The Wicked Boy

Kate Summerscale's non-fiction is something unique. She completely reconstructs a crime but within the context of history. In The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer, the story of Robert Coombes, a young teen who stabbed his mother, is only half the tale. The book also delves into such diverse topics as living conditions in late nineteenth-century London, the workings of the justice system, the conditions at asylums, the contributions of the Aussies to WWI, and how the past connects to the present. I found almost everything in this book fascinating -- and I think I might have finally retained how the pound/shilling/pence system works! This isn't a quick read but it was satisfying to explore so many topics at once.

One of the topics explored was the blaming of sensational literature and penny dreadfuls (cheap paperback adventure and suspense stories, mostly sold to boys) for the bad behavior, crimes, and even suicides of children and teens. This led me to pick up my next Classics Challenge read, Treasure Island, which I will write about soon. I love when one book leads to another!

Filling in the gaps,
K

Bryant and May, Completed (For Now)

It is with a heavy heart that I must reveal that ... I've caught up in my favorite current series. Bryant and May have been my companions during the dog days of summers past, the late night hours of readathons, and the stressful days of current events. But, with Bryant and May: Strange Tide, I've used up all of my comfort reads for the moment. I was saving the last couple of books for stressful times and, well, yeah ...

I won't lie. This one, the 13th in the series, was a tough read. One of the main characters isn't well, as you can guess would eventually happen with two elderly detectives past the expected ends of their careers. But these aren't just any men and the reader can't help but pull for them to stay on the job for as long as they possibly can because they are likely the only ones who can figure out why bodies keep showing up near the Thames. Full of lots of Thames lore and current London politics, I once again learned while I was entertained. Sigh. I love that the most.

Now for the good news -- Bryant and May: Wild Chamber comes out in the US on December 5 so luckily I don't have to wait too long until I have another comfort read waiting on my TBR shelf for the next rainy day (figuratively, of course, because ... Seattle).

Following the Thames,
K

New Release: Wilkie Collins

I was very excited to be offered a copy of Peter Ackroyd's new Ackroyd's Brief Lives entry, Wilkie Collins. 'Tis the season where one cannot help but choose one of Wilkie's brilliant stories to indulge in as the wintry gloom approaches. And what better way to preface a Collins read (mine was The Law and the Lady this year) than by learning more about the man himself.

Small in size (not unlike Collins himself), this book nevertheless covers Wilkie's life, including so many scandals and illnesses. It was an easy read and I appreciated the opportunity to flesh out those things I already knew about one of my favorite authors. It was obvious while reading that he is also one of Ackroyd's favorites and it produced a feeling of veracity about the facts in the book -- both from faith that Ackroyd was diligent in his research and also trust that he viewed Collins' actions in a more sympathetic light that some other biographers.

I have really enjoyed Ackroyd's non-fiction (including London Under) and fiction (featuring an RIP read from five years ago) and look forward to picking up his Brief Lives volume about Poe (and eventually getting back to the very large London: The Biography).

Solving the mystery,
K

RIP X: 4, Bryant & May on the Loose

After a series of more depressing than expected books, I needed a comfort read and Christopher Fowler's Peculiar Crimes Unit Mysteries always cheer me up. Bryant & May on the Loose is the seventh book in the series and was one of my favorites so far. The unit has been disbanded and the detectives and their colleagues have been set adrift. Of course, strange murders and creatures don't know this and so the obvious (and satisfying) thing happens.

The mystery in this story was interesting as always (with a nice tie-in to WWII and some character growth) but just as interesting was the discussion of how things changed in London before the 2012 Olympics. I always enjoy Fowler's research and attention to detail. I think I might read the next book this season as well. This really is one of my favorite series of all time.

Stoking my Anglophilia,
K

RIP X: 1, The Madness Underneath

I kicked off my RIP reading this year with The Madness Underneath, second in the Shades of London series by Maureen Johnson. The third book is already out and this is definitely not a trilogy (according to those who have read it). So, I'm not going to talk much about plot here because this is one of those series that build from book to book. The basics though are these: Aurora, Rory for short, has moved from Louisiana to London and has enrolled at a posh boarding school. Soon after she arrives, she almost dies when she chokes at meal time. This leads to her being able to see ghosts which, as you can probably guess, leads to nothing but trouble.

