Book Review: The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife and the Missing Corpse by Piu Marie Eatwell

If the title of this book sounds baffling, it's nothing compared to the true story it relates. In 1897 a widow called Anna Maria Druce applied for permission to exhume her father-in-law's body. She claimed that Druce, a furniture dealer, had really been the alter-ego of the 5th Duke of Portland, an eccentric man who was reclusive in nature and delighted in tunnelling under his country estate. Mrs Druce claimed that the Duke had faked the death of Druce in 1864 and that the coffin would be found empty. This kicked off one of the most intriguing cases of the late Victorian era which captured the public's imagination and rivals the best tales contemporary novelists had to offer.

Although this is a riveting story to start with, it needs someone of Eatwell's talents to bring the disparate strands together. It may start with Anna Maria Druce but that's far from the end of the case and Eatwell does an excellent job of juggling the various aspects of it. The book is split into three 'acts' - 'Burial', 'Resurrection' and 'Revelation', a partitioning that works well for the most part. For me, the intrigue didn't disintegrate at all throughout the book - while one mystery might be 'solved' there were still things to be explored, creating layers of intrigue that lasted until the final pages.

Eatwell's research is exemplary and she's been fortunate enough to have been granted access to some very interesting things, which she relates towards the end of the book. Equally, her knowledge of the major and minor players in the tale is excellent and she shares just enough relevant information without the narrative becoming swamped. Her ability to recreate the atmosphere of late-Victorian London is also brilliant. This isn't a dry book that simply recounts facts but an engrossing one which attempts to put you in the shoes of the major players. When a writer does this successfully they can bring history to life and Eatwell is one such writer.

Ultimately, this is a thrilling non-fiction book which will appeal to fans of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher and other high-quality works of that type. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was sad that the rollercoaster ride of the 'Druce-Portland' case had to end, though not, I'm sure, as sad as some of the protagonists.

A review copy of this book was given to me in exchange for an impartial review.

Book Review: The Warden by Anthony Trollope

The Warden is the first in Trollope's 'Chronicles of Barsetshire'. The warden of the title is Mr Septimus Harding who oversees Hiram's Hospital, an almshouse which supports twelve bedesmen whilst allowing Mr Harding and his younger daughter Eleanor to live very comfortably. Unfortunately, local reformer John Bold takes up the case of the bedesmen, arguing that the legacy has been mishandled and the men are still living in relative poverty while Mr Harding lives well. Adding another dimension to this disagreement is the fact that John and Eleanor secretly love each other.

This was my first Trollope (yes, I know, naughty Victorianist) and I think I picked well. Though the book really does take a while to get going, once I was a quarter of the way in I was hooked. The story's a very simple one, there aren't any big shocks and all the drama stems from the characters, of which there are some memorable ones. Chief amongst those is Archdeacon Grantly, Mr Harding's son-in-law, who is opinionated and a bit of a bully when it comes to what his father-in-law should do about the dispute. I'm looking forward to following him and other characters further in Barchester Towers.

I did find the book dragging a little when the narrative moved away from Barchester and followed Mr Harding to London in his quest to solve the problem. While some of the descriptions there were evocative, the section seemed in contrast to the rest of the book which was tightly-wound around Barchester.

Ultimately, The Warden proved to be a good introduction to Trollope for me and I'll certainly read more. As with much good Victorian fiction, the issues it raises are as potent today and, it has to be said, no more easily resolved. What shines through in this novel for me is Mr Harding's overwhelming niceness. Not a bad impression to be left with perhaps.

This book was read as part of the 'Victorian Bingo' reading challenge, details here.

Book Review: The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices by Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens

The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices is a humorous narrative of the walking tour Collins and Dickens undertook in 1857 and was originally published in Household Words. Collins becomes Thomas Idle (truly idle) and Dickens becomes Francis Goodchild (laboriously idle). It's split into five parts - the first covers their mountainous walk and Idle's ankle injury, the second follows on from that and includes a ghost story penned by Collins, the third comprises Thomas Idle essentially explaining why he's idle, the fourth includes a very disturbing tale penned by Dickens that frightened me in broad daylight, while the final portion is set at Doncaster during Race-Week.

Separately, these two are brilliant; together they're even better. I spent so much time chuckling at this book, quite a bit of it in public too. The interplay between the two characters is wonderful, particularly during the fourth number, and the exaggerated personas are excellent throughout. The recounting of Idle's accident in the first part sets the bar high for the rest of the book and it certainly delivers.

Both the ghost stories are creepy enough, and definitely memorable. While the one penned by Collins has one real moment of creepiness though, the one by Dickens is more malignant and was both enjoyable to read and incredibly unsettling.

