Oh...just...stop what you're doing and READ IT! You don't even need to read the first one in the Thomas De Quincey series to know who everyone is and to realize that this is a good fucking book!
So I am not a historian, history buff, or anything remotely close to one; but I did actually do a little digging for this book. I knew that Morrell blended fact with fiction, but I honestly had no idea there were so many assassination attempts made on the life of Queen Victoria. As I said...history was never my thing. I memorized enough to get an A on the test, recall it for the final, and then immediately cleared the information out to make room for more pressing information....like differential equations and entropy. As I read this book, I'm realizing I did myself a disservice, but at the same time, I'm loving learning about it now. I think maybe the older I get, the more interested in history I become. When I say I love all things Victorian England, I'm honestly speaking of the culture. I felt in order to fully discriminate between fact and fiction, I had to do a little Googling first...after I finished the book of course. I didn't want to ruin the surprise...surprises to me, at least.
Morrell has a serious skill in blending fact with fiction...like holy shit mad skill. He weaves this storyline together and throws a couple of twists in there that just left me utterly entertained. Honestly, if I'm judging based off of this one book; he's a superb writer.
In Inspector of the Dead, there are a few plot lines going on that Morrell blends beautifully. We begin at a church service where four people enter, looking a little low class, with written permission from Lord Palmerston to use his church pew. It's a packed house for this particular Sunday, as a decorated Colonel who valiantly fought in the Crimean War is visiting. Following the illustrious arrival of the Colonel, the vicar gasps as he sees old Lady Cosgrove's head almost fall off and blood leaking out under her pew. *GASP* *THROAT SLIT AT CHURCH* In her hand is a note on black paper that simply says "Young England". Mayhem ensues but is slightly contained considering two of the four low class looking folks are Scotland Yard detectives, Becker and Ryan. Ryan is the more experienced and sends Becker to the home of Lady Cosgrove to inform the family of her death, but also, to determine just what the monkey has happened to Lord Cosgrove as no one knew this mofo was dead as evidenced by Lady Cosgrove wearing a whole lot of mourning black. Also in attendance with Becker and Ryan, are opium addict and murder specialist Thomas De Quincey and his daughter Emily. De Quincey may not have the title of a homicide detective but he might as well be. De Quincey already has an idea, but it isn't until Becker arrives at the Cosgrove home that they realize Lord Cosgrove has been murdered with his body posed to signify a message...I believe the law is blind but take what you will from it. He also has a note that says "Edward Oxford" who was the first man to attempt to kill Queen Victoria in 1840. From there the bodies keep stacking up, each posed in a manner to signify how the killer has been wronged by the system, and each containing the name of someone who attempted to assassinate Queen Victoria. The queen is immediately alerted after the Cosgrove murders but there's not much she can do about it...she's busy being queen and all.
It isn't until the Grandwood murders that we learn just what the hell is going on -- who the "Revenger" is, why he's doing what he's doing, and who all his targets truly are. I was honestly shocked and surprised by who it turned out to be. Fifteen years before, a young Irish boy's mother was arrested for shoplifting because the shop owner planned to strike a bargain with her...her body for her freedom. He never got the chance to do that though because she was soon transported to Newgate prison and he never said a word about her innocence. The boy and his father went to London to see about getting her out of prison, at which time the father fell ill for drinking bacteria laden water while the boy returned home for his sisters. It wasn't until he was searching for help for his father that the boy received the only bit of help, if you could call it that. The boy was told to tell the guards his mother was in prison for debt and his sisters would be allowed to stay with her until she could figure out how to pay the debt. Of course he was lying, but it put a roof over his sisters' heads and a bit of bread in their stomachs. From there it only got worse. Turns out the guards actually sexually assaulted the young girls and their mother was sick prompting the older daughter to smother her mother and sister, and then hang herself. The father passed away as well leaving the young boy to struggle and raise himself. It was at the same time he ran beside the queen's carriage yelling for someone to please help his mother, father, and sisters that Edward Oxford carried out his assassination attempt. The boy was taken in by a wealthy railroad builder who sexually assaulted him until he pushed him from a train car leaving him paralyzed. The evil part of me says good for you boy. He didn't deserve to be abused...he had already had enough to last a lifetime without this fucker putting his hands on him. Fifteen years later, the boy was a grown man who no one would have ever expected of murder much less creating the new Young England.
In the end, the revenger is just so utterly broken that despite all the people he has killed, I can't help but feel for him. I honestly just wanted to hold him and say how sorry I was for everything that had happened. His story honestly broke my heart, and I don't know what I would have done is his place...ended up dead in the streets probably. It was such a heart wrenching tale that I honestly never really expected. Morrell has such a fascinating way of blending in the history of the assassination attempts with the fiction of a murderous story line. Such fantastic writing and creative story telling. I look forward to the next in this series, and I'm going to have to go pick up the first one.
I honestly barely skimmed the surface when it comes to the content of this book. If you like a little blending between fact and fiction, definitely pick this up. It's fast paced with multiple story lines that are flawlessly weaved together for a fantastic read. Bravo, well done, and a thousand thumbs up to this book!
No comments:
Post a Comment