My Five Word TL:DR Review: A Tale of the Macabre

If you enjoy historical fiction, centred on a period where people clamoured for the macabre and you’re not too squeamish about death, be it that of human or animal, then this could be just the book for you, it is certainly an atmospheric story with a level of detail that brings the streets of London to life.  Set within the Victorian period this is the story of one woman’s determination to discover what happened to her sister.  It is a dark and gothic tale that shines a light on the people of the time and also takes the reader to the cold and unwelcoming Arctic.

This is a story narrated by three povs.  We meet Maude, in search of answers over her sister Constance’s death.  Constance and Maude are sisters and close frieds, since losing their parents they’ve lived with their grandfather though clearly Constance longed for adventure eventually slipping away to sea disguised as a ship’s cabin boy aboard a Navy vessel bound for the Northwest Passage.  Unfortunately, Constance never returns from her venture and the navy are unwilling to investigate her death even though Maude has her suspicions.  Armed with Constance’s onboard diary and a large measure of pluck Maude is determined to avenge Constance.  The second pov is Constance’s diary wherein the reader will discover the grim goings on aboard the Makepeace.  Life is cheap where some people are involved and these diary excerpts gradually build in tension and fear.  Finally we follow Edison Stowe, recruited as a scientist for the Makepeace he has ulterior motives for being on board. Constance clearly feared him and Maude soon comes to believe he knows more about her sister’s death than he is telling.  It was interesting to read from his perspective.  He’s a cruel and greedy man which isn’t a winning combination.  On top of this Edison has ran into debt and afoul of a money lender – not known for his cheery disregard for those who owe him money and don’t pay in a timely fashion.

So, on top of the gradually unfolding story from the Makepeace we also have a cloak and dagger operation with Maude following Edison and taking part in a series of ‘tours’ that he arranges in an attempt to make some quick and easy money.  The Victorians had a fascination for the macabre.  Sceances, anything relating to ghosts and spectres, death, public executions, even down to Madame Tussaud’s chamber of horrors and rather creepy death masks of the most infamous criminals of the time and all of this really plays into the story.

The writing is really good.  There are some excellent descriptions of London that are really evocative.  Especially the public hangings where the wealthy and the poor alike jostled for the best position to witness the deaths.  Similarly the arctic expedition is well described.  The fear and regret that Constance comes to feel really shine out from the page, of course, we already know her eventual fate but learning the details is quite the gripping, if somewhat sad, experience.

In terms of criticisms.  I don’t have anything that really spoiled the read for me but I would mention that, firstly this isn’t a quick read.  I think some readers may find the detail interferes with the pacing, it did slow the read down a little for me and I would suggest that this is a book to be read more slowly, taking a little at a time and savouring the detail.  The second thing that, for me, prevented this from being a five star read is – and I don’t want to give away spoilers, but I felt like Maude didn’t really get to experience her ‘glorious revenge’ in some ways.  Which isn’t to say that the perpetrators were not brought to justice, only that I felt some of her thunder was stolen.  I think I was expecting her to, well, get away with some kind of plot herself – that being said would I have thought less of her if she’d resorted to something really bad?  I genuinely don’t know, probably I would have felt disappointed in some ways.  At the end of the day justice was served and ghosts were laid to rest.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher’s for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.

My rating 4 of 5 stars