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Ross (3284 KP) rated The Art of Dying in Books
Aug 15, 2019
Another fantastic historical medical thriller
* I received an advance copy of this book from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review *
Ambrose Parry returns with a second book set in Victorian Edinburgh during its medical and scientific revolution. Where the first book centred around Sir James Young Simpson (and others!) search for the perfect anaesthetic, this book focuses more on the man and his reputation. Edinburgh is still a thriving centre of medical science, and reputation is everything. The book starts with Simpson's reputation being besmirched by rivals and former colleagues, looking to suggest negligence. Will Raven and Sarah Fisher team up again to gradually peel away at the facts underlying the case in question and reveal some disturbing trends.
While the plot itself, and its numerous twists and turns, is not exactly ground-breaking, it is excellently told, with clues scattered here, there and everywhere. And to weave this tale around actual historic events and cases really appeals to my mind.
This book, and its predecessor, is one of the most immersive books I have read in a long time. The reader really gets to feel as if they are in Victorian era Edinburgh. Admittedly, I read a fair part of this book while commuting to work in Edinburgh (indeed my children were all born in the Sir James Young Simpson maternity unit of the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary), but I feel the reader with less connection to the city would still get that same feeling.
There is again an underlying message of the treatment of women during those times (and indeed today), both how they are treated in the household and society and also their opportunities for a career and to explore their skills. Sarah Fisher is a strong female character who tolerates her place in society but yearns to break through the glass ceiling, proving her worth to all and sundry as she goes.
In contrast, Will Raven is somewhat spineless in this regard. He sees the issues with society but doesn't do much to act on it. Indeed, he starts the book having run away from Edinburgh and his chances of a relationship with a mere housekeeper, for fear of his heart dooming his medical career. Raven does get some amount of development, both in terms of his medical career, and also in terms of becoming the Victorian equivalent of "woke".
Parry's prose is fantastic and she (they?) truly allow the reader to feel the story unfold around them.
An utterly wonderful book with some interesting history lessons and important messages about the past that should help us build a fairer society today.
Ambrose Parry returns with a second book set in Victorian Edinburgh during its medical and scientific revolution. Where the first book centred around Sir James Young Simpson (and others!) search for the perfect anaesthetic, this book focuses more on the man and his reputation. Edinburgh is still a thriving centre of medical science, and reputation is everything. The book starts with Simpson's reputation being besmirched by rivals and former colleagues, looking to suggest negligence. Will Raven and Sarah Fisher team up again to gradually peel away at the facts underlying the case in question and reveal some disturbing trends.
While the plot itself, and its numerous twists and turns, is not exactly ground-breaking, it is excellently told, with clues scattered here, there and everywhere. And to weave this tale around actual historic events and cases really appeals to my mind.
This book, and its predecessor, is one of the most immersive books I have read in a long time. The reader really gets to feel as if they are in Victorian era Edinburgh. Admittedly, I read a fair part of this book while commuting to work in Edinburgh (indeed my children were all born in the Sir James Young Simpson maternity unit of the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary), but I feel the reader with less connection to the city would still get that same feeling.
There is again an underlying message of the treatment of women during those times (and indeed today), both how they are treated in the household and society and also their opportunities for a career and to explore their skills. Sarah Fisher is a strong female character who tolerates her place in society but yearns to break through the glass ceiling, proving her worth to all and sundry as she goes.
In contrast, Will Raven is somewhat spineless in this regard. He sees the issues with society but doesn't do much to act on it. Indeed, he starts the book having run away from Edinburgh and his chances of a relationship with a mere housekeeper, for fear of his heart dooming his medical career. Raven does get some amount of development, both in terms of his medical career, and also in terms of becoming the Victorian equivalent of "woke".
Parry's prose is fantastic and she (they?) truly allow the reader to feel the story unfold around them.
An utterly wonderful book with some interesting history lessons and important messages about the past that should help us build a fairer society today.
Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) rated The Portrait of Mr W.H. in Books
May 14, 2017
. As a paradox to the realism and ethics of the period, decadent writers, artists, and poets challenged a society that strove for a standard in public discourse.
First published in 1889, Oscar Wilde’s The Portrait of Mr W.H., is a short story about the efforts of three characters trying to discover the identity of Shakespeare’s Mr W.H. ; the dedicatee of his many sonnets. Wilde’s novel is a prime example of decadent literature and aestheticism, which, as a result, challenges the Victorian ideals of moral decency and public rectitude. The author uses paradox in the novel to present a theory that contradicts the conservative critics of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Wilde presents a subjective interpretation of Shakespeare’s sonnets that portrays homoerotic sexual desire as the force for creative inspiration. Foremost, through the character Cyril Graham, the author demonstrates that art is ‘an attempt to realise one’s own personality on some imaginative plane out of reach of the trammelling accidents and limitations of real life’, (Wilde, p.111).
Taking from a hypothesis in the previous century by Edmund Malone and Thomas Tyrwhitt, the character of Cyril forms a theory in which Mr W.H. is a young actor named Willie Hughes, employed by Shakespeare and who is the muse to which the sonnets are devoted. Cyril investigates each poem and pieces together a theory he believes to be true.
On the surface, Cyril’s theory derives from feeling and beauty rather than logic and instruction.
The withholding of facts in Shakespeare’s sonnets energises Cyril. He scours the poems to find a clue that harmonise with his own feelings. Cyril believes that Shakespeare influences his readers by guiding them to Willie Hughes.