This second book is comparable to the first though the plot has moved on past the Jack the Ripper plotline. For some reason, Rory bugged me more in this one, making blatantly bad decisions and acting in nobody's best interests. Still, one feels for her and can only imagine what it would be like to be thrown into ridiculously fantastical and perilous situations in an unfamiliar place as a majorly hormonal teenager. I'll keep reading the series but I'm going to get the next book from the library rather than buying it. I think this is a one-time-through kind of series for me.

Avoiding the cracks,
K

RIP IX: Secrets and Murder

One of the first books I read in September for RIP IX was A Lesson in Secrets, the eighth book in Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series. As part of an assignment from the government, Maisie pairs her detecting skills with her teaching skills and joins the faculty of a college in Oxford that was founded after the First World War on the principles of pacifism and international cooperation. But, if the Secret Service's hunch is correct, the university might just be harboring the worst of the worst -- Nazis!

This series never shies away from tackling some of the most sensitive topics that came out of the Great War. This time it's the fates of those soldiers who decided at some point that they no longer wanted to fight. It's a heartbreaking subject but it's dealt with in a really thoughtful way in this story. I really do love this series and have the greatest admiration for Maisie Dobbs. I'm bummed to only have two more books before I'm caught up to the current book.

I picked up Murder on the Home Front by Molly Lefebure after hearing that it was made into a TV series and wanting to read it before watching the show. I didn't realize that it was a memoir and I certainly didn't know how awesome Lefebure was. The book chronicles some of her adventures in the five years that she spent working as the secretary to pathologist Dr. Keith Simpson in London and the surrounding counties. She highlights exceptional cases in a way that draws the reader in, whether it's describing an abnormal autopsy, a search for clues in a muddy field, or a trek down a darkened stairwell during the Blitz. Here is the list of qualities that she came up with when looking for her replacement:

'Typing.
Good verbatim shorthand.
Tact.
Interested in crime.
No objection to mortuaries and corpses.
Reasonably fast runner.'

I loved Molly and I loved this book. It turns out the the TV series is fictional and just based off of these memoirs (the lead character is called Molly Cooper, I believe) but I'm still looking forward to watching it soon. If it has half the wit of this book (something one certainly doesn't expect when reading about murders), it will be a fun show!

Crossing back over the Pond,
K

RIP IX: Constable & Toop

What will definitely rank as one of my favorite reads of this RIP season (I'm calling it early) is Constable & Toop by Gareth P. Jones. I didn't know that I was looking for a book with ghost protagonists (and one plucky living kid) until I picked up this one and got lost in the rules and procedures of the world of the dead.

Sam Toop has always lived above the funeral parlor with his father and he has always been able to see ghosts. Usually they just ask for help with their unfinished business but he's about to be drawn into a much more serious business: that of saving the ghostly world -- with the help of ghostly boys, dogs and bureaucrats.

Though it's marketed to middle grade readers, I thought the story was well-written enough to please older readers too. It takes a bit of effort at the beginning to get used to switching between multiple narratives (it changes each chapter between three or four story lines) but once you learn patience, it pays off with a story where you find yourself truly caring about the fates of ghosts. Because, though Sam is the main living character of the story, I'm not sure that he's any more important than ghostly paper-pusher Lapsewood, young and transparent rogue Tanner, or the comical and clearly insane Marquis. I can't wait to give this one a reread during a future RIP season.

Spectrally,
K

A Three-Story Trip Through London

Last summer I read eight books that all featured London as part of a personal project to clear books off my TBR and to explore more deeply a city that I love despite never having been there (yet). This spring I've read three more London-centric books that are seriously tempting me to celebrate London Town again this summer.

First, there was Ten Second Staircase, fourth in the Bryant and May series by Christopher Fowler. This is the series that inspired my project last year and I seriously adore it. I have to force myself not to read it too quickly or else I will run out of books far sooner than I would like.

This story is a modern one that includes some details about the division between the kids and scholars of a posh boys' school and the lives and motivations of those less-privileged people living in the estate on the adjoining property. It's not the main focus but I found it to be some of the most interesting bits of this book. The mystery was a good one too (of course) and Bryant and May were their standard non-conforming selves. We even get more of May's granddaughter April in this one. I'll probably pick up book five pretty soon because I just can't resist.

