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View all 4 comments. Oct 14, Phrynne rated it really liked it. This one started a bit slowly for me but about half way it gathered momentum and then raced through to an intriguing conclusion. Set in the London debtor's prison of Marshalsea in , the story follows the woes of a young man who has his entire worldly wealth stolen and ends up being arrested at the request of his creditors. The whole book takes place over only a few days but to our main character, Tom, it seems like a life time. The Marshalsea Prison did actually exist and the book has been th This one started a bit slowly for me but about half way it gathered momentum and then raced through to an intriguing conclusion.
The Marshalsea Prison did actually exist and the book has been thoroughly researched. Some of the events that occur are truly horrific and the fact that they are based on real events makes them a very sad indictment on human nature. I enjoyed all of the characters, especially Fleet, and of course we are aware all the way through that the redoubtable Tom will survive because this is only the first book in a series about him!
I look forward to seeing what mischief he gets up to next.
Certainly not for the faint hearted, some of the descriptions are particularly savage. He must solve the mystery of the real killer before time runs out or he will be executed. Having won half the money he needs on the turn of a card he is relieved and joyful and ignores the advice of his o This atmospheric , and enjoyable, debut novel is set in London. But what starts out as a meeting of minds turns into a passionate, dangerous love affair, which incurs terrible retribution. I was speed-reading from about halfway through but despite that I still felt like it was taking me years to finish this.
Find this and other reviews at: No you aren't imagining it. That is a five star rating up there. I understand it's a bit of a shock, but books like The Devil in the Marshalsea don't come along every day and even I give credit where due. Hard as it might be to believe, this one sucked me from the start. Author Antonia Hodgson hits the ground running, setting a blistering pace that kept me engaged to the final page, but momentum was far from the deciding fact Find this and other reviews at: Author Antonia Hodgson hits the ground running, setting a blistering pace that kept me engaged to the final page, but momentum was far from the deciding factor in my opinion of her work.
She also took full advantage of London's disreputable history, creating a chilling and deliciously authentic picture of lower class life in eighteenth-century England. The story itself is part social commentary and part good old fashioned fiction, but the deft complexity of the novel's construction make it impossible to determine where one ends and the other begins. It's layered, but in such a way that one is hardly aware of its elaborate intricacies.
The heavy themes and details were balanced by an array of well-defined and distinctly original characters. These individuals were both captivating and memorable despite their questionable virtues and served as a nice counterpoint to the grit of Tom's surroundings and the heightened tension of his situation. I could gush all day, but there's really no substitute for firsthand experience. A clever tale of debauchery, villainy and corruption, The Devil in the Marshalsea isn't to be missed.
I think that one word summarizes my experience reading The Devil in the Marshalsea. While the prose were smooth, the writing competent, and the over-all premise intriguing, the story and the characters were severely lacking. Forget the fact that I couldn't imagine the protagonist as a man He felt like a man written by a woman trying to sound like a man. The "character" flaws of this novel went much deeper. Not one character seemed to move beyond the s Disappointing. Not one character seemed to move beyond the second dimension and some never made it beyond the first.
Cookie cutter characters all the way and not particularly engaging or well-developed ones. Honestly, I don't need my characters heros or villains to be nice in order to care about them, I simply need them to have substance I did not find one character particularly engaging. The only thing pulling me forward was the mystery which was decent enough to keep me interested. Everything felt too forced I've read fantastical and magical characters in other-wordly plots that felt more probable than those offered in this piece of historical fiction. It wasn't horrible and if you like mysteries, this might be worth your time on a rainy afternoon.
It's gotten a fairly high average rating I will add that I read this while reading several other books. I often do that, as I like to read fiction and non-fiction concurrently to change it up with my mood. Maybe the fact that I was enjoying my other readings so much more made me overly critical of this one. So if that is the case View all 15 comments. View all 14 comments. Yay, I finally won a Goodreads giveaway! This fantastic novel was recommended by a GR friend who is also an author of some repute.