It's difficult to say too much about a book that's only 130 pages long. I will say, as a side point, that the Hesperus Press edition is beautiful and compact. I love their books for those reasons and I was delighted to find The Lazy Tour in such a neat little package. Highly recommended to any fans of Collins and Dickens and, most especially, to fans of both.

This book was read as part of the 'TBR' reading challenge, details here.

Edmund Yates and Dickens's Postbox

Maybe this is something that only people researching obscure or at least lesser-known figures will understand but, while reading an article on the BBC website the other night, I got slightly giddy. It's not very often I see references to Edmund Yates on anything apart from the papers piling up on my desk. In fact, when I woke up the next morning I was pretty sure I'd dreamed it (come on, I'm not the only one who dreams about Victorian authors...right?) but, nope, in an article about Charles Dickens's postbox at Gad's Hill hints that Yates helped him obtain it.

I like that. One of the less-complimentary references to Yates I've found came in a biography of Dickens from the 1940s where the author called him 'sycophantic' in his attentions to his mentor. Now, while I think that's a little unfair, it does have a ring of truth to it and that's why I find the idea of Yates rushing to discuss postboxes with Dickens rather enticing. After all, it's not very often your day job at the post office means you can be useful to one of your living heroes.

My Summer Conferences

I've given papers at three conferences this summer in rather different locations and to different groups of people. The actual conferences themselves have been enjoyable and informative, though my personal difficulties have made them a little more traumatic than I would've preferred.

The first one, at the beginning of June, was the Oxford English Graduate Conference 2014 on the theme of 'Margins'. Of course, this gave me the brilliant excuse to see Oxford - and to see Oxford in the sunshine - which was a very pleasant experience. My paper, entitled 'Reclaiming a Sensation Novelist: Re-evaluating Edmund Yates', was on a 9:00 am panel, probably a good thing because once it was over I started to enjoy the day a little more. The programme was packed full with four sets of four simultaneous panels. The variety was excellent, though I tended to stick to the more Victorian ones. Perhaps my favourite panel was 'Nineteenth-Century Women' that included three outstanding papers from Ruth Ashton (University of Leicester), Teja Pusapati (University of Oxford) and Rebecca Shuttleworth (University of Leicester) who looked at 'fallen'/'new' women, the English Woman's Journal and provincial women in abolitionist discourse respectively. The day was a success overall and I managed to overcome my inherent shyness and hold a few conversations with some interesting people.

Secondly, at the end of June, was 'Recoveries 2014: Reconnections, 1714-1914' held at the University of Nottingham. The paper I gave there was a variation on my Oxford paper, slightly shorter and with more of an emphasis on Yates's novel Black Sheep in relation to Dickens. I was pleased with how it went and got some interesting questions. Once again, there was a nice mix of paper within the time period, my favourites perhaps being Amy Watson (Nottingham Trent University) discussing Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, Adam Abraham (University of Oxford) talking about imitations of The Pickwick Papers and Elizabeth Adams (independent) on the collaborative authorship questions surrounding Mary Elizabeth Braddon. The university campus at Nottingham is stunning, a perfect place to discuss literature and culture.

Finally, I attended the 6th annual Victorian Popular Fiction Association conference which was on the theme of 'Victorian Treasures and Trash'. I attended this conference last year and it was brilliant. I'm pleased to say that this one was exactly the same. Spread over three days, there were plenty of papers to hold my attention, dealing with some Victorians I know a fair bit about and some of whom I know absolutely nothing. There's something equally fascinating and terrifying about being in a room with a heap of Victorian experts but they're all lovely people. I didn't get the chance to talk to some people I wanted to but that was partly due to time and partly due to my shyness going into overdrive. I did spend a lot of time hiding but I was there. That's the important thing.

My paper was on the Thursday morning and was a completely different creature to the Oxford and Nottingham papers. While they focused on the collaboration rumours surrounding Edmund Yates, this one delved into textual analysis and comparison to Dickens in a paper called 'Bleak House to Black Sheep: Literacy and the Street Boy'. I was fortunate to be on a panel with Sarah Lill (Northumbria University), whose paper on Edward Lloyd was both fascinating and slotted most neatly in alongside mine. There were too many excellent papers to name and I wouldn't want to leave anybody out so let me just say that it was a brilliant conference with some thought-provoking panels.

All of these conferences have thrown up things I want to now read, whether related to my research interests or not. Thanks to Oxford, I need to get more acquainted with Dickens's Christmas journals, read some Marilynne Robinson and delve - quite carefully - into George Moore. Nottingham taught me that I need to finally read The Pickwick Papers and dramatically improve my knowledge of Mary Elizabeth Braddon's 'lesser' novels. The VPFA gave me a lot of potential reading material including stories by Louisa Baldwin, Dr Paull's Theory by A.M. Diehl, Behind the Mask by Louisa May Alcott and a few texts on stammering from the nineteenth century. I may also give The Mill on the Floss another shot.

