Victorian Books

This is a fun book if you love to read romances. A classic historic English setting, the characters are a bit predictable, but believable. The book is very well written, if a bit short. The characters are very 'real' in feel- like hating to sew, and botching up a Christmas tree skirt (sounds like me). It is even educational- who knew that gowns used to be made with seams in the front and back that could expand if the woman was expecting?

These women stick together through thick and thin....which is nice and leaves me hoping that real life could be a bit more like the novel (where best buddies blow you off if you say the wrong thing in an email). All in all, I think it should prove to be a very fun book for women to read during the Christmas season. Who has time after all to read a long novel with all the parties and goodies to eat (where are those expansion seams in my clothes)?

This Victorian romance is typical of the genre with its obvious characteristically good and evil players . There is the "rake" who is truly good at heart, the innocent who gets "compromised" , the confused deb who finally figures "it" out and the loyal "friends" who make it all right. It is a fast and easy read with several twists . There are however, no real surprises. In this style, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Buy this novel for a quick , predictable read with its usual happy ending. I enjoyed it!

I admit it. I am a hopeless sucker for a holiday story. As an urban fantasy/paranormal romance reader I tend to favor Halloween ones, but having recently decided to dabble into historical romances A Wallflower Christmas seemed like a good place to start. Kleypas' popularity was an obvious draw... and I love a pretty cover!

When the heroines of the Wallflowers series get together to celebrate the holidays romance is afoot. When Rage Bowman, elder brother of Lillian (heroine of It Happened One Autumn (The Wallflowers, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)) and Daisy (heroine of Scandal in Spring (The Wallflowers, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)) , comes to London to court Lady Natalie Blandford, the Wallflowers are set on helping him be a proper gentlemen. Having invited Lady Natalie's companion, her cousin Hannah Appleton, for tea in order to learn more about Natalie it should come as no surprise that his rakish behavior digusts her. There is no way the American scoundrel is suitable for her esteemed cousin. What makes matters much more complicated is his obvious attraction to Hannah and the one he awakens within her. With his father demanding he propose to Lady Natalie by Christmas Eve or he shall be cut from the family; Rafe has to choose between what his father demands--marriage Natalie who is likable but not lovable--and the needs of his own heart--sharing his life and love with Hannah. Meanwhile Hannah herself must face her own suitable but loveless proposal or risk it all on the American rake who has won her heart.

I am sure there are some who will find major flaws in this story. It felt like a book cut down to novella size. If Kleypas had expanded on the side stories of Evie's pregnancy, Lillian's suspicions of her husband's infidelity and more it would have made for an entertaining novel indeed. But this IS a holiday story and because of that I felt that it was more suited to a novella length. As such I do feel it should not have been published in hardcover. On the same token I think die-hard fans of the Wallflowers would perhaps enjoy having the collectible size.

It was a rushed romance and yet it felt just right to me. Sometimes that works in fiction and sometimes it does not. Fans of the Wallflowers will be happy to note that there were some sections devoted to the heroines of the previous stories, they had their own goings-on that were happening around the romance itself. Those looking for sex will get some of that too. I don't usually comment on that aspect when reviewing romances but I liked that Kleypas wrote the scenes tastefully and without being gratuitous about it. Rafe was a rather sensual hero that I actually found charming and Hannah, while almost annoying in her devotion to Natalie, was a suitable heroine to match him. It was, in the end, a short but enjoyable read, just the sort of reading one might look for on a snowy Christmas Eve. And did I mention it's pretty and tasteful enough to leave out on your end-table during the holiday season? Add a cup of hot cocoa, put on some snuggly slippers and have yourself a merry little Christmas!

The major strength of Lisa Kleypas 'A Wallflower Christmas' is the likeability of the protagonists. Uncivilized American rake Rafe Bowman is at heart a charmer who can't help being drawn not to the wealthy English lady he's supposed to be courting, but to her penniless cousin/companion, Hannah. Both Hannah and Rafe are drawn as essentially good people who have had difficult lives. But it's their biting wit and strong sexual draw that make the sparks fly. The major question, will Rafe and Hannah get together, is of course answered by the genre, and there's really little plot or character development, yet it's a pleasant read.

'A Wallflower Christmas' will, of course, be of interest to those who have read the earlier books in the series, but this novella stands alone. I haven't read the others and enjoyed this one. My major complaint is one of marketing: $16.95 for 213 pages is a bit steep.

As long as you go into this book expecting a pleasant, predictable, well-written romance novel, you won't be disappointed. I haven't read an historical romance novel in years, not counting Jane Austen, and I forgot they could be really good. I liked this one enough to order all four of the other Wallflower books.
Rafe Bowman is your typical leading man, rich, not worried about what others think, very experienced with women. He's expected to marry rich, upper-class girl Natalie Blandford, a union that would benefit both their families. Hannah is Natalie's poor cousin who acts as her paid companion, and she meets Rafe first to try to find out a bit about him. Rafe is immediately attracted to Hannah, but she dislikes him because of his informality and borderline crude ways. She thinks he's completely wrong for Natalie. What follows is no surprise. Rafe's charm starts to get through to Hannah and her resistance crumbles. Because he's a "rogue" with a devil-may-care attitude, he has the guts to go against his father's orders that he propose to Natalie. Isn't that the kind of man we all want? One who would renounce his family's fortune to be with us but ultimately still be wealthy?
This book is just the kind of pleasant fluff you crave sometimes and it's done well.

Moonfleet is a well written book once you get past the long- winded introduction. I'm sure this book would have been very popular during the 19th centuary, but as i am only 12 i found it very hard to understand some of the words, and personnally i do not enjoy reading a book with a dictionary near by at all times. When the book begins John trenchard (the main character)is 15 and lives with his aunt in the village of moonfleet, a village with many tales of smugglers and pirates, including the worst of them all - the legendary blackbeard. the story is about john and his adventures, all related to the treasure belonging to blackbeard. If you enjoy long hard words with a book that tells an ok tale then this book is for you but i really wouldn't recomend it to children.