Cyril, spurned by the moralistic interpretations of previous critics, becomes enthralled by Shakespeare’s muse.
Wilde presents a subjective interpretation of Shakespeare’s sonnets that portrays homoerotic sexual desire as the force for creative inspiration. Foremost, through the character Cyril Graham, the author demonstrates that art is ‘an attempt to realise one’s own personality on some imaginative plane out of reach of the trammelling accidents and limitations of real life’, (Wilde, p.111).
Taking from a hypothesis in the previous century by Edmund Malone and Thomas Tyrwhitt, the character of Cyril forms a theory in which Mr W.H. is a young actor named Willie Hughes, employed by Shakespeare and who is the muse to which the sonnets are devoted. Cyril investigates each poem and pieces together a theory he believes to be true.
On the surface, Cyril’s theory derives from feeling and beauty rather than logic and instruction.
The withholding of facts in Shakespeare’s sonnets energises Cyril. He scours the poems to find a clue that harmonise with his own feelings. Cyril believes that Shakespeare influences his readers by guiding them to Willie Hughes.
Cyril, spurned by the moralistic interpretations of previous critics, becomes enthralled by Shakespeare’s muse.
They All Love Jack: Busting the Ripper
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The Case of the Chocolate Cream Killer: The Poisonous Passion of Christiana Edmunds
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The Illustrated Letters of Richard Doyle to His Father, 1842-1843
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"Scott's collection of illustrated letters from the hand of Richard Doyle, the fascinating but...
Sherlock Holmes: the Novels
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The Devil's Workshop: Scotland Yard Murder Squad: Book 3
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The Devil's Workshop is the third historical thriller in Alex Grecian's acclaimed Scotland Yard...
The Yard: Book 1
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A gripping debut from Alex Grecian, The Yard evokes London in the wake of Jack the Ripper. Victorian...
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper in Books
Oct 23, 2022
This is the second book I have read this year that instead of focusing on the killer, has focused on their victims and making sure we know the person rather than just the name. I find this approach interesting, as we should be remembering the victims rather than the killers.
The Five introduces us to each of the women that were murdered by Jack the Ripper in the Victorian era: Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary Jane. Hallie Rubenhold starts from the very beginning for each woman, with all but Mary Jane having the story start with their parents and then when the woman was born. She takes us through their childhoods, marriages and troubles and tries to make us understand how the women got to the place they were at that moment in time. She then tells us a little bit about how they were found afterwards and their burials if she can. She makes it clear that the majority of these women weren’t prostitutes, as we have all been led to believe. And even tells us where this belief originated and why it wasn’t corrected.
I have found it extremely interesting to learn about the darker side of Victorian life and to learn how hard it was for the working class and how difficult it was to better oneself, especially as a woman. Hallie Rubenhold’s writing draws you in and makes you want to learn more about the world in which these women lived and how different it is to now. I have enjoyed learning about these women, and the book is extremely well researched and has a lot of evidence to back up the claims made by the author. I have wanted to read the Covent Garden Ladies for a while, and I think this book will have moved it much further up the list.
The Five introduces us to each of the women that were murdered by Jack the Ripper in the Victorian era: Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary Jane. Hallie Rubenhold starts from the very beginning for each woman, with all but Mary Jane having the story start with their parents and then when the woman was born. She takes us through their childhoods, marriages and troubles and tries to make us understand how the women got to the place they were at that moment in time. She then tells us a little bit about how they were found afterwards and their burials if she can. She makes it clear that the majority of these women weren’t prostitutes, as we have all been led to believe. And even tells us where this belief originated and why it wasn’t corrected.
I have found it extremely interesting to learn about the darker side of Victorian life and to learn how hard it was for the working class and how difficult it was to better oneself, especially as a woman. Hallie Rubenhold’s writing draws you in and makes you want to learn more about the world in which these women lived and how different it is to now. I have enjoyed learning about these women, and the book is extremely well researched and has a lot of evidence to back up the claims made by the author. I have wanted to read the Covent Garden Ladies for a while, and I think this book will have moved it much further up the list.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated The Wicked Cometh in Books
Jan 1, 2018
Enjoyable, easy read
Rich in atmosphere, characterisation and vocabulary, this historical fiction follows the character of Hester White, an 18-year-old living in squalid conditions in 19th century London. A carriage accident may well prove her salvation - passenger, the charismatic Calder Brock, seems determined to rescue her from the gutter, his sister Rebekah to be entrusted with her education.
Following closely in Sarah Waters' footsteps, this is a Victorian pastiche that returns to those perennials of murder, identity, prostitution and female survival. Carlin writes with fluency and conjures up a grim, dank, seedy London where the only sanctuary for our heroine is in female friendship
While this is an enjoyable read, it does feel more generic than original, and there are some clumsy tricks such as the extended death-bed confession/life-story at the end. Great for fans of Victoriana.
Following closely in Sarah Waters' footsteps, this is a Victorian pastiche that returns to those perennials of murder, identity, prostitution and female survival. Carlin writes with fluency and conjures up a grim, dank, seedy London where the only sanctuary for our heroine is in female friendship
While this is an enjoyable read, it does feel more generic than original, and there are some clumsy tricks such as the extended death-bed confession/life-story at the end. Great for fans of Victoriana.