The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson

 

Antonia Hodgson’s novel, The Devil in the Marshalsea, is exactly the kind of historical mystery I enjoy. Most of the story takes place in the Marshalsea debtors’ prison, where a rakehelly parson’s son is imprisoned for a debt of £20. Doesn’t sound like much? At the time, a maidservant might earn only £5 a year. Conditions in the prison are worse than you can imagine. They’re worse than I could imagine in spite of being hardened to some of the less pleasant features of the eighteenth century. Trapped in a prison in which the protagonist, Thomas Hawkins, runs the risk of dying of gaol fever, murder, starvation, or mistreatment, his only chance of freeing himself is by solving the murder of another prisoner.

Good writing, fascinating characters, high stakes, and a denouement I didn’t see coming: these are all the things I hope for in fiction. But for me, the cherry on top is that Ms. Hodgson’s details and background are thoroughly researched and believable, not something I often see in this genre. My books are set a mere dozen years later than The Devil in the Marshalsea, so the period is familiar ground. I believe this is the only historical novel I’ve read in which the characters eat the foods that actually were eaten at the time. Some of you know that this is a pet peeve of mine. Yes, I’m picky.

And if you prefer to read in Chinese or German, it’s available in translation.  

I haven’t yet started the second book, The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins, but it’s on my Kindle.