One of the most beloved of boys' books in the UK in the early 20th century, MOONFLEET remains the best known of the three short novels by John meade Falkner, and certainly has his most engaging characters, particularly in the young hero, John Trenchard, and his substitute father-figure, the kindly smuggler Elzevir Block. The novel has all of Falkner's characteristics: his gorgeous mellifluous prose, his predilection for Gothic settings, his obsession with aristocratic ancestry and heraldry, a healthy dose of homoeroticism, and above all his ability to evoke striking visual scenes. The plot moves slowly at first and then becomes quite exciting, as John and his mentor search for a lost fabulous diamond and attempt to avoid the price put on their head by revenuers who accuse them of murder; things get a bit awkward at the end, as ten years of forced hard labor are glossed over in a few paragraphs, but then they pick up once again. The influences of Wilkie Collins and, particularly, Robert Louis Stevenson, weigh heavily on the text, but Falkner's gift for evoking a haunting visual picture is something all his own.

MOONFLEET IS A FAIRLY INTERESTING BOOK IT IS A UNIQUE BOOK WITH ORIGINAL STYLE AND A ONE-OF -A- KIND -STORY.the story is about a 15 year old boy called john trenchard who goes on extraordinary adventures on his quest to find blackbeards treasure he soon becomes trapped in avault and finds out a bit more than he bargained for a little bit startled he soon gets locked in and becomes hungry and thirsty he drinks the smuggled alchole he finaly gets rescued but his life changes forever an exeptionally fantastic story with laughter,sadness,romance,pain,rejection and a family classic........

Like many, I loved old adventures such as Treasure Island and Kidnapped when I first read them as a child. Several years ago, Washington Post book critic Michael Dirda named this as being of the same caliber, so I finally sought out a copy to fall into. Written at the turn of the 20th century, the story is set in a small village on the Dorset coast (allegedly based on East Fleet), circa the 1750s. There lives John Trenchard, a classic adventure hero: age 15, orphaned and living with a nasty (though not cruel) aunt, and pining for the beautiful daughter of the local lord. The village of Moonfleet has two intriguing aspects to it. One is a legend relating to a massive -- and possibly cursed -- diamond purportedly owned by the former lord of the manor and possibly hidden somewhere in the vicinity. The other is the village's long history of illicit trade with smugglers bringing in untaxed spirits from France and other contraband. Their main contact in town is the tavern-owner, Elsevir, who is the true hero of the story.

As in Treasure Island, things really start rolling when John gets entangled with Elsevir and the smugglers and more or less joins their gang. When the local lord tries to ambush them one dawn, blood is drawn and Elsevir and John are forced to flee and take to ground for some months. The fugitives then embark on a quest to locate the missing diamond and so make their fortune. John is especially keen on being able to return to Moonfleet a wealthy man, so that he may secure the hand of his fair lady. Of course, events don't transpire so easily, and further adventures take them to Holland, where events take a turn for the worse before a semi-triumphal homecoming.

All of this is fine -- but not that great. The story and characters definitely feel somewhat derivative, and some of the elements feel quite clumsy. For example, the lord of the manor is a nasty, mean character, but there's no indication as to why this is so. Similarly, the prim stern aunt is a stereotype of the type, and a jewel dealer who plays a key role is instinctively venal without reason. Near the end, the heroes face calamity due to circumstances of their own exceedingly unlikely making. The cagey smuggler Elsevir exhibits naivitee that beggars belief. Which is not to suggest that the book is terrible, merely that it's not that amazing. Finally, I should point out that despite the words of many reviewers the story does not involve pirates at all. (Inexplicably, the cover of one edition even goes so far as to reproduce a painting of a boarding scene, complete with cutlasses, pistols, and scurvy seadogs.) The book was made into a rather forgettable 1955 film directed by the great Fritz Lang.

When I began reading this book, a friend of mine took one look at the cover and started naming off what he thought the aspects of the plot were. He named all of the traditional pirate story cliches (sometimes platitudes): orphaned boy, evil pirate, hidden treasure, etc. By looking at the cover, I thought that was what it would be too, and I looked forward to the classic adventure story (I've always loved swashbucklers). As it was, Moonfleet is a very original novel that doesn't follow of the conventions. Surely, some of those elements are there--the orphaned boy and treasure--but they are twisted in different ways. Moonfleet is somewhat darker than other swashbucklers such as Treasure Island, and there are actually no pirates at all. There is also a little bit more depth of characterization as John Trenchard and Elziver Block have a long and meaningful friendship. Moonfleet is certainly a superior adventure novel, complete with exciting escapes (a lot of them), lost treasure, and some actual characterization. It's well worth reading.

When I pick up a relatively short novel, I virtually never leave it unread. The problem with Charles Finch's first novel was that the writing was so deeply irritating that i found myself gritting my teeth and longing for it to just be over and done with. Not the reaction I want to have while reading and not one I often have, even with writers who crank out books on a tight schedule once every 12 months.
The plot was good for the most part -- so I did skip ahead to see whodunnit. There were glaring exceptions & inconsistencies to this, some which would bother anyone (I think other reviewers have pointed out the weird age difference between Charles Lenox and Lady Jane and how that keeps changing depending on the author's needs).
But the writing... Most authors learn how to balance the information that they have about the plot and characters with what goes on the page for readers in such a way that the reader isn't overwhelmed with superfluous information and distracted from the plot. Finch hasn't mastered this basic lesson. In the middle of a murder case, he has his two principal characters sitting over a nightcap and winding down an evening by talking about the new group of debutantes. Please! That may very well be what has happened, but the reader -- hopefully in the grip of the narrative -- is yanked out of it and left bemused. Where did this come from? The story isn't about a debutante, but a maid who is poisoned. The underlying theme isn't about the role of women in Victorian society -- or if it is, the plot is far more poorly clarified than I suspected. It's irrelevant. And there is a lot more like this -- whenever Lenox meets his brother, whenever we see him musing about his suspects, etc. At best it's boring, at worst distracting and frustrating.
Complicating this is that the author has a heavy hand with dialogue. It's ponderous, to be kind. Half of it is unnecessary twaddle. And half of the descriptive passages, to avoid tedium, could or should be in expository dialogue! But then, if you can't write dialogue, I suppose you don't want to try to do that.
One quick final note -- the damn boots. Charles Lenox, our fearless protagonist and man of means, is racing around London in a pair of leaking boots, which we keep hearing leave his feet cold and uncomfortable. He can have maps and books delivered to his home. He has a butler/manservant. Why not replace the bloody boots at the first opportunity?? It's nonsensical. What could have been a nice detail on meeting the character -- traipsing home through a snowstorm with cold wet feet -- turns out to be one example where the reader ends up saying to him/herself, "this is ridiculous and implausible".
I have given the book two stars instead of one because the plot is, at its core, a relatively solid "cosy" (or "cozy!") Victorian. But if that's what you want, pick up Tasha Alexander's very good three volumes featuring her female society sleuth, and don't be seduced by the marketing into spending good money on drivel. If I sound vituperative, blame it on the fact that I own this opus in hardcover. It goes to the library tomorrow, as a donation, so if someone else really wants to struggle through it, at least they won't be facilitating the author's dreams of a longstanding career by contributing to his royalties.
I'm rarely this irritated about a book -- but then, I rarely encounter one that makes it into print that I end up really disliking. What boggles my mind is that #2 is now in print... I love the genre, there are lots of great examples of it out there -- this is not one of them.