It's been a busy five weeks but rewarding nonetheless. I only hope my papers proved as interesting to others as theirs did to me.

Book Review: The Peculiar Case of the Electric Constable by Carol Baxter

The Peculiar Case of the Electric Constable recounts the real-life arrest of Quaker John Tawell, arrested on New Year's Day 1845 with assistance from the electric telegraph system that ran from Slough to London. However, the title is really only something for the writer to hang their hat on. This may have been the first case assisted by the telegraph wires, yes, but it is a fascinating one even disregarding that.

Tawell converted to Quakerism and spent a lot of time trying to fit in but marriage to an outsider didn't help his case. There's a lot in this book on Quaker rules and regulations - as they were at the beginning of the nineteenth century - and it makes for fascinating reading for those of us who hadn't really looked into it before. While some of Tawell's frustrations can be linked to these rules, his conviction for fraud (while trying to hide behind his uniform) demonstrates Tawell's tenuous grip on morality. The pages about his transportation to Australia are excellent and don't feel at all superfluous.

The murder Tawell is accused of is the poisoning of single mother Sarah Hart. Baxter's research is fantastic and her lucid narrative style almost puts you in the house at the time of the murder. She also knows when to flick back and forth between aspects of the story, ensuring that the reader is both interested in what's being told and intrigued about what she will return to. The atmosphere she recreates later in the prison is stifling and ridiculously realistic.

I don't want to spoil any more of the details of this fascinating case so I'll leave it there. However, I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book, particularly the meticulous research and the complete immersion in Tawell's life that it results in. I'll definitely read more by Baxter in the future.

Book Review: Valentine Grey by Sandi Toksvig

Valentine Grey tells the story of a girl who has been raised in India but returns to England for a visit and is forced to stay when her father dies. She moves in with her father's brother, Charles, and his wife, Caroline, but struggles to adapt. When Reggie, her cousin, comes home she finally has someone on her wavelength but Uncle Charles wants his son to volunteer for the Boer War. Reggie is gay and knows full well he wouldn't survive the battlefield and, besides, he wants to stay with his actor lover, Frank so Valentine secretly goes in his place.

I was surprised how much Toksvig crammed into this book. Not only do we get a proper picture of Valentine's attempts to acclimatise to London life but the war itself is vividly evoked, from the journey over there to the actual battles themselves. Nevertheless, the reader isn't overwhelmed with detail. Toksvig is economical and it seems to be the best approach.

Valentine is an excellent protagonist and certainly one who develops over time. Her reasons for going to war are much more complex than I thought they would be and the relationships with her fellow soldiers are intriguing for the layers to them as they obviously believe she's a man. There are several scenes of pure horror, not just related to battle, and one loathsome character who lingers long after you put the book down. The plot goes to places I didn't anticipate, showing various facets to war and dealing far more in reality than idealism.

Something that also surprised me was that Toksvig kept one foot in London with Reggie and Frank. This created an entirely different strand of the novel that I wasn't expecting and worked as a good contrast at times, though at others being in battle seemed preferable. Reggie's characterisation - and his fears - were both real and imagined and I think I actually preferred him to Valentine most of the time, possibly because Valentine was having to pretend to be someone else throughout.

While I won't spoil it, the novel builds to a good yet melancholy conclusion. The lessons I took from the final pages could easily have been lessons from the last fifteen years in the modern world.

Book Review: Derby Day by D.J. Taylor

D.J Taylor takes the famous Epsom Derby as the centrepiece for this novel. Around it, he weaves a complex web of characters worthy of Dickens. At the heart of this book is a horse called Tiberius. At the outset, he's owned by Mr Davenant, an in-debt Lincolnshire squire, but the unscrupulous Mr Happerton is hoping to get his hands on him, aided by his friend, Captain Raff. Happerton has just married the daughter of Mr Gresham, who finds himself falling ill and becoming more amenable to his son-in-law than he had intended. In addition to these, we are also introduced to a few other characters as the narrative progresses.

I have to say, I found this a little difficult to get into, probably because of the necessity of flicking around the introduce the various characters. The middle and end was much more enjoyable, as I located my favourite characters and grew to know them. There's the intelligent Rebecca Happerton, more than complicit in fleecing her father, who I yearned to learn a little more about. Then there are the Lincolnshire characters with their own little subplots plus the ageing jockey, Major Hubbins. The most surprising character turned out to be Captain Raff, who captured my attention in the middle of the book and stayed strong until the end.