In fact it's hard to believe that this is a debut novel, so expertly and beautifully written as it is. Tom Hawkins is a young man who has slipped off the straight and narrow, originally intended for the church, he has instead fallen into vices not exactly conducive to that cal This fantastic novel was recommended by a GR friend who is also an author of some repute. Tom Hawkins is a young man who has slipped off the straight and narrow, originally intended for the church, he has instead fallen into vices not exactly conducive to that calling. Disowned by his Father, he is living a hand to mouth existence in the worst areas of London in the early 18th century.
A well educated and intelligent young man, reasonably skilled at playing cards, and making a small living from it, he nevertheless seems to court trouble. It is this propensity which lands him in London's notorious Marshalsea debtors prison, fighting for his very life. From the day Tom arrives in the savage, poverty stricken, stinking cesspit that is Marshalsea, he is at the mercy of its ruthless and evil Governor, William Acton, a man driven by money and power, no matter how it is gained. Antonia Hodgson has introduced a rich cast of characters which I was pleased to learn were in the main, based on actual people of the time at, or attending Marshalsea on a daily basis.
Because I listened to the audio version, expertly narrated by Joseph Kloska, these characters were all the more real. His range and depth of the various characters voices, and there were many, young, old, male, female, plummy accented or especially in the case of Acton, downright rough and intimidating, was superb. I had no problem distinguishing between characters, as this was all achieved in clear, expressive and coherent speech with just the right amount of inflection and depth.
In particular his characterisation of the well spoken, youthful, slightly breathless voiced Tom or my favourite, his portrayal of Samuel Fleet, sly, dark and dangerous, but enigmatic. He used a slightly bored, drawling voice with just the right amount of menace to make him immediately recognisable and strangely compelling, despite the fact that he struck fear into the majority of the inmates of the Marshalsea.
This is a wonderful, atmospheric, thoroughly researched and interesting novel of the times, with vile murder and mystery thrown in for good measure. The fact that the Marshalsea existed, that the horrendous goings on happened, are compelling and morbidly fascinating. It's really hard to believe that this intriguing snap shot of a few days inside a debtors prison was reality for some of our ancestors. Imagine being thrown into a hellhole like this because you owed a few pounds?
Doesn't bear thinking about! Charles Dickens later talked about the Marshalsea in his novel Little Dorrit, his own Father having been an inmate. This novel is not for the faint hearted, but it's real and it happened and I highly recommend it. I couldn't award less than 5 stars. View all 12 comments. This is a murder mystery with a difference, being set almost entirely within the confines of an eighteenth century debtors' prison. Our narrator, Tom Hawkins, is a young man who has rebelled against his clergyman father's plans for his future and is enjoying himself in London, spending all his money on drinking and gambling.
After a big win at the card tables one night, Tom is attacked on his way home and his winnings are stolen, leaving him unable to pay his debts. Taken to the notorious Marsha This is a murder mystery with a difference, being set almost entirely within the confines of an eighteenth century debtors' prison. Taken to the notorious Marshalsea Prison, he is horrified to discover that the last occupant of his cell, Captain Roberts, was murdered.
The killer has never been caught, but Tom's new roommate, the charismatic and mysterious Samuel Fleet, is the man most people believe to be the murderer. The Marshalea is privately run for profit, so it's not surprising that the prison governors want the killer identified as quickly as possible to avoid any further scandal. Told that his only chance of being released depends on whether or not he can solve the mystery of Roberts' death, Tom agrees to investigate.
Unsure who can be trusted and beginning to wonder whether such things as truth and justice even exist in a place as corrupt as the Marshalsea, Tom eventually uncovers a web of betrayal and deception on a scale he could never have imagined. Other authors have written about the Marshalsea, most famously Charles Dickens in Little Dorrit, but Dickens' Marshalsea was a newer building on a site further down the road; set in , Antonia Hodgson's novel refers to the original prison.
Not knowing anything at all about the Marshalsea, this was quite an eye-opening book for me. I was aware that prisoners were often able to offer bribes in return for better living conditions and privileges, but I hadn't realised there was such a great disparity between the fate of those who could afford to pay and those who couldn't. The prison was divided into two sections.