I know there are legions of cozy fans out there. People who wish Agatha Christie was still alive and writing about bodies in libraries and genteel aristocrats poisoning their mistresses. I'm not one of them. So for all you kids out there in mysteryland who have been longing for a real cozy with lots of tea drinking, a gentleman sleuth with a personal valet who owes his employer his life (shades of Bunter and Lord Peter Winsey, eh?), and a utterly fictional poison that doubles as an orchid fertilizer (HELP!) -- then this is for you. I grew weary of it after 75 pages or so and skipped to the end. The denouement is utterly boring. Then the book drags on for another couple of chapters dealing with the relationship with the sleuth and his lady - a relationship I found dull from the first time they were together. The book is overloaded with a kind of quaintness I find as fake as a zirconium diamond. It's a thoroughly fraudulent work - peopled with a cast of characters who are amalgams of Victorian types from works already written, and it borrows heavily (whether or conscious or not) from the the great writers of the genre's past (Sayers, Christie and Doyle, especially). The constant tea drinking and the ersatz Victorian dialogue ("I most certainly shall, my dear." etc., etc.) drove my bonkers. I'm glad to be rid of it.

Picking up this book turned out to be a good day! The novel is engaging and I find myself liking Charles Lennox, our eristwhile detective, very much. As one would expect, he is intelligent but he is quirky in a fun loving way and kind hearted at the core. This was a very good beginning to a new series as I eagerly wait for the next installment.

There were a few things that prevented me from giving this novel 5 stars: it took me a few chapters (don't worry, they are small) to get used to the stilted conversations between some of the characters. This is meant to indicate a sign of the times and not poor writing on part of the author. Also, the author talks about prior cases (more specifically, Charles' first case) as if we read about the case before reading this installment. I had to read the back of the book to realize I didn't start in the middle of a series and that "A Beautiful Blue Death" is a debut novel.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommended it outright. I am looking forward to reading the newest book and find out what Charles and Lady Jane are up to. I believe this author is someone to watch out for in the future.

A definition from The Oxford American Dictionary, copyright 1999.
precious: adj & adv; 4. adv,colloq. extremely, very (tried precious hard)

In my opinion the main problem with this novel is that the author tried precious hard. I don't know if some of it was written with tongue in cheek or as an inside joke for himself, maybe to even include some friends. I do know that I felt as if there was a joke somewhere and the author was laughing because I hadn't gotten it. Take for example the naming of some of his characters.
--Lady Jane Grey: I actually put this book down and went to do some research on that real-life person to try to figure why Mr. Finch had purposely used such a well known name. I can't answer that question but my mind came to a screeching halt and then revisited that question every time she made an appearance.
--Lady Victoria McConnell (Toto): With all the names available to this author for a nickname for this character why did he chose the one which always made me think of a small dog wandering through the Land of Oz?
--The cousins Claude and Eustace: Can it possibly be just a coincidence that Finch chose to use these two names and made them related in this way? Could an editor not have convinced Mr Finch that it was just barely possible that some potential readers might remember the cousins in several P. G. Wodehouse novels named Claude and Eustace? I wasted a lot of time whenever these two characters came on the scene wondering if this was a joke, an accident or a deliberate usage of the names because of their connection to the Wodehouse stories. They certainly had nothing to do with humor in any way.

Charles Lenox, our amateur detective, is written to be the younger son of a noble English family. Money was no object for Lenox. Why then did he only have one pair of boots? I cannot possibly tell you how tedious it was to read ad nauseaum about his cold, wet feet. And putting on wet boots, and having to go out in the cold and wet again. And taking off wet boots. And warming his cold feet by the fire. See? Tedious. I also found myself, after having finished reading the book, completely unable to describe the physical appearance of any of the characters in this book. The only possible exception to this problem might be the private detective Lenox hired to help him. Might be, may be.

There are two attempts written to enable Lenox to display his Sherlockian deductive reasoning. Both examples are bad but the second time concerning a pocket watch is laughable. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle might have Holmes perform some incredibly implausable deductions, but at least they were entertaining.

A great mystery story for me is one I enjoy in spite of its imperfections. The improbable situations, the implausable plot or the clues and lines of inquiry with no resolution ever given by an author. This book did not rise to that level for me. The two stars are for fooling me with the motive and the identity of the murderer. But I did have part of it figured out even though the author chose not to reveal important clues until the very end. Ten years from now, if Mr. Finch is still writing mystery novels I may try another of his stories. But until then, no.

If Charles Lenox were to have his way, all he'd wish for are warm boots, a blazing fireplace, some tea and sandwiches, and an hour or two spent with his maps. But the aristocratic amateur sleuth is always in demand in Victorian London. His childhood friend, Lady Jane, appeals to his innate curiosity and investigative skills. Her upstairs maid, Prudence Smith, who'd moved to the household of Royal Mint director, George Barnard, died under suspicious circumstances. Believed by Barnard and Scotland Yard to be a suicide, Lenox isn't much convinced, and neither is Lady Jane. With the help of his friend, Dr. Tom McConnell, they conclude that she'd been poisoned by the rare and expensive potion called bella indigo, the titular "beautiful blue."