Next was the rather unique The Pigeon Pie Mystery by Julia Stuart, the author of The Tower, The Zoo, and the Tortoise. It delves into the lives of a host of interesting characters who reside in what was called a "grace-and-favor" situation in Hampton Court Palace at the end of the nineteenth century. This was a way for the Queen to grant a dignified living to those upper-class people who had found themselves fortuneless for one reason or another, mainly widows. Though Mink (officially Indian Princess Alexandrina) is young and vibrant, her father the Maharaja has died and she is left with nothing and is therefore grateful to be invited to reside at Hampton Court. She is accompanied by her servant and they settle in nicely, until they find themselves in a bit of trouble after a murder occurs.

Some parts of this story were a bit too coincidental and others a bit too cute. The main romance was silly but funny. But the period details and research were so well done and there was a bit of "girl power"involved in the story which helped make it a really fun read over all.

And finally, I just finished John Rogers' This Other London: Adventures in the Overlooked City. This new release presents a series of ten essays covering ten urban walks that Rogers took around the periphery of London in the last year or so. I really can't adequately describe how fascinating this book was. He brought together history, folklore, geography, pop culture and politics in an amazingly accessible way. By the end of the book, I wanted nothing more than to follow in his footsteps and to explore this great city for myself.

It really is all I can do not to launch a repeat project this summer but I have something else in mind to help with my TBR so I guess I'll just have to sneak a little London in here and there.

Squirreling away my pennies to trade for pounds,
K

Summer Project: London -- Update Two

source

My summer London project is winding down now but I have a few more London books to share with you that I read this summer --

I finished Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens in a fairly short time. It was full of coincidences and unfortunate events that strained belief but I thought Dickens did a very good job of portraying the lives of the poor and the orphaned and those who either attempted to help them or used them to their own benefit. Though one of his more "issues" based novels, it was surprisingly not very preachy or wordy. There is definitely quite a bit of sarcasm in it (which I enjoyed). The portrayal of London as a place where one can just as easily be found as lost was also fascinating. Though a more violent novel, I think it's also one of Dickens' more accessible ones and I'm happy to now understand many of the references to this novel that I've encountered over the years.

Next I moved forward in time to Consequences by Penelope Lively, a journey through generations from the 1920s through modern days. With many different personalities and relationships, I thought this was a fascinating story. It was my first Penelope Lively and if her books are all as quiet and touching as this one, I'm sure I'll find my way back to her soon. As for London, it was interesting to see how a home and a neighborhood changed over time in what was once an affluent area.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson was one that I was going to save for the RIP challenge but then I was in the mood for something more modern after all of this summer spent mostly with a London of the past. What I got was one of the most "YA" books I've ever read. It took me a while to get into it, into the teenage awkwardness and drama, but once the supernatural part of the story started, I was hooked. There was a very terrifying villain and the main character, Rory, was interesting and convincing in all of her "teenness". This story took me back into the underground areas of London but also gave me a look at boarding schools and pubs. Quite fun and I look forward to the next book in the series, The Madness Underneath.

Finally, I had a hankering for some Agatha Christie and I still have a couple of unread novels sitting on my TBR, mostly those that feature Poirot and were made into tv films. I had to wait long enough until I couldn't remember the solution anymore so that they would be interesting reads. Hickory Dickory Dock is a boarding house mystery full of unlikeable twenty-somethings. With plenty of mentions of race relations (and some of Dame Agatha's own questionable descriptions of those non-white characters), this was a look into the workings of the succotash (please tell me a better word for it if you have one!) that is London.

This might be the end of my London reading for the summer. It was a really interesting experience to see so many different ages and sides of a single city and its people. One day I'll get to visit London and hopefully fill in the gaps that must exist after only learning about the city from books. I can't wait.

Letting my anglophilia shine,
K

Summer Project: London -- Update One

beautiful map by Virginia Allyn

I've done a lot of fiction reading already for my summer project. The non-fiction is unfortunately not going as well. I've only read about 25 pages of London: A Biography. The main problem seems to be that the book is so large that it just sits on my nightstand. I get to a few pages of it at a time but not enough to make real progress. So, I'm going to continue with the fiction but try to make more effort with the non-fiction. Anyway, here are the books I've read so far ...

I finished Christopher Fowler's The Water Room and it was a really well-researched and interesting mystery. It did a great job of exploring the sewers and ancient rivers of London and making those underground places both more and less mysterious at the same time. The aging detectives are really interesting characters, quite different from a lot of the standard detective pairs these days.

To help out Trish, I'm going to start labeling series books as good for lone reads or better in the series. This book definitely works completely on its own. I, however, am very excited to continue on with the Peculiar Crimes Unit series.