It's very difficult to analyse a book with this scope so I'll just pick out a few choice facts. You don't need to be interested in horse racing for it to be enjoyable and the most important thing about this novel is the characterisation and description. Scroop Hall is a magnificent creation, full of echoes of Chesney Wold in Bleak House. There is a character 'summing-up' section to tie up loose ends which may not appeal to modern readers but to aficionados of Victorian fiction it's a pleasurable throwback. Finally, the actual up-close depiction of the Epsom Derby is luscious and I loved the reporter involved in the finale.

This is an excellent book for lovers of neo-Victorian fiction. Definite echoes of Dickens with some touches of Collins and Thackeray thrown in plus some witty observations courtesy of the narrator.

A Visit to Brodsworth Hall and Gardens

Last week, me and my father paid a visit to Brodsworth Hall and Gardens near Doncaster (it was to celebrate his 60th birthday but he won't thank me for broadcasting that!). While I was ambivalent about the house itself, I found the gardens superb. I think the problem is that the gardens have been regenerated while the house, in parts, has been left to stagnate. While the drawing room and the morning room were gorgeous, other sections of the house didn't live up to expectation. I think it needs to decide whether it wants to be a memorial to the people who lived there last (it was a late sell-off to English Heritage in 1990) or to its heyday. As a Victorianist, I know which I'd prefer!

Anyway, since I was so enamoured by the gardens, I took a few photos to share with you. Unfortunately, you didn't get any of the croquet match that was going on in the grounds - I was too worried about the potential damage they could do to my head if I tried snapping them. 

This first one is the fountain and flowerbeds visible, through a break in the hedge, from parts of the house. It's lusciously arranged, very colourful at the height of summer. In the background is the summer house. 

This is the view of the house from the heights of the summer house. The clouds add a little atmosphere.

I was particularly attracted by the pet cemetery in a little corner of the grounds. 

The little secluded pit is stunning. You come upon it fairly suddenly and there are paths above and below. The first one I took from the vantage point of the steps above and the second one from beside the archway you can see in the first. 

This is the shooting house. Very pleasant in both situation and design. I had a quick look inside but it was too crowded for my liking. 

Below is a section of the 'showcase' aspect of the gardens, displaying plants and trees of many nationalities. It's very tranquil there and I could have stayed there for hours - again, if it hadn't been for the people. 

Finally, this is the church that is just off the grounds and is a beautiful companion to them. 

One thing I'm looking forward to about finally getting a job is the prospect of English Heritage and National Trust memberships. It's not just the gorgeous properties I'm interested in. This visit to Brodsworth proved to me that a walk around grounds as beautiful as these can be both calming and inspiring. I could easily spend hours perched up by the summer house writing with the occasional sojourn to the cafe for tea and a scone. Though, next time, I'll make sure to sit inside - four wasps chased me halfway round the courtyard trying to steal my jam.

Book Review: Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte

Agnes Grey tells the story of a young woman who wants to help her impoverished family by going out to work as a governess. The first family she works for is troublesome to say the least and so she leaves. The second family she finds a position with include a flirty girl who enjoys mischief-making and could easily quash Agnes's one chance at true happiness.

There were some excellent passages of description in this one and also some interesting sparring dialogue between Agnes and Mr Weston, the curate and the object of her affections. In some ways, these conversations reminded me a little of Emma and Mr Knightly in Jane Austen's Emma. There are little segues within the novel to tell other small stories, the most striking of these being Nancy Brown's tale. The descriptions of the children and their misbehaving aren't overdone, although the overall effect of them is to make you question how frequently this was the experience of Victorian governesses - this is an alarming prospect!

Is Agnes too idealistic a heroine? In parts she certainly seems too bland but this in part is made up by the way the other characters behave on the page. Rosalie, the eldest daughter in the second family Agnes works for is an interesting one - toying with men's affections, deliberately trying to entice Mr Weston once she realises that Agnes is drawn to him and, ultimately, discovering that the life her mother wanted for her is a miserable one. Equally, I found Mr Weston an interesting character and most of the children Agnes encounters caught my attention too. Fundamentally, Agnes has to be a bit too noble in order to put up with what she does. I don't think it damaged my enjoyment of the novel at all.

While I didn't like Agnes Grey as much as I liked The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (reviewed here), it is a very good book. Evocative and thought-provoking, it again mad me sad that we never got the chance to read more from Anne.

