The Solitary House
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Description
Lynn Shepherd's first acclaimed novel of historical suspense, "Murder at Mansfield Park, "brilliantly reimagined the time of Jane Austen. Now, in this spellbinding new triumph, she introduces an unforgettable duo of detectives into the gaslit world of Dickens.
London, 1850. Charles Maddox had been an up-and-coming officer for the Metropolitan police until a charge of insubordination abruptly ended his career. Now he works alone, struggling to eke out a living by tracking down criminals. Whenever he needs it, he has the help of his great-uncle Maddox, a legendary "thief taker," a detective as brilliant and intuitive as they come.
On Charles's latest case, he'll need all the assistance he can get.
To his shock, Charles has been approached by Edward Tulkinghorn, the shadowy and feared attorney, who offers him a handsome price to do some sleuthing for a client. Powerful financier Sir Julius Cremorne has been receiving threatening letters, and Tulkinghorn wants Charles to--discreetly--find and stop whoever is responsible.
But what starts as a simple, open-and-shut case swiftly escalates into something bigger and much darker. As he cascades toward a collision with an unspeakable truth, Charles can only be aided so far by Maddox. The old man shows signs of forgetfulness and anger, symptoms of an age-related ailment that has yet to be named.
Intricately plotted and intellectually ambitious, "The Solitary House" is an ingenious novel that does more than spin an enthralling tale: it plumbs the mysteries of the human mind.
Praise for "The Solitary House"
"A Victorian tour de force . . . a must-read."--"Kirkus Reviews" (starred review)
"Dickens fans will rejoice. . . . [Lynn] Shepherd leaves the reader spellbound."--"Booklist" (starred review)
"The star of Lynn Shepherd's intriguing mystery novel is mid-century Victorian London. . . . Her suspenseful story and winning prose ably serve her literary conceit."--Associated Press
"Intellectually enthralling, with dark twists at every turn . . . a haunting novel that will have you guessing until the last pages.""--Historical Novels Review"
"Lynn Shepherd has a knack for setting literary murder puzzles. . . . This literary magpie-ism is a treat for book lovers, a little nudge-and-a-wink here and there which delights fans of these other works without alienating those who haven't read them yet. . . . An intelligent, gripping and beautifully written novel.""--The Scotsman"
"The reader is plunged into a complex but comprehensible labyrinth of deception.""--Publishers Weekly" (starred review)
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London, 1850. Charles Maddox had been an up-and-coming officer for the Metropolitan police until a charge of insubordination abruptly ended his career. Now he works alone, struggling to eke out a living by tracking down criminals. Whenever he needs it, he has the help of his great-uncle Maddox, a legendary "thief taker," a detective as brilliant and intuitive as they come.
On Charles's latest case, he'll need all the assistance he can get.
To his shock, Charles has been approached by Edward Tulkinghorn, the shadowy and feared attorney, who offers him a handsome price to do some sleuthing for a client. Powerful financier Sir Julius Cremorne has been receiving threatening letters, and Tulkinghorn wants Charles to--discreetly--find and stop whoever is responsible.
But what starts as a simple, open-and-shut case swiftly escalates into something bigger and much darker. As he cascades toward a collision with an unspeakable truth, Charles can only be aided so far by Maddox. The old man shows signs of forgetfulness and anger, symptoms of an age-related ailment that has yet to be named.
Intricately plotted and intellectually ambitious, "The Solitary House" is an ingenious novel that does more than spin an enthralling tale: it plumbs the mysteries of the human mind.
Praise for "The Solitary House"
"A Victorian tour de force . . . a must-read."--"Kirkus Reviews" (starred review)
"Dickens fans will rejoice. . . . [Lynn] Shepherd leaves the reader spellbound."--"Booklist" (starred review)
"The star of Lynn Shepherd's intriguing mystery novel is mid-century Victorian London. . . . Her suspenseful story and winning prose ably serve her literary conceit."--Associated Press
"Intellectually enthralling, with dark twists at every turn . . . a haunting novel that will have you guessing until the last pages.""--Historical Novels Review"
"Lynn Shepherd has a knack for setting literary murder puzzles. . . . This literary magpie-ism is a treat for book lovers, a little nudge-and-a-wink here and there which delights fans of these other works without alienating those who haven't read them yet. . . . An intelligent, gripping and beautifully written novel.""--The Scotsman"
"The reader is plunged into a complex but comprehensible labyrinth of deception.""--Publishers Weekly" (starred review)
show more
Product details
- Hardback | 339 pages
- 168 x 238 x 31mm | 567g
- 01 May 2012
- Delacorte Press
- New York, NY, United States
- English
- 0345532422
- 9780345532428
- 1,650,362
Review quote
Advance praise for "The Solitary House"
"A Victorian tour de force that borrows characters from Charles Dickens' "Bleak House" and Wilkie Collins' "The Woman in White."... Shepherd offers an intricate plot and a thousand details of the least-admirable side of Victorian life. A must-read."