Suspects abound, from Prue's lovers to Barnard's houseguests to Barnard himself, but motives are scarce and flimsy. What to make of this motley crew and their secrets? Soon, Lenox discovers that there's more to this poisoning than meets the eye, and when a second murder is committed, he realizes he'd been looking at this puzzle quite the wrong way.

"A Beautiful Blue Death" is the first of the new Charles Lenox Mysteries. Much of its appeal is Lenox himself, an affable, debonair intellectual very much like Dorothy L. Sayers' creation, Lord Peter Wimsey. He even has his own Bunt--Graham, his butler-cum-spy--who's every bit as smart.

Mr. Finch's pleasure in bringing 1865 London to life is evident, and it really does come to life, from the fashionable abodes of his upper crust sleuth and associates to the shady apothecaries, sinister alleys, and stuffy anterooms of posh clubs. There's even a tease that Lenox and Lady Jane, both proper in their platonic dealings, may find in each other more than the cordiality of friendship, much like Wimsey and Vane.

His characters may seem like a rehash of Golden Age mysteries, but I found it refreshing to start a new series. I daresay many mystery buffs such as myself have long ago exhausted books by Christie, Sayers, Stout, Marsh, Carr, etc. For now, Finch can be forgiven the occasional rudimentary writing and a timeline error here and there; after all it's his debut mystery and if the clever mystery here is any indication of what's to come, it'll be a delightful series. In all likelihood, many of the affable characters we are introduced to here will reprise their roles in future installments and maybe Lenox's deductive prowess will be honed to Holmes perfection. For now, the bottom-line for me, really, is how good was the mystery? And here, it's pretty darn good.

This latest effort by Anne Perry is excellent but she has written other, better books. I am ready for Pitt to be moved up on the social ladder now that he is involved with the Crown and Britain's equivalent of the FBI. The book is worth reading and is very entertaining.

Anne Perry's BUCKINGHAM PALACE GARDENS receives a hard-hitting narration by veteran Michael Page, who has recorded over 50 titles for this publisher alone. His voice spices a survey of Buckingham palace after a fatal house party draws in one Thomas Pitt to investigate the crisis. An avid thriller evolves.

This book is great and good reading as all of her books are. She is my favorite writer.

...no Charlotte to give Pitt help with his inquiries. But little Gracie, all 4'11.5" of her, finally gets to shine in this well-crafted novel. I did miss Charlotte and some of the other characters that often appear in this fine series but I was glad to see Pitt back solving murders and not hunting down saboteurs.

I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say I thoroughly enjoyed this latest edition of Charlotte and Thomas Pitt's adventures in crime. If you are a fan of this series, I think you'll be pleased as well.

Another fine job by Ms. Perry. But next time, a little bit more of Charlotte.

I've been addicted to these books by Anne Perry for a number of years. They track well with stories my great-grandmother told me, and it's enjoyable to curl up with one of the books on a rainy afternoon.

After twenty volumes in this series, Perry seems finally to have gone off the rails. A few books ago, she introduced the Inner Circle, a cabal of men in high positions of power throughout government and the professions who enforce loyalty to each other over law and justice. But now they seem to have become an international anti-royalist political conspiracy determined to destroy the British crown and establish a republic. They plan to do this by publicizing the true identity of Jack the Ripper, a story that will blow the lid off the British social order and lead to rioting in the streets. Opposing them, and also apparently willing to do anything to reach their pro-royalist goals, is -- wait for it -- the freemasons! Pitt, meanwhile, has been yanked from his position as superintendent of Bow Street Station and sent off into the wilds of Spitalfields to work for the recently-created Special Branch in ferreting out anarchists and other troublemakers, all in retaliation for his testimony in a murder trial in which one supposed friend killed another. (The details of which, when the author reveals them, are not very convincing.) Sergeant Tellman risks his career to set things right, and Gracie, the Pitts' maid (and whom Tellman is reluctantly courting), also has a large part to play. Charlotte is doing her bit in the drawing rooms, though not very effectively, and sister Emily hardly appears at all this time. It all descends into a sort of James Bond fantasy world -- but worse than that is the portrait of Aunt Vespasia as a rifle-toting revolutionary on the barricades of Rome back in 1848. No way am I gonna buy that. Come on, Perry -- get a grip!

This was my first Anne Perry mystery. Since other reviewers have described this as one of her best, I'll just throw in my two cents. The good part: The character of Gracie, the Pitts' young Cockney maid, is vividly described and nicely handled, and her scenes with Sergeant Tellman are a pleasure. Perry also does well with domestic scenes, capturing the warmth of family life in the very different Pitt and Karansky households. The not-so-good part: characterization elsewhere is perfunctory and cliched, character descriptions are surprisingly meager and repetitious, and -- my chief beef with this book -- the whole is larded with stilted, overblown interior monologizing. No major character seems capable of taking an action without maundering on (high-mindedly, of course) about its implications or consequences. Finally, having rendered ideals of social justice tedious in the extreme, Perry ditches them altogether in a display of byzantine plot twists either impressive or just plain confusing. (By that point, I didn't much care.) All in all, a book that promises a good deal more than it delivers.

Anne Perry's The Whitechapel Conspiracy is a well done Victorian Mystery spotlighting the detective Thomas Pitt.The plot revolves around the conviction for murder of a known and well like member of the upper classes. Pitt proves the man (Adinett ) is guilty but no one knows why he killed what was thought to be a good friend. Pitt is removed from his post by powerful friends of Adinett and sent to the seediest part of London known as Spitalfields and Whitechapel. Mystery fans well know that Whitechapel is where Jack the Ripper committed his ghastly chimes 4 years earlier. Perry is able to cleverly weave the Ripper's murders into the plot. In this novel Pitt is aided not only by his wife, Charlotte, but by her house keeper, Gracie and a fellow detective, Tellman. There is enough plots for several novels but Perry is able to bring a rather convoluted multifaceted story to a satisfactory conclusion. Perry is a master at protraying the cast system that was in place in London in the Victorian Age. I have read 3 of her novels and look forward to reading some if not all of her novels.