Next, I did a reread of Neverwhere, which I first read four years ago. I liked it then but didn't love it but, of course, kept reading lots more of Gaiman's work. Then I listened to the recent BBC Radio play version a couple of months ago and started falling in love with the story. So this reread turned out to be the means by which I really fell in love. Being set in London Under, this tied in well to the book before it. I adored the characters and really understood so much more of the twisted tale. This won't be the last time I reread this one.

Almost two years ago, I discovered Leon Garfield through his story Smith. I loved that middle grade/YA historical adventure so I couldn't wait to read Black Jack. This was an over-the-top romp through 18th century London, at a point where the various towns (like Islington) were still separate entities. This story was a bit of a "what if Pip's (Great Expectations) convict didn't leave after he was rescued but instead tried to recruit Pip into a life of crime". Young Bartholomew Dorking's trials and adventures with the villainous Black Jack are outlandish but suspenseful. I will likely search out more of Garfield's other novels because they are smart reads to put on Z's shelves for the future.

The Agency: The Traitor in the Tunnel is the third of Y.S. Lee's Mary Quinn Mysteries. This explored a very different part and locale of London's history, Buckingham Palace during the reign of Queen Victoria, and yet somehow it ended up down in the sewers yet again. I seem to be destined to spend the summer in the tunnels under the city. Anyway, I really enjoyed the story and the character development. The Queen herself was kind of a badass too! (Best read in the series because of relationships.)

Finally, I'm getting toward the end of Oliver Twist. I totally failed in my Dickens project from last year so I knew I had to atone by picking up a London-heavy story from one of my favorite but recently-neglected authors. I can't believe I haven't read this book before. It's such an easy read and a truly compelling story. I'll talk more about it next time.

Wandering back and forth in The Smoke,
K

Summer Reading Project: London

In February, I read London Under: The Secret History Beneath the Streets by Peter Ackroyd and really enjoyed it. It's a brief book that explores the past and present of the rivers and tunnels beneath London. It was something that I knew very little about and it definitely whet my appetite for the subject. But then, as frequently happens, I got distracted by other books and briefly forgot about the interest.

Then, last week, I was already missing the quirky Bryant and amiable May so I picked up the second book in Christopher Fowler's Peculiar Crimes Unit series, The Water Room. Coincidentally, some of the plot is about the rivers beneath London (the rest is about the damp above ground) and it renewed my interest. Therefore, I've decided to take a bit of a literary journey into London this summer and all it has to offer, both above and below.

The base of my project is going to be Peter Ackroyd's London: The Biography. Funnily, the first chapter was about ... the rivers of London! Once I finish The Water Room, I'm going to re-read Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere to continue the underground theme. I'm not sure yet where I'll go from there but, since The Biography is over 700 pages long and will take at least the summer to read, I'll have plenty of time to pair fiction reads with it.

Do you have a favorite book about London?

Heading over the pond,
K

RIP VII Read #1: The Yard

I am WAY behind on reviewing my RIP reads -- which I'm sure you have assumed I've been delving into since September 1st. In fact, I finished The Yard by Alex Grecian soon after and, if anything qualifies as a perilous read, it's this dark Victorian tale.

As part of the newly created "Murder Squad" of Scotland Yard, shortly after the Ripper killings have finally stopped, Walter Day is not sure he even belongs in London with the other elite investigators. But when he lands an incredibly difficult case--the murder of another detective on the squad--he knows it's both a chance to prove himself to the department and to decide once and for all if this is the life that he wants. With a focus on early forensics, mental health and police procedures, this novel is not only a gripping cat-and-mouse chase but also a fascinating historical journey.

To be honest, some of the subject matter in this story was right on the border of my comfort zone (child abuse, violence, etc.) and I kept considering putting the book down and walking away from it. But the story was intriguing so I stuck with it and was rewarded with well-developed characters and a satisfying ending. I even ended up with a couple of crushes on some flawed but decent men. Overall, this is a very strong first novel that, I would guess, will likely begin a series. And, with the strength of the characters and the interesting historical setting, I'm sure it will be one I'll keep up with.

Still looking over my shoulder,
K

New Release: The Body at the Tower

Mary Quinn, first introduced in Y.S. Lee's The Agency: A Spy in the House (read my enthusiastic thoughts), is back in The Agency: The Body at the Tower. Second in a planned trilogy, this novel explores more of Mary's unique background and also her undetermined future.

