is it ever safe to be a witch? The growth of Beatrice’s character is skillfully woven throughout the novel as she turns from country girl to a young woman in charge of her own destiny. This is a beautiful novel, impeccably researched, powerfully plotted and packed with intriguing characters. Carefully blending fantasy, crime and historical fiction this is a charming and atmospheric read. Perfect for fans of Sophia Tobin, Susan Hill and Essie Fox.

Available now from Orion Books

This review originally appeared in Historical Novel Review 79 (Feb 2017) as an Editor's Choice. 

https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-witches-of-new-york/ 

The Vanishing by Sophia Tobin

Sophia Tobin’s third novel is a gothic thriller with shades of Jane Eyre, Jamaica Inn and Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith.

Annaleigh has accepted the position of Housekeeper at White Windows in Yorkshire. Determined to begin anew, Annaleigh is shocked to discover that White Windows is much more remote than she had anticipated, that the servants are truculent and the owners mysterious. Brought up in bustling London Annaleigh was a foundling brought up by a painter and his wife she had anticipated a different life believing herself to be part of Mr. Calvert’s family but when love seemed to blossom between his stepson and adopted daughter Mr. Calvert is happy to have Annaleigh move away. Broken hearted and apparently without family Annaleigh quickly becomes fascinated by her darkly mysterious new employer Mr. Twentyman. The parallels between The Vanishing and Jane Eyre are obvious; the educated young woman fallen on hard times, the brooding hero, the gothic setting of the big house and the remoteness of the Yorkshire Moors but what could easily be a pastiche becomes in the careful hands of a skillful writer a wonderful homage and a clever reworking.

Also and perhaps more importantly Sophia Tobin has addressed the issue of women’s lack of rights in the period and the power and manipulation that men wielded to control them. Either as daughters, wives or servants women were essentially property without rights to their own bodies, their belongings or their children. A fast paced and wonderfully written gothic thriller which will appeal to Brontë fans and lovers of Victorian mysteries. This clever and insightful book should bring Sophia Tobin widely deserved critical and popular acclaim.

First published in The Historical Novel Review issue 79  (Feb 2017) as an Editor's Choice. 

https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-vanishing/

Madwomen in the Attic #3 Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan)

Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan) was born on December 25th in Dublin in the early 1780s. She was always rather elusive about the exact year of her birth. Her father was actor-manager Robert Mac Owen who changed his name to Owenson. although he was Irish, Owenson spent much of his youth in London and so he met and married an English girl Jane Hill before the two travelled to Dublin to settle permanently. Robert Owenson set up a theatrical company in Dublin and Sydney and her sister Olivia spent a great deal of time there. Sydney was mostly educated at home with her sister, they lived on Dame Street in her early childhood but after her mother's death in 1789 her and her sister were sent to private schools around Dublin and then moved to Sligo were their father was working as an actor. There was some financial problems for the family and when Sydney was in her teens she had to accept work as a governess with the Featherstone family of Bracklyn Castle. Sydney blossomed at this point as she had an opportunity to show off her skills; she could sing, dance and play the harp. It was there that Sydney began to write. She published a volume of poetry and a collection of verses for Irish melodies in the early 1800s. She then decided to write a novel, she was an admirer of Fanny Burney and she published St Clair (1804) and The Novice of St Dominick (1806) with much success. It was her third novel however The Wild Irish Girl (1806)  which made her a household name. This book displayed Sydney's passion for Ireland and her patriotic fervour. She used her celebrity to extoll the virtues of Ireland's traditions and history. The Missionary; An Indian Tale followed and numbered Percy Bysshe Shelley amongst its admirers. She also wrote an opera and some proposals on Women's education. Sydney joined the household of John Hamilton 1st Marquess Abercorn and married the family's surgeon Sir Thomas Charles Morgan in 1812. O'Donnell (1814) is widely considered her best work and was praised by Sir Walter Scott. Books on France and Italy were praised by Byron for their authenticity but harshly reviewed elsewhere. Sydney was adept at capturing the ordinary life of the poor and she returned to examining Irish life with Absenteeism (1825) and The O'Briens and The O'Flahertys(1827).
Sydney was awarded a pension by Lord Melbourne for her services to literature, the first women ever to receive such an award. She again asserted her feminist views in Woman and her Master (1840). She began work on her memoirs with Geraldine Jewsbury but they were unfinished at her death in 1859. In 1839 the Morgan's moved to London and Sydney was buried in Brompton Cemetery.
A prolific writer, as well as novels, poetry and non fiction she produced numerous tracts and pamphlets.
A lively and entertaining member of numerous literary circles she was never afraid to poke fun and many of those who reviewed her harshly were caricatured in her fiction.
There is a bust of Sydney in The Victoria and Albert Museum and there is a plaque on Kildare Street in Dublin marking one of her homes.