As a fan of Victorian literature, I looked forward to reading Anne Perry. While I got a well researched mystery, the plotline of this particular mystery offers very little to keep the reader going. Entertaining, but somewhat bland.

In the course of investigating a death that most considered accidental, Thomas Pitt, Superintendent of the Bow Street Station, compiles a package of damning circumstantial evidence that sends John Adinett to the gallows for the murder of his friend, Martin Fetters - traveler, antiquarian, and a vocal anti-royalist with strong republican sentiments. While the evidence leaves no question in the minds of the jurors as to guilt, Pitt can see no reason why Adinett would have murdered his long-time friend and is unsatisfied with the results of his investigation. Adinett's cronies, members of a shadowy cabal known as the "Inner Circle" whose secret membership and pledge of loyalty to one another includes men from the highest level of English society exact a swift, brutal revenge on Pitt for Adinett's execution. He is removed from his command in Bow Street Station and exiled to an undercover operation with the Special Branch in Spitalfields, a grimy London slum, looking for elusive evidence of the operations of anarchists.

Pitt is forced to live away from his family. In order to clear his name, to prove him right and to allow Pitt to return to hearth and home, his canny, strong minded, and very feminine wife, Charlotte, their tough cockney maid, Gracie, her beau, Sergeant Tellman, and their aunt, Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould, seek out the mysterious missing motive for Fetters' murder. They uncover a frightening Inner Circle conspiracy to foment violent revolution in working class England, destroy the monarchy and replace the existing government with a republic, a senate and a president. While every reader will have no doubt the climax of the story will wrap up Charlotte's and Thomas' separate investigations neatly into a single conclusion, Perry has pulled a real rabbit out of her hat by tying the Inner Circle's nefarious revolutionary ideas into the gruesome Whitechapel Ripper killings with an exciting and novel re-interpretation of the long-standing theory that Jack was a member of the Royal family.

Less focused on Victorian atmosphere and scenery than usual, Perry has used The Whitechapel Conspiracy to concentrate on development of her key characters. The relationship between Gracie and Tellman, in particular, is heartwarming and no reader will fail to cheer them on as they come to the realization that they care for one another deeply but remain uncertain as to how to act on their growing affection for one another. The plot, a realistic believable political thriller, is cleverly drawn on the real life Victorian working man's disgust with Prince Albert's profligate spending habits and dissolute lifestyle and the increasing distance and isolation between Queen Victoria and her subjects. The labyrinthine twists and turns that finally disclose the identity of the bad guys in the Inner Circle but leave the identity of the Ripper a continuing mystery are ingenious and surprising without being forced or contrived.

Perry has produced another winner that will thrill Thomas and Charlotte's legion of followers.

This novella has a good deal of charm and real feeling--I don't think you'll soon forget Miss Matty, who is the center of these little stories, even if her older sister was much more forceful in character. The efforts of the ladies of the village--and it is pretty much ladies--to cope with limited incomes, burglars, death, love, tea, cows, servants, and addressing the nobility are both funny and poignant. However much they bicker and contend with each other, when the chips are down, you'll find them (or their handmaidens) at the door with the 19th century equivalent of a casserole. (For one born in New England, these ladies are very reminiscent of much older relatives.)

Heartily recommended.

Elizabeth Gaskell's 1853 novel "Cranford" is a subtle and often sly portrait of life in a fictional mid-19th century rural English village. At the center of the novel is a circle of spinster and widowed females who wrestle mightily with the challenges of lives of genteel poverty. On its surface, "Cranford" is a comedy of manners, but its episodes have surprising and often moving depth.

"Cranford" was originally published as a series of short stories, all narrated by Miss Mary Smith, a frequent visitor to the village and the young friend of its leading spinster ladies Miss Deborah and Miss Matty Jenkyns. The chapters are therefore not quite chronological in the telling; characters overlap but plot lines appear, disappear, and sometimes reappear.

The narrative works through the relationships of the circle of women, as they deal with births and deaths, marriages, questions of fashion and manners, and such mundane events as a traveling magic show and a bank failure. Men are suffered to live in Cranford, but it seems that it is the women who actually arrange everything important in the village. The reader cannot help but be drawn into their lives through Gaskell's authentic dialogue and superb sense of place.

"Cranford" was the basis for a Masterpiece Theater mini-series in the Spring of 2008, and is well worth reading on its own for its sympathetic portrait of a lifestyle now a distant memory. This Penguin addition includes an informative introduction by Patricia Ingram, extensive notes on 19th century customs, and a final chapter on Cranford written by Gaskell years after the original series.

Cranford (Penguin Classics)I bought this book after having seen the Masterpiece production of it. The book is unique in that it is a novel set in the mid 1800s and comes complete with appendices explaining the words and references to people and events used throughout the book. It was very historically educational in addition to being a very interesting and well written novel. I very much recommend the book and I will be reading more by Patricia Gaskell

It's true that the novel "Cranford" doesn't mirror the recent Masterpiece dramatization, however this is because the adaptation was based on a series of Mrs. Gaskell's works, of which "Cranford" is only one. The others are "Mr. Harrison's Confessions", "My Lady Ludlow" and "The Last Generation in England". Taken together, all four give a complete -and more familiar- portrait of the delightful village we saw televised. I recommend each of them highly.

In the last few years or so, I've been noting a resurgence of a writer who was very popular in nineteenth century England. Not quite as famous as Charles Dickens or Anthony Trollope, Elizabeth Gaskell did find a niche writing about everyday people in the small towns and villages that dotted England's landscape.

Cranford is a slim collection of vignettes. Each little story explores a person, a gathering, or an incident in the past or present. Some are humourous, others are very poignant, and some just look at the life and manners of the time. In specific, to one particular group in the village.

For Cranford, as we are told in the opening sentence, is a place that is governed by Amazons. The Amazons are a group of elderly spinsters or widows who have fallen into genteel poverty, supported by meager savings left from legacies and inheritances. As a group, they inhabit nearly all of the homes of Cranford, deciding on questions of taste and morality, the correct behavior of servants, managing gardens, discretion in clothing and so forth. And where are the men, you might ask? Nearly all of them have fled, it seems -- to the military, to the navy, to the nearby city of Dumble (a stand-in for Manchester), frightened off, no doubt, by the formidable array of feminity before them.