I really don't want to give too much away about this series. The second book picks up about a year after the first but the secrets revealed and relationships fought for and established in the first book are the basis of this story as well. The "body at the tower" is that of a bricklayer, found one morning at the construction site of a large clock tower near London's Parliament -- in fact the one that houses the newly molded Big Ben bell. Did the man have an accident or was he pushed from the top of the tower?

In this story, the mystery is pretty simple but the writing certainly is not. My one complaint about the first book was that it felt like a YA book in that some things weren't fleshed out enough for my tastes. I'm happy to say that I did not feel that way at all during this book. In fact, when things started getting a bit dodgy for Mary, I was happy to remember that it was a YA book and so probably wouldn't go in as dark a direction as it could have. The period details were also wonderful, likely due to the author's PhD in Victorian lit and culture. I'm a bit sad that Lee will only be writing one more book in this series. I'll be getting it as soon as it comes out though!

Waiting for the bell to toll,
K


Support our site and buy The Agency 2: The Body at the Tower on Amazon or find it at your local library. We bought our own copy.

"Not so tiny any more, that's a fact."

I received Louis Bayard's Mr. Timothy for Christmas last year and ended up saving it to read this year due to its holiday setting. This is the story of the adult Timothy Cratchit, a.k.a. "Tiny Tim" from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Things have changed for Tim -- his parents are both dead as are some of his siblings, he no longer has a cane and braces but only walks with a slight limp and, perhaps saddest of all, he turns out to have never been the pious, optimistic child that we saw through Dickens' eyes.

Timothy is homeless right after his father's funeral but ends up with a room in a brothel. He doesn't patronize the business but rather helps the madam learn to read. Things are relatively comfortable for Tim until one day when he sees a young girl dead in the street a few blocks from his home. As Tim passes by the scene, he notices a strange brand on her arm -- a G with demonic eyes in the middle. As he dredges the Thames with an old sailor friend, Gully, looking for bodies worth money to grieving families and medical colleges, they bring up another girl with the same brand and appearance. Eventually, Tim feels compelled to investigate and find out what is happening to these girls. Joined by a street urchin named Colin and a frightened young Italian girl named Philomela, Timothy works to rid London of a horrific evil and also to exorcise his own demons of guilt and self-doubt.

Published in 2003, this is Bayard's first historical mystery and while it didn't have the same polish as his others (The Pale Blue Eye starring a young Edgar Allan Poe and The Black Tower about the missing Dauphin in Paris), this book easily transported me back to Victorian London. There were characters like the kind-hearted and optimistic Gully who could have been penned by Dickens himself. My only real issue with this novel was my decision to read it at Christmas time. Though it is based on A Christmas Carol, it is a dark and sometimes gut-wrenching story that was difficult to read in a time of happiness. Still, i enjoyed it and Mr. Bayard remains one of my authors to follow.

Appreciating comfort and joy,
K


Support our site and buy Mr. Timothy on Amazon or find it at your local library. We bought our own copy.

"In an unremarkable room, in a nondescript building, a man sat working on very non-nondescript theories."

One book that I have looked at various times yet never picked up until now is this one, Un Lun Dun by China Miéville. The girl on the cover caught my attention as did the ghostly building and the color scheme. I can't deny being intrigued by the author's name and the strange title as well. This is British author Miéville's first foray into fiction for a younger audience and he is the writer as well as illustrator of this amazing story. It is fantasy in the vein of Alice in Wonderland, the films of Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away) or the novels of Neil Gaiman.

Pronouncing each syllable to rhyme with "fun", you soon realize that the place the title refers to is UnLondon. UnLondon is an "abcity", a sort of mirror city where everything is different but related to the real city. UnLondon is in trouble from a large toxic cloud called "Smog" and their prophecies speak of a young girl who will come and save them all. They believe these predictions are coming true when Zanna comes through into their world, bringing along her friend Deeba. However, when Zanna is hurt and is forced back to the real world, Deeba has to take on the task of saving UnLondon herself. With the help of unique characters she meets along the way, she begins to understand that being the un-hero might be the only way to save the un-world.

I can't believe I didn't pick up this book sooner! It's exactly the sort of fantasy I like with alternate worlds and strange characters and rules. There is no word of a Miyazaki movie based on this book yet but it would be perfect with its young heroine, the strange world of repurposed gadgets and machines, the environmental message and the cast of bizarre but fascinating supporting characters. This book completes my first task in the Take A Chance Challenge -- "Judge A Book By Its Cover". I judged correctly this time!