Book Review: The Secret Life of Wilkie Collins by William Clarke

This biography, written by someone married to a descendant of Collins, attempts to decode the author's tangled personal life and get as close to the truth as possible. It's a book of remarkable accuracy, piecing together what we definitely do know about Collins's life with what can be assumed about his two 'families'. In a very readable book, Clarke examines the evidence, makes assumptions where necessary and comes up with a plausible trajectory for Collins's life.

Clarke chooses to start the book with Collins's will and then back-pedal to his parents to 'start' the story as it were. This allows for a certain amount of intrigue over the familial situation and the problems with the bequests to creep in before he turns to examine Collins's father. The chapters covering William Collins and Wilkie's childhood are more interesting than I expected them to be and I very much enjoyed the chapter covering the family's visit to Italy. I suppose one of my criticisms, though, is that it took a while to get to the 'good bits' - the relationships with Caroline Graves and Martha Rudd that shaped his life. However, Collins's early life shaped his reactions to events later on. The book is crafted to give a whole view of the man and it fulfils its objectives.

For Dickens fans, there's a chapter devoted to his relationship with Collins, covering the reason for them drifting apart as well. Then the investigative work begins as Collins's relationships with Caroline Graves and Martha Rudd are pieced together from what evidence there is. It hardly builds up a complete picture of his life - he was far too secretive for that - but it's a compelling picture nonetheless.

Perhaps my favourite chapters are the ones which cover his trip to America in 1873 and, just before that, the details of his stage successes, which I knew very little about. While this book only briefly mentions the plots of the novels, it takes an interest in the stage shows which, of course, involved Collins the man and not just Collins the author.

This book is a must for anybody wanting to unravel the mysteries of Collins's personal life. I also appreciated the look at the lives of both 'families' after he had died, including the inheritance problems. Would recommend for anyone interested in one of the most secretive and yet open authors of the nineteenth century.

Classic Film Review: The Ghosts of Berkeley Square (1947)

The Ghosts of Berkeley Square is a rather odd little film about, you guessed it, two ghosts in the London square. Starring Robert Morley as General "Jumbo" Burlap and Felix Aylmer as Colonel "Bulldog" Kelsoe, it tells the story of two men who died in 1708 after a stunt gone wrong and cannot leave their house in Berkeley Square until reigning royalty visits. Through the years they have many close shaves but it's the unexpected that always wins the day.

With a supporting cast including Marie Lohr (who I liked in Went the Day Well? (1942), review here),Yvonne Arnaud and Wilfrid Hyde-White, this film manages to be eccentric and humorous utilising the fairly limited special effects of the time. However, that said, it is a little choppy, as over 200 years pass before the soldiers are finally allowed to leave the house. As a consequence, characters come and go quite rapidly and the fun mostly stems from wondering how they'll accidentally sabotage their latest efforts to be set free. My favourite of these was the Great Exhibition period where they become a spectacle so convincing that a scientific expert believes in them enough to recommend that Prince Albert does not visit the show - for fear of looking like a fool to his own society.

The Ghosts of Berkeley Square takes a liberal approach to haunting. The soldiers can materialise, blend into their surroundings, get into trouble with humans and make mischief throughout. Plus, a great number of the people they come into contact with are surprisingly unperturbed at the idea of ghosts. The film necessarily relies on the charisma and interplay between the two ghosts themselves and Morley and Aylmer bounce off each other fairly neatly throughout, even during the scene where it's revealed they haven't spoken for over half a century because of an argument. 

This isn't a spectacular film but it's amusing and very of its time with some flippant racist comments which make make the contemporary viewer cringe. Still worth a watch if it's on though. 

Book Review: Tom-All-Alone's by Lynn Shepherd

Tom-All-Alone's is a very clever novel which takes Charles Dickens's Bleak House as its starting point. Charles Maddox is an ex-police officer struggling to make his way as a private detective after being unfairly dismissed from the force. Lawyer Edward Tulkinghorn approaches him with an apparently simple request to find out who has been sending threatening letters to a client of his. Maddox accepts but soon realises that the case is more complex than it seems and his headstrong urge to uncover the truth may put him in real danger.

As the title suggests, the book draws heavily on Bleak House but it isn't necessary to have read it, I don't think, in order to enjoy this one. For fans of Dickens there are numerous little nudges towards one of his greatest novel, characters passing through the narrative who you click your fingers at noticing. But Shepherd's own plot is fascinating, not just because it involves the mysterious Tulkinghorn. Maddox is an interesting character to follow around the dregs of London society but the most engaging portions of the novel, for me, came during his interactions with his ageing uncle, also a former detective who's gradually losing his grip on reality.

Shepherd's ability to bring the underbelly of Dickensian London to the fore is remarkable. There are several gruesome moments which I won't spoil but I will say that I had to continue reading just to distance myself from the scenes described - that's one way of pushing you to finish a book, although in this case I was eager to anyway.