The prisoners who had some money to spend or who had influential friends, lived on the Master's Side, which was almost like a complete town in itself, with coffee houses, bars, restaurants and even a barber. They had the freedom to move around and in some cases were even given permission to go out into London during the day. For the poor people on the Common Side, things were much worse. Crammed into tiny cells and suffering from starvation, disease and overcrowding, they died at a rate of up to twelve a day.
Tom Hawkins, whose best friend happens to work for Sir Philip Meadows, Knight Marshal of the Marshalsea, is lucky enough to find himself on the Master's Side but with the knowledge that if his luck should run out, he could find himself thrown into the Common Side to meet his death with the others.
This is not a book for the faint-hearted as there are some horrible descriptions of sickness, torture and brutality, not to mention the dirty, squalid conditions the unfortunate inmates of the Common Side were forced to endure. Knowing that this was an experience many people really did have to go through makes it even more horrific. Despite this, I found The Devil in the Marshalsea very entertaining and fun to read. The book is filled with larger than life characters and I was surprised to find, when I read the notes at the end of the book, that many of these people really existed and were mentioned in the diary of John Grano, a debtor who spent a year in the prison from As a mystery novel, The Devil in the Marshalsea kept me guessing right until the end.
I did not work out who the murderer was and even after the truth was revealed there were still more plot twists and revelations to come. As a work of historical fiction it's equally impressive; I loved the portrayal of eighteenth century London both inside and outside the Marshalsea. I was so pleased to find that there's going to be a sequel to this book and I'm already looking forward to meeting Tom Hawkins again! This atmospheric , and enjoyable, debut novel is set in London. Tom Hawkins is a bit of a rake — having argued with his reverend father, he has ended up in London living by his wits and skills at gambling.
When we meet him he is endeavouring to raise the money he needs to avoid a warrant out for his arrest, due to a debt of just over twenty pounds which he owes to his landlord. Having won half the money he needs on the turn of a card he is relieved and joyful and ignores the advice of his o This atmospheric , and enjoyable, debut novel is set in London. Having won half the money he needs on the turn of a card he is relieved and joyful and ignores the advice of his oldest friend, the Reverend Charles Buckley, to go directly home. Instead, he lingers with a pretty woman and has a drink or two, which results in his being robbed in the way back to his lodgins.
His friend Charles lives with his patron, Sir Philip Meadows, who is the Knight Marshal of the Marshalsea; but there are no strings to be pulled which can extricate him from this predicament. The author has clearly done a great deal of research and we are introduced to a wonderful cast of characters.
On the Common Side, those without even enough coins to feed themselves are crammed into cells full of disease, hunger and despair. They rely on charity, but that is in short supply in a place which is based upon corruption and is ruled under the violent and vicious eye of Head Keeper William Acton. While Hawkins attempts to find his feet in this new world, he is taken under the dubious wing of the feared Samuel Fleet. His recent cell mate, Captain Roberts, was murdered and most of the prison believes Fleet to be the culprit. Meanwhile, Captain Roberts beautiful widow is haunting the prison, demanding justice.
As unrest builds, Hawkins is offered a chance of redemption. If he can find out who murdered Captain Roberts, then he may escape the walls of the Marshalsea.
That is, of course, if the murderer is an acceptable choice to Sir Philip Meadows — who is making an enormous profit from the prison, and the prisoners, and wants to keep it that way. This is a well written and enjoyable historical mystery.
I enjoyed the setting — extremely well written and realistic — and I liked the characters. Unlike many books, the ending really was a surprise. So often you read a really good novel and the ending is a little bit of a disappointment, but this one did manage to catch me unawares. A promising debut and I do hope that Tom Hawkins is given another adventure to solve. Lastly, I received a copy of this book from NetGalley, for review. Imagine owing money to creditors and falling on hard times. They were forced to negotiate their debt The Devil in the Marshalsea is the first in a historical crime series by Antonia Hodgson, featuring Tom Hawkins.
They were forced to negotiate their debts and treated as criminals. Death and torture were a part of life. Into this setting, comes Tom Hawkins.
