Category: Victorian Era (1837-1901)

In the history of the United Kingdom, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria’s reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian period, and its later half overlaps with the first part of the Belle Époque era of continental Europe.
Preceded by: Regency era
Followed by: Edwardian era
Monarch: Victoria

The Vanishing Man by Charles Finch

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The Vanishing Man: A Prequel to the Charles Lenox Series (Charles Lenox Mysteries prequel 2)The Vanishing Man: A Prequel to the Charles Lenox Series by Charles Finch

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Charles Lenox Mysteries – Prequel #2
Publication Date: 2/19/19
Number of Pages: 304

The Vanishing Man is a wonderful addition to the Prequel series for Charles Lenox Mysteries and it is set three years after the first of the prequel novels A Woman In The Water. As always, it is well-written and well-plotted. I have read all of the books in the Charles Lenox series and it is nice to now go back in time and meet a younger and more unsure Charles who is just feeling his way into his chosen profession. The author does an excellent job of putting you in that time and place and making you feel the censure Charles gets from his peers for choosing that profession. While the mystery is excellent, two of my favorite things had nothing to do with it – one was the excellent outline of the British peerage, it was excellently done, and another was learning the origins of some words like ‘tips’ and ‘clue’. I might also add that if I were just newly coming to this series now, I would prefer to read the prequels before starting on the series itself. For one thing, the travel back in time is a bit of a shock to the system and it is bittersweet to get to know some people when you already know what their future holds.

In this book, Charles is still fairly melancholy and missing his father a lot. The author did an excellent job of putting you in Charles’ place and making you understand his grief and loss. Charles also does a bit of pining for what might have been between him and Jane. On a lighter note, I absolutely loved Charles’ young cousin, Lancelot, who was staying with him over the two-week term break at Eton. There is a scene in there between Lancelot and the Duke of Dorset that will have you in stitches!

Charles still hasn’t decided what to call himself – Private Investigator – Private Detective – he just can’t decide and since there are no others like him, it is up to him. Since his last case, things have been pretty slow for Charles – and then he gets a summons from the Duke of Dorset. So, things are looking up.

Charles arrives at the Duke’s home and is taken directly to the duke’s private-private study (you’ll understand when you read the book) where the duke tells him that there has been a robbery and he wants Charles to solve it. A painting with little value has been stolen from the room they are in, but the duke is convinced that the thief got the wrong painting. There is a priceless painting hanging directly beside the one that was stolen and the duke is sure that is the one the thieves wanted. After hearing the entire tale, Charles isn’t so sure that the thieves took the wrong painting. What was surprising was that the duke was only interested in the name of the thief, he wasn’t interested at all in recovering the painting.

Charles is busy trying to track down the painting when the duke is kidnapped and a ransom demand is left behind. Now, Charles has two mysteries to solve! Then – there is a murder and Charles has three cases to juggle. It will take all of his investigational skills and observational skills to figure out what is happening. He also meets Thaddeus Bonden who is famed for ‘finding’ things and Bonden agrees to help and to mentor Charles in some skills Charles feels he is lacking.

There is excellent character development from the first book to this one and it is nice to be able to explore the early relationships between Charles and his brother as well as Charles and Lady Jane. The love between Charles and his brother, Edwin, is plain to see and I enjoyed their interactions. All of the relationships in Charles’ life – Edwin, Graham, Mrs. Huggins, Lady Jane – are all rich, charming and funny. Then you add in the mischievous Lancelot into the mix and you have some lovely light moments that alleviate those darker ones.

I love Charles’ continuing pursuit of knowledge in the field of his craft. Part of that pursuit causes him to visit bedlam weekly to speak with criminally insane inmates. He wants to understand the criminal mind. Charles is insatiably curious about almost everything and that all goes a long way to help him develop the necessary skills he needs.

I definitely recommend this book and this series. It is very well written and the research is impeccable. You feel as if you are in that place and time along with the characters in the book. Well done Mr. Finch.

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A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn

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A Treacherous Curse (Veronica Speedwell #3)A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Veronica Speedwell #3
Publication Date: 1/16/18
Number of Pages: 320

This is the third book the late-Victorian Veronica Speedwell series. It features lepidopterist Veronica who is bold, unconventional, outspoken (to the point of being overbearing) and the handsome Revelstoke Templeton-Vane (Stoker). I read the first book in the series and loved everything about it except Veronica, so I decided to skip ahead in the series and see if she had mellowed any at all. She is still arrogant, superior, condescending and overbearing, but she’s not quite as bad as in the first book, so I’ll definitely try another one – hoping that she continues to mellow a bit. This author’s mysteries and writing are always top-notch, it is only the female lead for which I haven’t been able to work up any enthusiasm – I don’t hate her, I just don’t care for her very much and we’d never be good friends. I am excited to see where the series heads from here!

I am not going to complain because I dearly wanted to learn more about Stoker’s past – and I was delighted to learn a lot more – but that knowledge did come at the expense of the mystery. The mystery was still excellent, just not as intricately complex as the others in the series. We didn’t learn all about Stoker, but we did learn a lot more than we knew before. We meet his ex-wife and find out some of what happened between them – and it wasn’t pretty.

Veronica and Stoker are summoned to the sickbed of Sir Hugo Montgomerie of the Special Branch. Sir Hugo wants them to look into the disappearance of Stoker’s former best friend, John de Morgan. De Morgan had been working as a photographer on the Tiverton expedition in Egypt. The expedition made an extraordinary find and de Morgan disappeared with one of the priceless artifacts. Veronica and Stoker have to take on the investigation because of Stoker’s past with de Morgan – and it won’t be long before the newspapers track down that past and bring Stoker’s name into scandal again. Stoker might even be blamed for the disappearance and/or death of de Morgan.

The mystery rocks on and I began to wonder if they would ever get the clue to solving the case, but when they get it, things just explode and it is non-stop action from there on out.

I know I have said, repeatedly, that I don’t care for Veronica, but I do absolutely love how she protects and defends Stoker. No matter what she hears about him or from whom she hears it – she absolutely never doubts Stoker. She will look out for him even to her own detriment. (BTW – the author has really toned down the “Hey look at me I’m unconventional” rantings that were in the first book and I’m so very glad). Their relationship isn’t all one-sided though. Stoker is the same way about her.

One thing I find very entertaining is the role reversal in this series. Veronica has had liaisons and is very free with admitting them, speaking about sex, etc. and isn’t the least bit embarrassed about it. Stoker, on the other hand, is almost prudish. Not that he hasn’t had liaisons, but it just isn’t something he speaks about with ladies and he embarrasses so easily. So, in this series – she is uninhibited and he is missish. They are two societal outcasts who are absolutely perfect for each other – can’t wait until they realize they love each other.

I definitely recommend this author, this book and this series.