Madwomen in the Attic #2 Regina Maria Roche

Regina Maria Roche (née Dalton) was born in Waterford in 1764 before the family moved to Dublin where she grew up. Little is known about her early life other than that she was the daughter of Captain Blundel Dalton and she is quoted as claiming that books were a passion from a young age and that she had begun to write stories as soon as she could hold a pen. Her first two novels were published in her twenties The Vicar of Landsdowne (1789) and The Maid of Hamlet (1793). Her marriage in 1794 to Ambrose Roche led to a move to England and although her previous books had had some success it was the next book that made her a household name. Children of the Abbey a Gothic Romance published in 1796 was an instant hit. The book went through several editions and was translated into French and Spanish. The book appeared at the height of the Gothic novel trend and Roche quickly followed up with Clermont (1798) a novel with a much darker tone and containing all the trappings we have come to associate with Gothic fiction; a mysterious Countess, an attack by ruffians, a gloomy crypt, a forced marriage. Another huge hit Clermont was one of the seven Gothic novels that the heroine of Northanger Abbey Catherine Morland is told to read by Isabella Thorpe. Another novel followed in 1800 The Nocturnal Visit  but after this the Roches suffered serious financial setback as they were cheated out of an inheritance in Ireland by a dishonest solicitor; an unfortunate mirror of events in Children of the Abbey in which siblings Amanda and Oscar Fitzalan are cheated out of their inheritance Dunreath Abbey by a scheming relative. Regina Maria Roche returned to Ireland in the 1820s after her husband's death. She wrote another eleven novels most of them were picturesque tales of the Irish countryside but none of them reached the heights of success of Clermont and Children of the Abbey. She died in 1845 at the age of 81 in relative obscurity but was remembered fondly in a number of obituaries.

Clemont and  Children of the Abbey are available from Valancourt Books.

http://www.valancourtbooks.com/clermont-1798.html

http://www.valancourtbooks.com/the-children-of-the-abbey-1796.html

The Shogun's Queen

The Shogun's Queen is the latest novel from the amazing Lesley Downer and it serves as both a stand alone novel and as a prequel to the previous trilogy of The Last Concubine, The Courtesan and the Samurai and the Samurai's Daughter. The book is a masterly study of the Japanese court and culture in the mid nineteenth century just as the American's were making their aggressive overtures to Japan and forcing a trading relationship. Okatsu is a defiant, confident and strong young woman trained in the arts of the samurai she knows how to fight and to ride an horse and carries a dagger at all times. Okatsu is well versed in court intrigue and it is her intelligence as well as her beauty that sees her raised up from her relatively provincial life in Satsuma province and adopted first by Lord Nariakira and then by Prince Konoé before becoming the bride of the weak and ineffectual Shogun Iesada Tokugawa. The arrival of the Americans was known as the time of the Black Ships. Lord Nariakira asked Okatsu to act as a spy and a political ally and to use her influence over the Shogun during this dangerous era. The book is bursting with characters and rich in detail but it is an immersive and all encompassing read that doesn't overwhelm. At 470 pages this is a book that takes time but the effort is well worth it. As Okatsu strives to assert herself as Queen she faces daily battles with the ghosts of past Queens and with her formidable mother in law. Much of the detail in the book is factual and based on Lesley Downer's impeccable research. I absolutely loved being immersed in this beautiful and detailed novel and came away feeling I had a much greater understanding and knowledge of Shogun-era Japan.
Read this if you love Lian Hearn or Christina Courtenay.
Out now in hardback from Bantam Press. Thanks to Hannah Bright at Penguin Random House for a copy. 

The Hidden People by Alison Littlewood

Alison Littlewood's latest novel is a bit of a departure. The author is well known for her thrilling horror fiction and with her new book she continues to feature haunted houses and people, but with this novel there is the added element of historical fiction. Because of this I know this book will be a must read for anyone who like me devours tales of the Victorian gothic.
Inspired by a real life killing in the Irish countryside in the 1890s Littlewood relocates the action to her home county of Yorkshire in the 1860s. Albie is a London man, working his way up in his father's business. He first meets his young Yorkshire cousin Lizzie at The Great Exhibition in 1851, that great symbol of industry and technology. Eleven years later he is newly married and devastated to hear that not only is his cousin dead but her husband is accused of killing her; believing her to be a fairy changeling. Albie travels to the village of Halfoak to bury his cousin and discover what led to her death. In Halfoak he discovers a village that has remained almost unchanged for centuries where superstition holds sway and the villagers are reluctant to talk to an outsider. Alison Littlewood is fantastic at evoking a powerful almost claustrophobic atmosphere and a wonderful sense of clashing cultures as the old ways meet the new. This is a brilliant murder mystery full of gothic suspense and elements of magical realism. You will be entranced by the story as Albie questions what is real or not and wonders if the house is haunted, if his cousin was murdered or was she really a fairy. Perfect for fans of Wuthering Heights or The Woman in Black.
Thanks so much to Olivia Mead for sending me a copy to review.
Published by Jo Flethcher Books. 