As the 'leaders,' there are the two daughters of the former vicar of the town. Miss Jenkyns and her younger sister Miss Matty, have risen to a level of respectability in the community, leading their little bevy of companion in acts of charity, mourning, welcoming (and shunning) strangers, and even to such details as what is to be considered suitable literature. When we first meet them, the town has been sent into turmoil by the arrival of a retired military man with two daughters -- and he has the temerity to actually suggest books to Miss Jenkyns. Horrors!

But there is more to the story, and as the nameless narrator leads us through the various members of the village, there are stories that are humourous, such as when a string of burglaries occurs, or when a traveling magician arrives. Other stories are very poignant, such as Miss Matty and a collection of old letters, or when a bank in Dumble defaults and one person's savings are wiped out.

What makes this collection stand out is the level of compassion between the various women as their little world is shaken up by the encroaching Industrial Age, and their somewhat stubborn intent on keeping their village just the way it is. And underneath some of the bristly exteriors, there are acts of selflessness and care that they extend to each other. This and the humour that the author brought to each story, was what made the book for me.

I really don't want to reveal much more of the book as not to spoil it for anyone. The collection itself is rather slim, just sixteen stories of about twenty pages long. Along with the stories, there are extensive notes that have been added by Patricia Ingham, which really do help to understand the terms and usage of the language, and help to clear up some very unfamiliar terms.

All in all, a very enjoyable read that is much lighter in tone than most Victorian fiction. Great fun to read, and to sigh over as well.

Four stars. Recommended.

It is the first book of the series that I've read. I admit that the set up of the story and descriptions of New York City atmosphere at the turn of the centuries are very charming and interesting. In particular for someone who likes historical twist on a mystery novel. The idea of the placing the plot among "charity girls", even though somewhat similar to Jack the Ripper story, was good too. The author put a lot of effort and was very convincing when describing the life and motifs of those less fortunate members of society. Unfortunately the mystery part of the story is rather shallow and I often was angry with Sarah Brandt, repeating after her own thoughts "How she could have been so dense, she had no idea" for not making connections that were just too obvious. It is too easy to figure out, so if you are looking for a book that will keep you guessing till the very end, this one is a disappointment.

This book left me ambivalent. On the one hand, it is a great read with likable characters and wonderful atmosphere. On the other, it is a mundane and predictable mystery.

I guess whether or not you will like this book depends on why you read.

If you're want complex puzzles, gritty realism and deep insights into human behavior, this is not the book for you.

But if, like me, you read purely for the pleasure of being transported to another time and place, you might find this book an entertaining, but not especially memorable, diversion.

"Murder on St. Mark's Place" is a solid addition to The Gaslight Mysteries. As with "Murder on Astor Place," Sarah Brandt exposes us to the social ladder of early 20th century New York City. I have enjoyed this series because Victoria Thompson enlightens her readers to the very real dangers & disadvantages of being a woman during the time period-- but also makes Frank Malloy's specifically male problems just as sympathetic. The mystery itself was relatively easy to figure out, so the personal growth of Sarah & Frank is the real story. We get a good deal of insight into Frank's feelings for his son, & his relationship with Sarah grows.

As always, Victoria Thompson did a wonderful job in getting the reader interested. Couldn't keep the book down!

The second book in the series, picks up right where the first left off. Interesting story with insightful thoughts on society in late 1800s New York. Frank and Sarah's story is certainly interesting and growing in depth. I find the side story (or is it the REAL story?) of their relationship very intriguing.
While I must agree with a few reviewers who said that the mystery was easy to figure out as you near the end of the book, I have never completely figured each of these out. Did I figure out most of the murder? Yes, but there is always a little twist Mrs Thompson has for us that I didn't see coming. The depth of the story, the growth of the characters, and the continuing saga of Frank and Sarah keeps the reader coming back for more and certainly makes for great reading. I knocked this story off in only 2 sittings.
Already have number 3 and cannot wait to get started!

What an astonishing book this is. I read a lot of romance and mostly they are forgettable stock characters doing the same things over and over. Occasionally a book comes along that has such unique characters and riveting storyline that you will never forget it. These two characters have imprinted themselves on my mind forever.

I had no problem with the dark beginning, it was what made the book truly great. The risks Ms. Gaffney took in having Sebastian take advantage of Rachel drew criticism from some of the reviewers but I thought he was magnificent. Rachel was so withdrawn within herself and damaged by her years in prison that it would have taken someone as ruthless as Sebastian to draw her out. Did he take advantage of her precarious position in his household? Yes. Did he rape her? No. I don't think so. These two were bonded from the very start and Sebastian was probably the only man who was tough enough to reach her. Any man who came along too tenderhearted and afraid of pushing her was never going to overcome the wounds her abusive husband had left on her. She was never going to be coaxed out of the shell she'd built, she had to be bludgeoned out. And Sebastian was just the man for the job.

Rachel knew that too. That's why she didn't really fight him when he took her the first time. And Lord have mercy were those some sexy love scenes! Rachel's vulnerability coupled with strength made watching her slowly come back to life a joy to witness. Seeing her effect on the jaded, bored nobleman, knowing that she is saving him just as much as he is saving her was delicious reading at its finest.

This is a book not to be passed up. Buy it, read it, keep it forever because you'll want to read it again.

Sometimes I think we allow our modern sensibilities overtake our abilities to see an unusual character study and appreciate it for what it is - an absorbing look at what motivates people and what changes them. Sebastian, at the start of this book, is very dark, indeed. He sees the heroine more as an object and a curious amusement than as a human being, and acts accordingly. That changes when he is afforded a chance to see himself in the odious behavior of others. The second half of this book is lushly romantic as a woman emerges from a dark cocoon, and a man too long comfortable in the dark comes into the light as well.

This is a marvelous book that moved me to tears several times. Patricia Gaffney is a very daring writer. She dared to write ugly, in order to write beauty. Adult readers should be able to take it, if they can suspend the playing of those social tapes we all have running through our heads.