Refreshed after my journey to UnLondon,
K


Buy Un Lun Dun on Amazon or find it at your local library.

New Release: The Last Dickens

After my recent disappointment with Dan Simmons' Drood, I was excited to see that an author that I enjoy had also just written about Dickens' final unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood. This book is The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl, released last week by Random House.

The main character in this book is the non-fictional James Osgood, a Boston publisher with Ticknor and Fields (which later became Fields, Osgood, & Company). This was the publishing house for such notables as Whitman, Longfellow, Emerson and later Mark Twain. They had the American publishing rights for Charles Dickens' later works and this novel concerns the time when, after hearing of Dickens' passing, Osgood and a female bookkeeper are forced to travel to England to search for the possible remaining parts of the story of Edwin Drood. They are in a race against time as the Americans don't respect British copyrights so as soon as other firms (in this case the Harper brothers) get copies of the Drood manuscript, they will begin printing their own competing copies of the novel. Osgood and Miss Sand are also being thwarted and menaced by an unknown villain who is seeking the same manuscript for his own personal reasons.

This book is a fascinating look into the publishing industry in America and is also a very compassionate and compelling look at the final years of Dickens. The mystery presented in this book is strong and I appreciated that there was no supernatural element in the story, as there was in Drood. This book also addresses the entry of women into the workforce and the hurdles they faced both in and out of the workplace. All of the historical information in this novel is incorporated seamlessly and it has a very authentic feel. I really enjoyed this book and was only disappointed that it mentioned Wilkie Collins in passing but did not have him as a character.

I recommend this book and if you haven't read Pearl's other novels, The Poe Shadow and The Dante Club, they are also books that feature authors as characters and are very well researched and written.

Wishing that no novel was left unfinished,
K


Buy The Last Dickens: A Novel on Amazon or find it at your local library.

Rerun Thursday: The Quincunx

K is traveling this week and so we will be revisiting some posts from the early days of WeBeReading ... this one is a book that I know a lot of people are curious about or have in their TBR pile.

One of the first books I read this year was The Quincunx by Charles Palliser. It was published in 1989 and is almost 800 pages long. It is set in 19th century England -- a period I read about quite frequently. I had seen this book a few times over the years at my local Barnes and Noble on the shelf for books recommended by store employees. The book has no synopsis on the back so it took me a few years to decide to read it.

I think if it did have a synopsis it would be simply this "the story of a boy who becomes a man - in a field of rakes". You know this image from cartoons -- the unfortunate character steps one direction onto a rake that snaps up and nails him in the face and when he turns to go another direction, another rake is there to hit him in the nose again. This book was 787 pages of agony. And yet --- I would read it again. I know, what am I thinking, right? But the book was thoroughly engaging and though you knew the worst would happen -- because it kept happening -- you hoped in each situation that this would be the time that it worked out for young John Huffam. But sadly, there would be 400 pages left with no story and so it continued through the whole book.

The Quincunx, by the way, is the five-pieced symbol on the cover of the book. It represents the five families that are players in the story.

Who would I recommend this book to? Anyone with a lot of patience for misery, an interest in the less-fortunates of 19th century London or the desire to completely escape into another era for a week or two as this book is quite a long read.

Until next time,
K


Buy The Quincunx on Amazon or find it at your local library.

Early Review: Drood

When I was offered the chance to read a novel starring two of my favorite authors as the main characters, Wilkie Collins (as narrator) and Charles Dickens, I jumped at the chance. Drood, written by Dan Simmons, is a psychological thriller based in Victorian London. Charles Dickens is in a life-changing train accident -- perhaps too life-changing. Has he become part of a dark underworld of drug addicts, murderers and mind-controlled minions? His friend Wilkie Collins follows him to the lowest depths to find the answers.

Simmons obviously did copious amounts of research and he has possibly included every biographical fact about Dickens and Collins that is available. He has written a very tangible portrait of London, especially its seamy underbelly, in the late 19th century. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book as I thought I would. Many of the highly positive reviews I have read of the novel mention that the reader hasn't read much or any of Dickens or Collins books. I, on the other hand, have read many of their stories and I just didn't find the writing convincing as the work of a 19th century novelist, especially Collins, whose style I am very familiar with. The writing isn't bad, it just isn't this particular novelist's voice.

