| If
you have read Tom–All-Alone’s (also
reviewed on this site) you will know that Charles Maddox
is a private investigator, and perhaps be wondering what
literary case he will investigate next. His
new client is none other than Sir Percy Shelley, son of
Mary Shelley of Frankenstein fame. He
wants Charles to obtain certain papers from somebody who
should not, in his opinion, have them. The
person who owns the papers is Claire Clairmont, Mary Shelley’s
own half-sister and thus begins a tortuous affair indeed,
where Charles’ own uncle is implicated in at least
one murder… Just
as it helped if you had read Bleak House and
The Woman in White when reading Tom-All-Alone’s,
so does at least some knowledge of the Shelleys and
their friends and family when reading this. This
is historical mystery in its more literary form, and
once again it is told in the present tense, unraveling
before the reader’s eyes. It is also
again told as though by somebody in the present day,
mentioning various modern matters which can jar at times,
and is also reminiscent of non-fiction. The
author has certainly done her homework here, and you
will no doubt spend some time turning back to the highly
useful family tree to keep track of who is related to
whom. The gloomy, winter setting of
mid Victorian London comes to grimy life in this tortuous
tale, and the dark secrets of an earlier generation
are slowly brought to light. It is not a
book for those who want lots of action, humor or a quick
read as it takes its time, building to a shocking denouement
as Charles uncovers more about the Shelleys. As
I said earlier you do need to know something about them
already to truly enjoy or even follow this, and you
certainly need to be interested in them as they are
what the story is about. This is a work of
fiction, but if you have ever wondered what happened
to Shelley’s first wife, what it might have been
like to be present when Mary Shelley was inspired to
write Frankenstein and other matters this ought
to appeal.
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