Dans Mon Catalogue

Paperback, 400 pages

Published Sept. 16, 2014 by Mariner Books.

ISBN:: 9780544176676

(1 review)

London, 1727. Tom Hawkins refuses to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a country parson. His preference is for wine, women, and cards. But there’s honor there too, and Tom won’t pull family strings to get himself out of debt—not even when faced with London’s notorious debtors’ prison. The Marshalsea Gaol is a world of its own, with simple rules: Those with family or friends who can lend them a little money may survive in relative comfort. Those with none will starve in squalor and disease. And those who try to escape will suffer a gruesome fate at the hands of its ruthless governor and his cronies. The trouble is, Tom has never been good at following rules, even simple ones. And the recent grisly murder of a debtor, Captain Roberts, has brought further terror to the gaol. While the captain's beautiful widow cries for justice, the finger of …

London, 1727. Tom Hawkins refuses to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a country parson. His preference is for wine, women, and cards. But there’s honor there too, and Tom won’t pull family strings to get himself out of debt—not even when faced with London’s notorious debtors’ prison. The Marshalsea Gaol is a world of its own, with simple rules: Those with family or friends who can lend them a little money may survive in relative comfort. Those with none will starve in squalor and disease. And those who try to escape will suffer a gruesome fate at the hands of its ruthless governor and his cronies. The trouble is, Tom has never been good at following rules, even simple ones. And the recent grisly murder of a debtor, Captain Roberts, has brought further terror to the gaol. While the captain's beautiful widow cries for justice, the finger of suspicion points only one way: do the sly, enigmatic figure of Samuel Fleet.
Some call Fleet a devil, a man to avoid at all costs. But Tom Hawkins is sharing his cell. Soon Tom’s choice is clear: get to the truth of the murder—or be the next to die.
A dazzling evocation of a startlingly modern era, The Devil in the Marshalsea is a thrilling debut novel full of intrigue and suspense.

1 edition

Blackberry Jim reviewed The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson

A well-researched thriller!

4 stars

A friend gave this to me with a strong recommendation a while ago. I really enjoyed this - great attention to historical detail without it feeling at all like the author was shoehorning things in, resulting in a wonderful sense of atmosphere and plausibility. It didn't shy away from some difficult topics, and not from over-confidence, I think. A real range of well-drawn characters and a great sense of the narrator's own personality, and what that conceals about the world he lives in. Hodgson made this rude libertine a likeable and entertaining main character without making him not Really a libertine, which is really an accomplishment. I felt like the habitual sexism of the main character's internal narration Did actually add to the story's verisimilitude, which is pretty rare for me.

Spoilers below!

o

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- The conclusion to the murder didn't feel …

A friend gave this to me with a strong recommendation a while ago. I really enjoyed this - great attention to historical detail without it feeling at all like the author was shoehorning things in, resulting in a wonderful sense of atmosphere and plausibility. It didn't shy away from some difficult topics, and not from over-confidence, I think. A real range of well-drawn characters and a great sense of the narrator's own personality, and what that conceals about the world he lives in. Hodgson made this rude libertine a likeable and entertaining main character without making him not Really a libertine, which is really an accomplishment. I felt like the habitual sexism of the main character's internal narration Did actually add to the story's verisimilitude, which is pretty rare for me.

Spoilers below!

o

-

- The conclusion to the murder didn't feel so exciting because they did such a thorough job of showing you how to rule everyone out, and maybe it's just because the mindset is so alien but the motive didn't feel like an 'oh, I see it now!!' kind of thing. Wasn't quite contrived though. I did like how the conclusion continued beyond the frame he'd been set in by Charles & Sir Philip and showed the beginnings of different lives afterward!