The phrase that came back to me time and again as I was reading this was 'indecently clever'. That's certainly  an apt description of Shepherd's powers to merge Bleak House (and other sources but I won't say what) with her own story. It manages to be both a homage to Dickens and an exceptional read in its own right. I honestly can't say more than that apart from that I highly recommend it.

Book Review: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

Like most people, I seem to have neglected Anne Bronte. I'm in the middle of reading Juliet Barker's mammoth The Brontes and so decided to take a break and read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. I'll admit that I wasn't expecting much. What actually happened was me realizing that I perhaps preferred this to both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.

The novel is essentially a letter from Gilbert Markham to his brother-in-law. The first section focuses on Gilbert's attendance on a new addition to the area, the mysterious tenant of the title, a Mrs Graham. She has a small son, Arthur, and is little reluctant to ingratiate herself in local affairs. Gilbert falls in love with her, though there are rumours that she's conducting a relationship with his friend, Frederick Lawrence. Helen eventually gives him a manuscript which explains her unhappy marriage to a drunkard and adulterer. Since I don't want to spoil the finale, I'll stop there.

What's striking about this novel is the portrayal of Helen Graham (Helen Huntingdon). To a modern reader, perhaps, her firmness in abandoning her husband (and, of course, taking her son with her) is unremarkable and expected but taken in the context of the period it's nothing short of astounding. What's more, Bronte never really suggests that Helen's in the wrong. Her portrayal of the degenerate husband is unflinchingly honest. There is one section in particular where Huntingdon and his friends really push the boundaries of respectability while staying at the Huntingdon home, Grassdale. The sustained scene of debauchery sticks in my memory as probably the most powerful in the book.

There are a couple of niggles, as with any novel. Essentially, we have to get to know two circles of friends and this proved especially tricky for me when we came back from Helen's diaries to Gilbert's own narrative. Remembering the intricacies of those relationships took me a little while. Equally, the final few chapters felt a little fragmented because of the events taking place over a period of time and involving several quick changes in the circumstances of the protagonists. That said, I'm nit-picking, trying to find fault with a novel I really enjoyed. It gave me food for thought but also managed to surprise me with its honesty. Not a lesser novel at all but a thoroughly excellent one. I'm not surprised Charlotte refused to have it reprinted after Anne's death!

Book Review: Elijah's Mermaid by Essie Fox

Having read The Somnambulist by Fox last year (review here), I was delighted to receive a review copy of Elijah's Mermaid from the publisher. Fox's second novel more than lives up to the promise of the first, so much so that I read the final third in one huge gulp, unable to sleep without finishing it.

The novel has two interconnecting strands. Web-toed Pearl was found in the Thames as a baby and subsequently brought up in the House of the Mermaids, a brothel under the direction of Mrs Hibbert with the menacing presence of Tip Thomas nearby. Protected until the age of fourteen, she then realises she's been protected simply to be sold to the highest bidder. This turns out to be Osborne Black, an artist obsessed with mermaids in search of a muse. Meanwhile, Lily and Elijah Lamb were twins deposited at the Foundling Hospital and finally reunited with their grandfather via the intervention of publisher Frederick Hall. However, a trip to London and a chance meeting with Pearl changes Elijah. Soon he receives an offer he can't refuse and moves to London, leaving Lily anxiously waiting for his letters.

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of Elijah's Mermaid are the various settings which spring to life on the page. The brothel is one such setting but my personal favourite was Dolphin House, Black's home, where you can almost smell the damp seeping from the book. There's an appendix included where you can read about the inspiration for the settings which was a great idea.

Story-wise, I think the novel was flawless. Although some of the twists I anticipated, many I didn't and, anyway, it was wonderful to sit back and let the story unfold. Lily and Pearl are two contrasting heroines, with different knowledge about the world, and these differing viewpoints help keep the novel interesting. One of the most memorable characters, however, isn't even human - I'll let you discover that one by yourselves.

The thing that makes Elijah's Mermaid so compelling is probably the drift between respectability and the Victorian underclass. The two merge tantalisingly at times and it certainly helps to make the novel fascinating, especially to someone as interested in the period as I am. Above all, however, this book is an excellent story with twists and turns galore. Definitely worth a read, whether you're fascinated by the Victorian period or not.

