What is the Satsuma Complex?

As long-term readers will know, I'm deeply suspicious of a massive bestseller. So, while I enjoy Bob Mortimer's work, I couldn't help rolling my eyes a bit when I saw that he'd followed up his autobiography, 'And Away...' with the smash hit novel 'The Satsuma Complex'. Would this be just another mediocre money spinner made massive by the celebrity name on the front? With some trepidation, I began to read...

'Nicholas Nickleby' by Charles Dickens

OK, so I cracked. There were just too many TV programmes praising that giant of Victorian literature, Charles Dickens, so I decided it was time to give him another go. I'm not saying I was bullied by a combination of Gyles Brandreth, Miriam Margoyles, Armando Iannucci et al, but...

'Dickens and Christmas' by Lucinda Hawksley

Merry Christmas!  The decs are up, the gifts are wrapped and I have a mug of cocoa, so it must be time for a read!  Normally, I'd be diving into the absolute perfection that is 'A Christmas Carol' around about now, but this year, for a change, I decided to uncover the story of the author's relationship with Christmas by reading 'Dickens and Christmas' by Lucinda Hawksley.

How Dickens got his Words Back

'The Personal History of David Copperfield' (Dir. Armando Iannucci, 2019)

Watching Armando Iannucci's 'The Personal History of David Copperfield' has made me want to read the Charles Dickens' book.  And that's a compliment.  Honest.

They Were Only Prostitutes, Weren't They?

'The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper' by Hallie Rubenhold (Doubleday, 2019)

Ask anyone about the 'Jack the Ripper' murder victims, and most people will tell you that they were prostitutes.  It's everywhere, from the BBC to Wikipedia.  Even Hallie Rubenhold, an author noted for books on the history of women and sex, expected to use the infamous crimes as a gateway into the story of Victorian prostitution.  There was just one problem.  Her research showed little evidence that three of the five victims were sex workers.  Thus the world lost an account of the historical sex trade, but gained an unexpected book about women, history and prejudice - 'The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper'.

Living Legends

'The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of London' by Christopher Skaife

I've been in a bit of a flap over the past few months.  Three books that I, really, really, REALLY wanted to read were all due to come out in the same week in October and I was finding it hard to sit still until I got my hands on them.  Fortunately, October arrived and I've purchased and read the first of the tempting trio, 'The Ravenmaster' by Christopher Skaife.

'The Ravenmaster' by
Christopher Skaife
(4th Estate, 2018)

In 'The Ravenmaster', Yeoman Warder Christopher Skaife lifts the trapdoor on life with the Tower of London's most famous residents: the ravens.  Legend has it that if the birds leave, then the kingdom and the Tower will fall.  It's the job of Skaife and his team to make sure that the current cohort of seven birds are so happy and healthy that they never do.  Unfortunately, at times the ravens themselves can have other ideas...  'The Ravenmaster' shines a spotlight on these extraordinary birds, interweaving details of their characters, habits and relationships with broader tales of their cultural significance, the history of their home and the practicalities of life with Britain's most famous birds.

Mild, Mild West

At this time of year, and especially with the rotten weather we've been having, it's very easy to suffer a bit of the winter blues.  In the hope of a pick me up, I started reading 'Once Upon a Time in the West... Country' by fridge-towing funny man Tony Hawks.

'Once Upon a Time in the
West... Country'
by Tony Hawks
(Hodder & Stoughton, 2015)

In his early 50s and on holiday with the love of his life Fran, Tony has an epiphany: He doesn't have to live in London any more!  As a writer, radio show panelist and frivolous bet accepter, he can live anywhere, not just the Big Smoke.  In search of something more than the anonymity of the city, Tony and Fran make the move to Devon to start a new life.  But how will Tony cope with the sudden friendliness, expansive scenery and unexpected demands of country living?

Caught between the Devil and the Marshalsea...

Late last year, I knew I'd had a bit more time on my hands than usual, so applied for a couple of prize draws on the Waterstones website.  Last weekend, two books turned up... Whoops.

The first arrival was absorbing historical crime novel 'The Devil in the Marshalsea', Antonia Hodgson's first book.

'The Devil in the Marshalsea'
by Antonia Hodgson
(Hodder & Stoughton, 2014)

Tom Hawkins is in the worst possible trouble.  Unable to resist the lure of London, its coffeehouses, brothels and gambling dens, relying luck and living life to the full, he finds himself not just penniless but in debt and heading towards the feared Marshalsea debtors' prison.  Estranged from his vicar father, not knowing who to trust and reliant on his best friend Charles Buckley, he soon realises he has no hope of raising either the money to pay his debt or fund his stay in the Master's side of the prison.  Just as he thinks all hope is lost and he is destined for death from jail fever in the Common Side, Hawkins is thrown a lifeline.  A murder has taken place at the Marshalsea and Buckley's rich patron promises Hawkins his freedom if he finds the killer.  But to do so, he must negotiate the prison's complex web of truth, lies and alliances.  Can he do it before he becomes the Marshalsea's latest victim?

To begin with, I absolutely loved 'The Devil in the Marshalsea'.  Ms Hodgson has used her research well and did a fantastic job of evoking this time and a place.  Equally, Hawkins is an easy character to become attached to.  He's impulsive and flawed but hard not to like and identify with.  After all, we're all only human.

Although I felt that this was a good read overall, I felt that the ending was disappointing.  I can't go into detail because I don't want to give away the mystery at the heart of the novel, but I felt that both the murderer and motive were a bit cliched and disappointing after such a well crafted set up.  I say cliched because it seems that the murderer has two attributes that keep reappearing in TV crime dramas and seem to say more about modern attitudes than having anything to do with good plotting.  What happened to the good old days when characters killed each other for lust, greed or revenge?

It took me a while to work out what the other thing that bothered me was.  Quite near the end of the book, as Hawkins looses all faith and becomes dehumanised by the brutality he has both seen and suffered, he begins to change quite dramatically.  By the end of the book, however, he seems to have forgotten what he's been through and back to his happy-go-lucky ways, neither looking back nor thinking what he might be able to do to help those left behind, even on the ghastly Common Side of the prison.  I could understand a character just wanting to run away and leave the Marshalsea and its inhabitants behind a mental as well as physical locked door, but I just found it hard to believe someone who is supposed to be "honourable" would not in the very least want to do something to help those still trapped in the notorious prison, even if they couldn't do much.

Overall, I think this book is let down by the ending, which is a real shame, especially as the writer is such a friendly presence on Twitter.  Putting the ending to one side, 'The Devil in the Marshalsea' was well written, absorbing and taught me about a time and place I wouldn't have otherwise visited.  I certainly hope to see more from this writer and hope that there is much better to come.