Hawkins is your eighteenth century lad; a bloke into women, booze and gambling. His only means of escape from this hellish place is to solve a murder. A man is said to be haunting the place, the ghost of Captain Roberts. Roberts was murdered and his room mate is the prime suspect. Hawkins is soon risking his life, in a place where danger is round every corner and it is impossible to know who to trust.
Hodgson creates this amazing world, where you can imagine the depravity and insanitary conditions. Tom Hawkins must use all of his cunning, leave his naivety behind and see beneath the grime and the deception. There is something about him, that charms and captivates. At heart, he is a good man. He suffers and he cares. This is a mystery, with a prison full of suspects and the clock ticking.
Absolutely enjoyable and incredibly well paced. I raced through this, completely addicted to the gritty, down to earth feel of a nightmarish prison and eighteenth century life. Thomas Hawkins has a new fan in me! Sep 15, J. With his reputation and his own life on the line, Frank searches for the real culprit: Frank's as determined to uncover the truth as he is to feed his habit, and both pursuits could prove deadly. This time, it may just be a question of what gets him first. In this rousing yarn, Stockwin again raises naval fiction to a new level' - Quarterdeck Here he falls in with the legendary frigate captain, Lord Thomas Cochrane.
So begins a relationship, professional and personal, that will be unlike any that Kydd has known: The French fleet is massing in the Basque Roads in a near impregnatable position. The Admiralty orders Cochrane to command an attack, to the chagrin of more senior officers who object to being overlooked and Cochrane's reputation for daring.
Cochrane insists that his new friend, Kydd, is in the forefront of the assault armada, a motley collection of rocket, bomb and fire ships that will set the anchorage ablaze - this despite Kydd's almost pathological fear of fire. The fallout from what follows will see Kydd financially ruined, with only his former shipmates, his oldest friend of all, Nicholas Renzi, and the whisper of hidden Spanish treasure promising the sea of gold that he needs to save himself.
Her body is found in an abandoned car on a lonely country road. She didn't own a car.
How did she get there? Where did she die? Who moved her, and why? Meanwhile a man in his sixties is found dead in a gully up on the wild moorland.
He is wearing an expensive suit and carrying no identification. Post-mortem findings indicate he died from injuries sustained during the fall. But what was he doing up there? And why are there no signs of a car in the vicinity? As the inconsistencies multiply and the mysteries proliferate, Annie's father's new partner, Zelda, comes up with a shocking piece of information that alerts Banks and Annie to the return of an old enemy in a new guise. This is someone who will stop at nothing, not even murder, to get what he wants - and suddenly the stakes are raised and the hunt is on. Sometime around 56 AD, the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome.
His letter was arguably his theological masterpiece, and has continued to shape Christian faith ever since. He entrusted this letter to Phoebe, the deacon of the church at Cenchreae; in writing to the church that almost surely met in her home, Paul refers to her both as a deacon and as a helper or patron of many.
But who was this remarkable woman? In this, her first work of fiction, Biblical scholar and popular author and speaker Paula Gooder tells Phoebe's story - who she was, the life she lived and her first-century faith - and in doing so opens up Paul's theology, giving a sense of the cultural and historical pressures that shaped Paul's thinking, and the faith of the early church. Written in the gripping style of Gerd Theissen's The Shadow of the Galilean, and similarly rigorously researched, this is a book for everyone and anyone who wants to engage more deeply and imaginatively with Paul's theology - from one of the UK's foremost New Testament scholars.
All the FBI and Mossad know is that something apocalyptic is being planned sometime soon. They don't know about the observation balloon, the biggest flying fragmentation bomb of all time. The bomb which is being primed for the terrible day when it will hang over the biggest football crowd of the season. The day of horror and devastation.
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He suffers and he cares. This is a mystery, with a prison full of suspects and the clock ticking. Absolutely enjoyable and incredibly well paced. I raced through this, completely addicted to the gritty, down to earth feel of a nightmarish prison and eighteenth century life. Thomas Hawkins has a new fan in me! About Northern Crime Reviewer with a mind of her own. This is a collection of book reviews, which started in Mostly crime and odd other genres thrown in. You get the picture. This entry was posted in historical , mystery , thriller and tagged antonia hodgson.