I also disliked the way that Dickens and Collins were portrayed. I have read books where some of my literary heroes, both fictional (Sherlock Holmes) and non-fictional (Edgar Allan Poe), have been turned into villains but they were still always written as true to character. This book takes liberties with the character and habits of these men to a degree that I was uncomfortable with. I worry that this book could give people false impressions of these men and their works.

I did enjoy the way that Simmons incorporated novels such as Bleak House and The Moonstone into the book. There were some interesting insights into the books and the process of writing a serialized novel. I also appreciated the emphasis on some of the social issues of the time -- the same issues that Dickens himself wrote about -- especially poverty.

This was a unique story but I think that some parts were just a bit too far-fetched and violent and the ending seemed rushed. After over 750 pages, I would have appreciated a bit more closure. If you haven't read any books by Charles Dickens or Wilkie Collins and are interested in them, go pick up a nice Oxford edition and read the biographical information at the beginning. If you want a Victorian thriller and don't mind if the characters are true-to-life, this book is for the most part entertaining. Drood is available on February 9th.

Avoiding the seamy side of town,
K


Buy Drood: A Novel on Amazon or find it at your local library.

"She sits stiffly on the seat of the cart, her whole self held in against the tumult of the city."

I started Gerri Brightwell's The Dark Lantern only remembering I had seen it on another blog. I couldn't remember what the review said but I was too lazy to look it up. After getting through a few dozen pages of the book, I went back to find that review -- from Katherine at A Girl Walks Into a Bookstore ... -- and I almost completely agreed with her estimation of the book.

The novel begins by telling the story of a housemaid in 1893, starting a new job in London after leaving her position in the country. She gets the job by lying about her past and isn't sure that this new job was worth it. Then we start reading about Mina, the daughter-in-law of the house's owner, who happens to be bedridden due to a seizure, so that Mina is responsible for running the household. We know that Mina also has a secret past and has chosen Jane as the maid because she hopes she can have someone that she can control in the house. Besides these stories, we also get the story of Mina's husband and his expertise in anthropometry -- the use of body measurements as a way of identifying criminals. And don't worry, there are a few more story lines thrown in for good measure.

This book seems to have been written without a lot of direction. If one or maybe two of these plot lines had been chosen and had been fleshed out, this would have been a much more satisfying book. The writing wasn't bad except for the tacky and gratuitous sex scenes and sexual references. I can't stand when a writer puts in even mildly graphic sex that does nothing to advance the plot of the story. It cheapens the story and honestly is never written very well. Another of my book pet peeves is in evidence in this book as "the dark lantern" has only a brief mention and has nothing to do with the plot of the story. I'm tired of book titles that are pulled out of a random sentence of the book but that ultimately mean nothing.

My last gripe with reading this book has nothing to do with the author or her story. I have just decided that I really don't like reading about Victorian servants. They are always in the worst conditions. They are shifty, dishonest and loutish. They are treated like animals and yet one is never sure that they deserve much more. I can't imagine that this was the way it was in the majority of situations and yet these are the only type of situations and positions we ever read about. It's tiresome and I want a break from this sort of negative stereotyping.

I didn't mean to use this post as a rant but this book just made me a bit cranky! There was nothing terrible or unreadable about this novel and I would grudgingly recommend it to someone looking for a frivolous Victorian soap-operatic thriller (did I just totally make up that adjective?).

Glad to have clean air and no servants,
K


Buy The Dark Lantern on Amazon or find it at your local library.

"Gentlemen: Your ad in the Saturday Review of Literature says that you specialize in out-of-print books."

Recently, in all of the talk about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, another book was mentioned that I have wanted to read and so I picked it up at the library. That book was 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. This is a collection of letters between New Yorker Hanff and the employees of the Marks and Co. bookstore in London, especially with one Frank Doel. For twenty years, Hanff orders old and rare books from London and becomes friends with Doel, his co-workers and his family. She sends them care-packages of meat and eggs when they are suffering through rations after WWII. She sends friends to visit the bookstore when they travel abroad. But unfortunately Hanff is never able to save enough money to take her own trip to England to meet these friends.

This is a very short book, only 97 pages, but it is so incredibly sweet and funny that it is worth the time reading it. It gives insight into some everyday lives that we otherwise would never know about. I highly suggest reading this book if you haven't yet.

Wanting to find the England that I dream of,
K


Buy 84, Charing Cross Road on Amazon or find it at your local library.