Television Review: The Paradise

Although this series was based on a book by Zola, I'm treating it as an isolated drama series since I haven't read the book for comparison. The Paradise tells the story of a country girl who joins the staff of a prestigious department store. Denise (Joanna Vanderham) has come to work for her uncle, Edmund (Peter Wight) but finds his shop across the street from the department store desolate and unable to support her. Starting work in Ladieswear under the withering gaze of Miss Audrey (Sarah Lancashire) she faces animosity from colleague, Clara (Sonya Cassidy), but Denise is full of ideas, some of which capture the attention of owner, John Moray (Emun Elliott). There is a spark between them but Moray is in the process of wooing Katherine Glendenning (Elaine Cassidy), the daughter of Lord Glendenning (Patrick Malahide), although the spectre of his late wife troubles him on a daily basis.

In all honesty, I found the first episode a little disjointed and difficult to watch. That's a sticking point with many dramas and the introduction of Denise to the world of the department store was much less effective than her immersion in it in later episodes. Characters who seemed like cardboard cut-outs in the first episode are fleshed out much more as the series progresses, notably Miss Audrey and the impassive clerk, Jonas (David Hayman). There is enough in the later episodes for me to recommend persevering with this - if you're a fan of period drama, of course.

The sets and costumes seemed perfect, most of the dialogue was in keeping with the period. Denise's accent was a little all over the place at first and, given the fluctuations, I never managed to accurately pinpoint where she was supposed to be from. One of the most enjoyable aspects of this series was perhaps the use of some excellent younger actors who are going to be in many, many things to come. Some of them were already familiar to me - Emun Elliott (Lip Service), Elaine Cassidy and Stephen Wight as Sam (both Fingersmith), Matthew McNulty (The Syndicate) - but Joanna Vanderham and Ruby Bentall as Pauline were both new faces to me.

As the series progresses there are some surprises and some predictable twists, enough of the former to make the latter bearable. I particularly enjoyed the finale, but primarily for the resolution of Miss Audrey's own storyline as much as anything else. The series was left open enough for the BBC to renew it and I hope they do, although I remain a little puzzled by their scheduling. The Paradise was not a midweek offering - it's typical Sunday night entertainment which would've fared better in that slot than I suspect it did on Tuesday nights. While I realise that the schedulers were probably trying to avoid a Downton Abbey clash, pushing The Paradise back until perhaps next year would've ensured it got the audience it deserved. If it returns, I'd like to see it on a Sunday evening where it belongs.

My New Project

I don't how many of you are aware of Valancourt Books. They are an American publisher who specialise in reprinting rare classics in cheap, scholarly editions. Some of the novels they have brought back into paperback include works by Arthur Conan Doyle, J.S. Le Fanu and Frances Trollope. Their full list of authors covered can be found here.

Anyway, to the point. I suggested that they may want to look at Edmund Yates (the subject of my thesis, as regular visitors to this blog will know) and, miraculously, they asked me if I'd be interested in editing the novel I suggested (Black Sheep) and providing the introduction etc. Of course, I said yes. I'm not an idiot.

So it's going to be a fair bit of work but I'm looking forward to seeing a paperback copy of Black Sheep on my shelf somewhere in the future. The fact that it will have my name attached is a glorious side-effect. Yates doesn't deserve to be quite as forgotten as he has been and I think I'm right in saying that Black Sheep is his best novel. A mixture of murder, manipulation and love - a pure sensation novel and all the better for it.

You can take a look at their forthcoming titles page and I'm there!

Book Review: The Somnambulist by Essie Fox

It's a mark of how long this one has been sitting on my bookshelf that I have the hardback edition. I actually wish it was still sitting on there so I could delay the pleasure of reading it a little longer. This is the kind of book where I wanted to drink in every word and description and I heartily recommend it.

The Somnambulist focuses on Phoebe Turner, a seventeen year-old who lives with her religious mother, Maud, and her ex-actress aunt, Cissy. When tragedy strikes she finds herself taking up a job as companion to the wife of businessman Nathaniel Samuels but the relocation to his country estate stirs up secrets and creates further problems.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of this novel is the submersion in Victorian society. The descriptions of Wilton's Music Hall are particularly entrancing, as are the vivid descriptions of the docks. In fact, every setting comes alive on the page. That's not to say the characters don't, although I would say that some of the most vivid characters are supporting ones. I particularly like Isaac, the senile old Jew, who we hear of several times. There is something about the description of both him and his shop which is reminiscent of Dickens at his best in Bleak House.

There are many twists and turns in this novel, some of which I anticipated and some of which were complete surprises. Fox utilises both types well, offering the reader involvement in the discovery of the secrets but still managing to surprise them more than once. She also manages to demonstrate her immersion in Victorian society without hitting the reader over the head with the research. What this creates is an atmospheric and surprising novel which stayed with me days after I'd finished it.