TO HAVE & TO HOLD is the second book in Patricia Gaffney's the Wyckerley trilogy. Again, Gaffney brings her reader to the fictional English village of Wyckerley, this time into the lives of Sebastian Verlaine, Viscount D'Aubrey, and accused murderer - Rachel Wade.

When he agreed to serve as justice, Sebastian Verlaine was howling drunk. During his vile life, society had called Sebastian many things, but "Your Worship" had never been among them. He a magistrate? Why the entire affair would be a merry romp - a glorious way to relieve boredom. He continued to marvel over the absurdity of his well-chosen lark, until Mrs. Rachel Wade entered the prisoner's box. Then suddenly, Sebastian discovered an even better way to relieve his boredom.

Rachel Wade fascinated the jaded, bored viscount. He saw her as a straight-laced enigma and quickly became obsessed with her seduction. Cruelly, relentlessly, he pursed her. His intent? To be pleasured!

In earthly hell, Rachel Wade had spent ten years. She had served ten long years for the brutal murder of a deranged pervert - a demonic man called her husband. Now, Rachel Wade was "free." She had the dress on her back and the ability to hide her feelings. She would never again feel pain; she would never again feel pleasure, for defensively Rachel Ward knew better. Now, without choice, she would become the Viscount D'Aubrey's "housekeeper."

Gaffney pens a first-class Victorian novel. Sebastian Verlaine is not the normal run-of-the-mill romance hero. He springs from the pages as a single-minded, self-gratifying aristocrat. He is not an evil man, just a man existing in overindulgence.

Rachel has all the characteristics of a woman raised in a patriarchy social system. A system where: the head of the family is the eldest male, a husband rules a marriage, and overruling men govern society.

Patricia Gaffney does a remarkable job on this dispiriting novel. TO HAVE & TO HOLD may have started with much gloom and roughshod desire, but it finishes with renewed growth and glorious affection.
Grade: B+

MaryGrace Meloche.

The author knows little of the human mind and behavior, especially in terms of minds of the sexually abused (Rachel) and minds of those capable of abusing them (Sebastian). Simply put, in real life, Rachel would be in a psychiatric hospital getting treatment and Sebastian would be in prison for multiple rape and battery counts.

The prognosis for either changing totally would be improbable. Any change would take lots of hard work on both sides by them wanting to get better for change AND requiring efforts from those knowing how to help both of them.

I'm not saying a story such as theirs could never happen, it could-- in fact, it does, it's just extremely ugly. Because Rachel's damage would feed Sebastian's sickness, spiraling into a more damaged Rachel and an even more twisted Sebastian. We've all seen it on the six O'clock news, just to have it romanticized in a book is disturbing. And wrong! And well, misleading in a damn near negligent way.

So no Virginia, a man capable of raping a woman in Chapter 3 does not develop a soul and be nice by Chapter 20, and a woman who's been sexually abused by more than one man does not develop normal sexual behaviors & orgasms in the presence of said man, much less him slapping on his own version of 'sexual healing'.

Again, this is NOT how human's work-- a damaged woman with a dark history can't be the savior of a selfish, mean spirited man.

For someone like Rachel to heal, she'd need time, autonomy and freedom. And bluntly, a decent amount of asexual time and total rescripting of her sexual memories. For someone like Sebastian to become human, he'd also need a crisis that would cause a need to change and a woman that he couldn't abuse. So, for their relationship to start with rape? And for her to 'heal' and him to become 'good' is just horsefeathers!

I guess for me, reading this was like reading how someone poured gasoline on a floor and put a match to it--- but instead of a conflagration, you get pixie dust. Or a book where someone climbs Mt. Everest in 3 days in a bikini. Insane, unresearched and total fantasy. And scary too that people would actually believe it would happen, just because it was written believably.

So for me,it was an extremely dark, unpleasant and problematic read requiring more suspension of disbelief than I am capable of providing.

Here's the problem with To Have and To Hold. If you like the first half, you won't like the second half. If you like the second half, you won't like the first half.

The first half has Sebastian as this self-indulgent aristocrat who happens to be amazingly lucid - the sections of the book written from his POV are just gripping. He's blithe and bitter and although he has a dark sense of humor, he's not a brooder.

During this time Rachel is a withdrawn, dead-in-spirit woman who has no pride and not much sense of self. She's been in a prison for ten years and whatever happens at Sebastian's house, it's better than prison.

So for the first half of the book, Sebastian is playing a cat-and-mouse game with Rachel. He pretty much rapes her; he certainly gets off on her fear of him. Gaffney does a really good job showing how his emotions are getting involved without his being aware of it, it's a very convincing transformation. On the other hand, any kind thoughts Rachel has about Sebastian make no sense at all and sound pretty awkward.

So that's the first half. And then, in order to make up for how bad Sebastian was, and give Rachel reason for fall for him, Sebastian has his awakening, he realizes what a jerk he's been, he decides to be better. From that point on he is a puppy dog. He does nothing but think of ever-more-sensitive gifts for Rachel; the sex is gentle, and then gentler; he's always having warm fuzzy thoughts and smiling.

Meanwhile, Rachel is reborn - comes to life again after her years in prison - and although I admit that she has plenty of reason to be wary around Sebastian, she does all the things that I can't stand it when heroines do: Sebastian says one dumb thing and she's going to storm out forever and apologies will never be enough; she refuses a marraige proposal because it's too late.

If you enjoyed the cat-and-mouse game, all the snoozy gushing at the end is a bore. But if you like tender meetings of the mind and heart, the mental and physical violence of the first half is offensive.

I read about this book in several reviews and really don't see the draw. Sure, well before it's time but not a real page turner.

Well I did not enjoy this book at all. I could not say this is a good book. I usually enjoy almost everything but this is the first in "years" I do have to say FOR ME was awful. Maybe someone else will have better luck!

Readers Beware: This is NOT John Steinbeck's novel :) !

THE PEARL wasn't originally a book, but rather an underground men's magazine, the publication of which spanned the 18 months from July 1879 to December 1880, when it ceased publication. Considered the height of scandalous in its day, THE PEARL strikes the modern reader of erotica, densensitized by a deluge of visual images on the Net and by the open publication of "Forum"-type writings, as rather quaint in its restraint.

