{"product_id":"9780544176676","title":"The Devil In The Marshalsea","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eThe Devil In The Marshalsea\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Antonia Hodgson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe first historical crime novel of “scenic intrigue” \u003cem\u003e(Vogue\u003c\/em\u003e) starring Thomas Hawkins, a rakish scoundrel with a heart of gold, set in Georgian London. \u003c\/strong\u003eLondon, 1727. Tom Hawkins refuses to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a country parson. His preference is for wine, women, and cards. But there’s honor there too, and Tom won’t pull family strings to get himself out of debt—not even when faced with London’s notorious debtors’ prison. The Marshalsea Gaol is a world of its own, with simple rules: Those with family or friends who can lend them a little money may survive in relative comfort. Those with none will starve in squalor and disease. And those who try to escape will suffer a gruesome fate at the hands of its ruthless governor and his cronies. The trouble is that Tom has never been good at following rules, even simple ones. And the recent grisly murder of a debtor, Captain Roberts, has brought further terror to the gaol. While the captain's beautiful widow cries for justice, the finger of suspicion points only one way: do the sly, enigmatic figure of Samuel Fleet. Some call Fleet a devil, a man to avoid at all costs. But Tom Hawkins is sharing his cell. Soon Tom’s choice is clear: get to the truth of the murder—or be the next to die.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e“A scenic intrigue filled with wastrels and gaols.” —\u003ci\u003eVogue\u003c\/i\u003e’s “Buzziest Beach Reads” \"Alive and immediate. The story crackles with anxiety as Tom finally finds purpose for his idle hands, the true meaning of honor and the identity of the real devil in the Marshalsea.\" —\u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e \"Historical fiction just doesn’t get any better than this. A riveting, fast-paced story…Magnificent!\" —Jeffery Deaver, author of the bestselling \u003ci\u003eThe Kill Room and Edge \u003c\/i\u003e\"Antonia Hodgson’s London of 1727 offers that rare achievement in historical fiction: a time and place suspensefully different from our own, yet real. The Devil in the Marshalsea reminds us at every turn that we ourselves may not have evolved far from its world of debtors and creditors, crime and generosity, appetite and pathos. A damn’d good read.\" —Elizabeth Kostova, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Historian and The Swan Thieves \u003c\/i\u003e\"A wonderfully convincing picture of the seamier side of 18th-century life. The narrative whips along. Antonia Hodgson has a real feel for how people thought and spoke at the time—and, God knows, that’s a rare talent.\" —Andrew Taylor, author of \u003ci\u003eAn Unpardonable Crime and The Four Last Things\u003c\/i\u003e \"It is the mesh of lies and duplicity that draws you into this brilliant first novel.\" —\u003ci\u003eThe Times \u003c\/i\u003e(UK) \"There are enough plot twists to fill an upturned three-corner hat and a cast of memorable and believable inmates, good and bad. This is a riveting historical thriller that's finely crafted and difficult to put down.\" —\u003ci\u003eDaily Mail \u003c\/i\u003e(UK) \"Something new in the world of historical crim fiction, with mesmerising detail and atmosphere.\" —\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e (UK) \"Splendid...Impeccably researched and astonishingly atmospheric, with time past evoked so strongly that one can almost smell it, this is a truly spellbinding tale.\" —\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e (UK) \"Superbly written, historically accurate, always convincing and often quite chilling...A book to savour.\" —\u003ci\u003eCrime Review\u003c\/i\u003e (UK) \"The plot develops almost as many intricate turns as there are passages in the Marshalsea…Hodgson’s plotting is clever…the local color hair-raising.\" –\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews \u003c\/i\u003e\"[Hodgson] conjures up scenes of Dickensian squalor and marries them to a crackerjack plot, in her impressive first novel...Hodgson makes the stench, as well as the despair, almost palpable, besides expertly dropping fair clues. Fans of Iain Pears and Charles Palliser will hope for a sequel.\" \u003ci\u003e--Publishers Weekly \u003c\/i\u003e(STARRED REVIEW) \"Satisfyingly twisty debut thriller...so well detailed that one can almost smell the corruption, and the irrepressibly roguish Tom makes a winning hero.\" —\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9780544176676\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Harper Paperbacks","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":41168187261134,"sku":"9780544176676","price":15.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/9780544176676_fada6a92-14f4-4d04-90e6-2864831dd6ca.jpg?v=1652150496","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9780544176676","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}