Book Review: Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin

I've been gazing longingly at this biography since it came out but, apart from anything else, I wanted to boost my knowledge of Dickens's fiction first. After reading and reviewing Oliver Twist, Bleak House and The Old Curiosity Shop since the beginning of this year I thought I was ready. I knew Claire Tomalin to be an excellent biographer after reading her examination of Katherine Mansfield but Charles Dickens: A Life surpassed all my expectations.

One of the problems of writing a Dickens biography are the number of people - family members, friends - who are constantly on the periphery of his life. Tomalin combats this by including a 'Cast List' at the beginning of the book, some sixteen pages long. This comes in very useful throughout, as do the three maps which illustrate where Dickens spent much of his time. These maps are particularly enlightening when considered in the light of things he wished to keep secret, primarily his relationship with actress Nelly Ternan. There are also generous notes at the back of the book meaning that people who only have a cursory knowledge of Dickens will still be able to follow his life with ease.

Tomalin's balanced tone is notable throughout the book. Although it's obvious she is fascinated by her subject, this never translates to hero-worship: she is equally critical of both his actions in his person life and the flaws in some of his novels. However, she highlights the small events in his life which demonstrate the inner man, the two which stick in my head are the meeting on a train with a young girl and the inquest of the death of a baby which Tomalin chooses as her prologue. There are numerous instances of Dickens's compassion throughout but there are also many instances of his stubborn, and sometimes vindictive, nature. As Tomalin writes of his separation from his wife: 'You want to avert your eyes from a good deal of what happened during the next year, 1858.' (p294) You do but you can't. The Dickens who treated his wife so abominably is still the Dickens who created Our Mutual Friend and the tantalising unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The man and his works are linked and, actually, you can see fragments of his life and experiences reflected in all his novels and other works. A fuller understanding of the events of Dickens's life can lead to a more pleasurable reading of his fiction.

Ultimately, Tomalin paints a portrait of a flawed genius. Her descriptions of him, using just the right amount of detail, never verge on boring and she draws on numerous sources along with conjecture to summarise the secretive aspects of the author's life. This book is worth reading for the pages leading up to his death alone. They are compelling pages, intricately detailed and sympathetically written. Then again, so is the whole book. I'd sum this up as a very satisfying biography of a great man.

Book Review: The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber

I broke my general rule with this one, watching the television adaptation before I read the book. Occasionally I find myself disappointed when an adaptation proves better than the book - not this time. Faber's mammoth book can only be described as a masterpiece of historical fiction though, admittedly, it's not for everybody.

The Crimson Petal and the White tells the story of Sugar, a prostitute desperate to escape the lower levels of London and work her way up. She encounters William Rackham, the heir to a successful business he wants nothing to do with. His wife, Agnes, is labelled as mad by most; his brother, Henry, is desperate to become a clergyman but is also struggling with his desire to commit sins of the flesh with Mrs Emmeline Fox. Sugar manoeuvres her way into William's life then his affections and business dealings and then his home as she takes up the post of governess to his young daughter, Sophie. She proves herself to be invaluable but the fragile life she's acquired threatens to fall apart very easily.

Firstly, there are a couple of things I disliked about the book. The intrusive narrator is a personal dislike of mine and being pulled along by this voice and told what I'm seeing and what I will be seeing was a tad irritating. I can forgive it in Victorian-era texts but not modern texts apparently! My second issue was how much the book traded on the salacious aspects to come in the following pages. Yes, there are many sex scenes and lurid descriptions but as the novel progresses they become fewer as the characters come into their own. The salaciousness leads to a real story and I don't think the hype in the early chapters was necessary to hook the reader in.

What did I love about it? Brilliantly evoked characters, starting with incidental prostitute Caroline all the way up to Sugar and William Rackham themselves. Even the servants of the Rackham household had personalities of their own. My favourite characters were, however, the characters I'd favoured most in the adaptation - Henry Rackham and Emmeline Fox. Emmeline's descent into despair following Henry's death is one of the most interesting representations of grief I've read, certainly worthy of the character and the story. Agnes's chaotic personality was depicted well, while William's dependency colours his character throughout. Sugar shines brightly but is wonderfully consistent, even as her life changes around her.

London is, of course, a character and a detailed one at that. There's nothing laboured about the description of the setting, however, and every reference to the surroundings feels in-keeping with the particular scene. One thing I was unsure about in the adaptation was Sugar's friendship with her young charge, Sophie, which leads to the novel's climax. The novel made this much more believable, with Sugar's connection growing more naturally than it seemed to in the adaptation. Equally, her attitude towards Agnes feels more believable in print.

The trouble with a book like this is that it has to end. Even at 800+ pages it feels too short. Faber has created such an intricate web of character relationships that I wanted to follow them as far as I could. A riveting book till the end, beautifully recreating the London of the nineteenth century.