Still, THE PEARL is undeniably erotic, and must have had the upper-crust ladies (and a few of the men) of Victorian England blushing mightily and breathing hard as it was read by them or to them by their lovers and/or spouses.

What strikes the modern reader is the quality and the precision of the writing, which is topnotch, graphically imaginative, and designed to titillate. THE PEARL consists of a number of serialized novelettes (the aforementioned "Sub-Umbra" and the delightful tale retold in "Miss Coote's Confession" among them), random short stories, the obligatory letters from readers section, and ribald limericks and poems. If you need some new blue jokes, THE PEARL's a treasure-trove.

Much of this material has seen print in the "Ribald Classics" section of a modern major men's magazine and elsewhere over the decades. Both as an historical artifact and as an omnibus of classic adult entertainment, every serious adult reader should own a copy.

I've had a copy of this book for over 20 years, and I still go back to it from time to time when I'm looking to [have a good time with myself]. Of the Victorian erotica I've read (probably half a dozen books or so), this is the one I find most helpful, most appealing. I've even thrown it away a few times, only to repurchase it later because I missed it so.

The book contains quite a range of material, from short stories to serialized novels to poetry and limmericks. Perhaps half of the material here is S&M-realted (primarily involving people hitting each other with birch sticks), which doesn't especially appeal to me, but I've learned which stories focus more on what I'm interested in, and so the S&M bits don't distract me.

Most of the non-S&M stuff starts off with introducing innocent young women to the delights of sex. Some of the "young women" are teenagers, and some of the teenagers are barely teenagers. There are also many scenes that reinforce the Victorian stereotype of "women want sex, they just can't admit to wanting it." This results in numerous cases where women say "no, please don't." Of course, in the story they really do want it.... Anyway, if you're offended by stories depicting under-18s having sex, or of stories that involve non-consensual (or very nearly non-consensual) sex--you will want to avoid this book.

There are some bisexual scenes in the book. Most of these are female-female, but there are a small handful that are male-male.

As dirty books - or should I say "naughty books" - go, the Pearl has few equals. It's neither as pretentious as "My Secret Life", as twisted as "Justine" (De Sade, not Durrell)nor as overblown and plodding as "Fannie Hill." Regardless, this is not a book you take seriously. When my evil twin, Skippy, was a sophomore, cloistered in an all-boys prep school in the 1960's, one of his worldly classmates scored a copy of the Pearl in an "avant garde" book store in New York City, and smuggled it into school. Along with Robert Rimmer's "The Harrad Experiment" and Terry Southern's "Candy", he rented it out to his eager, reprobate adolescent peers for a dollar a week. Skippy read it cover to cover then, and again in college. It was better than comic books, he claimed - well, except maybe Fritz the Cat.

By today's "standards" (now *there's* an oxymoron), the erotica in the Pearl is pretty tame, almost innocent. However, most of it is carried off with a certain witty, genteel, Oscar Wilde-ian elegance to the whole enterprise that's sadly lacking in what passes for "erotic fiction" in the 21st century - stuff you wouldn't read with a haz-mat suit on. In the Pearl, you can see where Henry Miller and D. H. Lawrence might have taken some of their "cues" for the "juicier" parts of their more literary novels. Some of the stories are sexist. But that's the way people evidently thought, then. We had to wait another generation or two before Anais Nin and, later, Erica Jong could speak for a freer generation of women. So from a purely historical perspective, the Pearl is worth reading, if not owning. It's a more of a "mile post" in many readers' careers, something one passes and soon forgets after a certain young age.

The collections of limericks interspersed between the serialized "stories" are actually the most entertaining part of the book.

I think that it's just great that message to live one's life without regrets was the underlying theme of the story. It is a motto that i live by and i was happy to see that this book focused on this. So many people could be benefited and be inspired to live one's dreams from this book.

I have enjoyed reading the 5 previous titles by Julianne MacLean in this story line but this one just did not do it for me at all. I found it to be a so-so read that I would not have missed had it never been written. I, like many others do not understand the rave reviews given this title. All I can say is to each his own but I would advise you to choose another of her books to read and skip this one.

This was an pleasant read, but not the best historical romance I have read. This was the first I read by this author, and I will read another, but am not racing to buy another. A tad predcitable but the thrill of the romance kept me reading on.

What a refreshing change from the ordinary historical. A typical romance set in an untypical location. Its worth reading just for the setting which is the annual regatta in Cowes, England (Victorian period). Who ever thought sail boat racing could be so interesting? Maclean (author) manages to take a rather dry topic (for non-enthusiast IMHO anyway) and make it come completely alive. I actually felt like I was in the boat with the characters and had the salty wind in my face whipping up my hair. Its that good.

Unfortunately there were a couple of minor irritating points that kept the book from getting five stars. There is some modern language peppered about and the romance was better than average but not spectacular. I didn't particularly believe that the hero was a 'scoundrel' at all. He is such a nice and FUN guy. So the title just doesn't make any sense. And for some reason the heroine just didn't grow on me. Again these are just minor points and shouldn't keep anyone from reading the book. I recommend it even just to get away from the boring London balls, theater, routs, country parties etc. that are so prevalent in historical romance.

This is actually a very pleasant read. The only thing I found wrong was the hero's non stop refusal about marriage and a family. So, the guy lost his first family (which is told to us out of the blue!) but he has found love and passion again with a self proclaimed ugly duckling. Another wonderful aspect found is the hero Martin, as he grows to know the real Evelyn, he finds her to be his lovely swan and anyone who tells him otherwise, he thinks is a fool. She becomes beautiful to him because he sees how special she is and not from some magical makeover.
These are two grown up people, no naive innocents here. And the setting takes place at the end of the 19th century so no Ton-ish behavior around. Everyone talks so adult and with restraint, but when Martin and Evelyn hit the sheets, it is very emotional and hot.
Evelyn is one heroine who knows her limitations, but with a man like Martin, he sets her free from the restraints she put upon herself an in return she helps him heal his internal wounds.
A lovely story and I can say one of Maclean's best. This was a nice surprise in reading this well written and subtle romance.

Katiebabs

To Marry the Duke