The Last Hoseman by David Gilman

David Gilman’s new novel is packed full of intrigue, adventure and excitement. The tale opens in Dublin in 1899 with American Joseph Radcliffe; a lawyer and former soldier. Unafraid to represent radical young men who face the noose as a result of their Fenian beliefs Radcliffe is a thorn in the side of the British establishment. When his young son runs away from boarding school Radcliffe gets information that he has followed some of his friends in the Irish Regiments to the war in South Africa, so he sets off after him along with his old friend and army comrade Benjamin Pierce and they will need every skill they learned in the “Indian Wars” in order to track Edward down. Unfolding alongside this story is sixteen year old Edward’s tale of what he hopes will be a grand adventure and the story of Sheenagh a prostitute on the run for passing information from the Fenian Brotherhood to the British Army. The writing here is skillful and while the story is a page turner full of adventure there are a number of moments in which we are reminded that though most of the characters are fictional the horror of this war was not. Gilman remains neutral in his opinions while still managing to get under the skin of his characters and like all the best historical fiction it is the characters and how they play off each other that really makes the story come alive. A perfect read for fans of Bernard Cornwell.
Reviewed for HNS 78
https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-last-horseman/-horseman/

The Strange Case of Madeleine Seguin

A striking blend of fiction and fact William Rose’s novel focuses on a patient at the famous Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris as the 19^th Century draws to a close. The author presents us with a series of reports, case notes and letters written by the various characters who each for their own reason has a particular interest in Madeleine and her development. Through the letters we are given a glimpse into the decadent world of the fin de siècle and the various groups and salons; the experimental young artists and poets, those dabbling in magic and the occult and the scientists and psychiatrists who both help and experiment on the people they treat. There is a gothic undercurrent to the narrative which makes it darkly compelling and sinister. There is a sense of hedonism and thrill seeking amongst a number of the protagonists which intensifies the decadent and gothic atmosphere of the story.

The book places the mad girl at the centre of the story but as in life it is not her voice we hear, instead we only learn about her through others. The author presents a fascinating insight into a particular place and time; The Countess fascinated by the devil, the young artist seeking an introduction into society, the young doctor and his rejection of religion in favour of science and the professor as a kind of impresario using his patients as props to impress. The author’s interest in psychoanalysis and art is apparent and makes for an intriguing combination. A recommended read for fans of Diana Bretherick.

Reviewed for HNR Issue 78

https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-strange-case-of-madeleine-seguin/

Associates of Sherlock Holmes edited by George Mann

This collection edited by George Mann is the third he has produced for Titan Books and features a number of writers well known for their Sherlockiana such as Lyndsay Faye and James Lovegrove as well as those such as Simon Bucher-Jones who is presenting his first Sherlock Holmes story here. Unlike many other stories set in the universe of Arthur Conan Doyle which present the cases from Watson's viewpoint as Doyle did, here we see Holmes and Watson through the eyes of others; including Inspector Lestrade, Irene Adler and many more. It allows many of the associates, clients and villains to tell their own stories for the first time. The collection opens with a new story from fan favourite Lyndsay Faye as she allows Police Inspector Stanley Hopkins who appeared in Doyle's "The Adventure of Black Peter" to tell us a brand new tale of body parts dredged from the Thames in "River of Silence" There are some brilliant supernatural touches too courtesy of Jeffrey Thomas and Tim Pratt.
Titan are undoubtedly the best and most enthusiastic publisher of Sherlockiana and this collection is a fantastic idea although some stories are less successful than others. This collection is also a wonderful showcase of the work of some great new (to me) authors of crime, science fiction and fantasy. I will certainly be exploring more of the work of some of the authors I have encountered here. Fans of Sherlock Holmes won't be disappointed and in fact I went back to the original stories with new insight.
Perfect for fans and new readers alike.
Thanks to Philippa Ward from Titan Books for a review copy of this book.
Associates of Sherlock Holmes is published later this week. 

A Ghost's Story by Lorna Gibb

A Ghost’s Story is an intriguing book, as it presents the tale of Katie King not a famous medium but a famous ghost. Although it is Lorna Gibb’s first work of fiction there are a number of real people included in the story. There is correspondence between Bob Loomis, Senior Librarian at the Magic Circle and the author herself who has received the Katie King ‘spirit writing’ from the Magic Circle archive, this writing is interspersed with a manuscript from an Italian Bookshop named after Katie King and the academic notes of Adam Marcus who had been investigating the manuscript prior to his death.

The narrative is in the voice of John/Katie King a celebrated spirit who visited a number of mediums during the 19^th and early 20^th century when séances and an interest in the spirit world were at their peak. Moving between America, Britain, Russia, Italy, France and Canada we observe Katie’s growth as she gradually begins to affect her surroundings, to be heard by those she is drawn to and even to enter into the mediums she visits.

Written in a vivid lyrical style the sense of passing time as Katie witnesses the changes in the places and people she visits and tries to be perceived and believed is beautifully rendered. Gibb’s research is meticulous and the unusual framing makes this a genuinely compelling read. This book will appeal to anyone with an interest in Victorian spiritualism but its unique style will undoubtedly mean its appeal will be much broader.

Published by Granta 2015

This review originally appeared in The Historical Novel Review Magazine.