--"Kirkus Reviews" (starred review)
"Dickens fans will rejoice....a story of pervasive deviance so sinister that even those hardened to London's nineteenth-century underworld will reel in shock....Shepherd leaves the reader spellbound by masterfully building suspense, creating a pervasively clammy and befogged atmosphere, and offering a cast of unforgettably peculiar characters, making the most of authentic, period language and a soupcon of subtle humor." --"Booklist" (starred review)
"Shepherd follows her 2010 debut, Murder at Mansfield Park, which successfully channeled Jane Austen, with an equally satisfying reworking of Bleak House....The sensitive portrayal of [Maddox's] relationship with his aging great-uncle and mentor lends depth. Maddox could well carry a series." --"Publishers Weekly "(starred review)
"A sterling Dickensian novel...It is like falling into a wonderful time machine. Shepherd is a brilliant writer with an encyclopedic knowledge of Victorian England, which she uses perfectly to surround you with atmosphere and a story you won't put down. Not to be missed." --"Romantic Times Book Reviews"
"The star of Lynn Shepherd's intriguing mystery novel is mid-century Victorian London, depicted in all its filthy glory and without a hint of the jolly charm that found its way into the tales of Charles Dickens....Her suspenseful story and winning prose ably serve her literary conceit." --"Associated Press"
"Expertly, Shepherd has re-created Dickensian London but made it anew so that I never felt 'why would you re-do Dickens' but did feel, 'why has no one done this before?' . . . A cracking good story, well told."--"New Books "
show more
"A Victorian tour de force that borrows characters from Charles Dickens' "Bleak House" and Wilkie Collins' "The Woman in White."... Shepherd offers an intricate plot and a thousand details of the least-admirable side of Victorian life. A must-read."
--"Kirkus Reviews" (starred review)
"Dickens fans will rejoice....a story of pervasive deviance so sinister that even those hardened to London's nineteenth-century underworld will reel in shock....Shepherd leaves the reader spellbound by masterfully building suspense, creating a pervasively clammy and befogged atmosphere, and offering a cast of unforgettably peculiar characters, making the most of authentic, period language and a soupcon of subtle humor." --"Booklist" (starred review)
"Shepherd follows her 2010 debut, Murder at Mansfield Park, which successfully channeled Jane Austen, with an equally satisfying reworking of Bleak House....The sensitive portrayal of [Maddox's] relationship with his aging great-uncle and mentor lends depth. Maddox could well carry a series." --"Publishers Weekly "(starred review)
"A sterling Dickensian novel...It is like falling into a wonderful time machine. Shepherd is a brilliant writer with an encyclopedic knowledge of Victorian England, which she uses perfectly to surround you with atmosphere and a story you won't put down. Not to be missed." --"Romantic Times Book Reviews"
"The star of Lynn Shepherd's intriguing mystery novel is mid-century Victorian London, depicted in all its filthy glory and without a hint of the jolly charm that found its way into the tales of Charles Dickens....Her suspenseful story and winning prose ably serve her literary conceit." --"Associated Press"
"Expertly, Shepherd has re-created Dickensian London but made it anew so that I never felt 'why would you re-do Dickens' but did feel, 'why has no one done this before?' . . . A cracking good story, well told."--"New Books "
show more
About Lynn Shepherd
Lynn Shepherd is the author of the award-winning "Murder at Mansfield Park." She studied English at Oxford and was a professional copywriter for over a decade. She is currently at work on her next novel of historical suspense, "A Treacherous Likeness, "which Delacorte will publish in 2013.
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