- Paperback: 247 pages
- Publisher: Headline Book Publishing; New edition edition (8 July 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0747256055
- ISBN-13: 978-0747256052
- Product Dimensions: 17.5 x 11.2 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,376,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
When Lord Ambrose discovers that Elisabeth is leaving him, he is overcome with loss. She has taken up a post at nearby Jesmond Place, but, within days of her arrival, the young man employed as Sir Jesmond's doctor is poisoned to death. Elisabeth knows that only Ambrose can solve this mystery.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was put on to Jane Jakeman's crime stories by a friend of mine, a questing soul who takes a special interest in searching out intelligently written genre fiction. I have to admit that without some such recommendation Lord Ambrose probably would not have attracted my attention, for there's nothing about the way the books are presented to suggest that wit and literacy are to be found within. One suspects that the publishers may not have noticed.
Ambrose is a complex creation, temperamental offspring of the match between an English squire and an exotic Cretan beauty. This mixed parentage allows the author to endow her sleuth with a taste for adventure, an idealistic readiness to do battle for social justice, and a sardonic contempt for the hypocrisy and narrowness of nineteenth-century provincial society.
Like Byron, on whom he is clearly to some degree modelled, Ambrose has made the journey to Greece, and has been caught up in that country's bloody struggle for independence. Unlike Byron, he has got back to England alive, bringing with him Belos ( an early manifestation of the resting-actor-cum-domestic-servant, presently doing duty as butler) and Zaraband (a satisfyingly superior Arab mare with a taste for munching roses). With these colourful companions, Lord Ambrose retreats to a reclusive existence at Malfine, the stately but neglected family pile which apparently occupies a considerable fraction of the country of Somerset.
Of course, his Lordship's attempt at solitude is doomed to failure, for a true recluse would be a tedious hero. By the time "Fool's Gold" opens, Ambrose has already been obliged to solve a couple of mysteries ("Let There Be Blood" and "The Egyptian Coffin"), and in the process has enlarged his establishment to the tune of a foster child, a couple of Salukis, and a lady friend as strongwilled and unconventional as himself.
It is the lady's strong will which gives rise to the plotline of "Fool's Gold", for Elisabeth Anstruther does not care for life as a dependent. She has therefore refused Lord Ambrose's offer of marriage and made up her mind to embark on a career as paid companion to Lady Jesmond, mistress of a dark and rather mysterious establishment some distance from Malfine.
It soon becomes apparent that the ill-assorted residents of Jesmond Place have each their secrets, and each their private sources of despair. Before long, one of their number is stretched out cold in his bed, the empty bottle of poison close to hand. Suicide, or murder? Who is the stranger in the Jesmond household, and what part does the funeral of Edmund Kean play in the unravelling of these riddles? Who has been tampering with Master Cyriack's brandy flask? And what is the significance of the lion on the sign at the local pub?
"Fool's Gold" is an intricately plotted mystery, and a revealing and well-researched glimpse of some of the darker shadows of rural life in the early part of the last century. I recommend it, and I look forward to the further adventures of Lord Ambrose of Malfine.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
great Ambrose historical mystery
8 Feb 2006
Format:Paperback
In 1833, for the first time in his life, Lord Ambrose finds a passionate desire to be with Elisabeth Anstruther, the governess to Edmund Crawshay, whose parents were recently murdered. Ambrose arranged for the child to be educated while proposing marriage to the lovely Elisabeth. To his dismay she refuses to wed him and instead accepts a post as a companion to Lady Jesmond, about thirty miles from Ambrose's home Malfine.
Elisabeth and Ambrose exchange letters in which she tells him that her companion wants to learn French and that Sir Antony of Jesmond Place is an invalid cared for by young Dr. John Kelsoe. However, the last correspondence states that Dr. Kelsoe was found dead in his bed; local Dr. Langbridge found a vial of prussic acid near the corpse so declared suicide by poisoning, but Elisabeth has doubts as he was in good spirits. Ambrose arrives more to insure the safety of his beloved though he knows part of accomplishing this includes investigating whether a homicide occurred.
As with LET THERE BE BLOOD and THE EGYPTIAN COFFIN, the latest Ambrose historical mystery is a delightful tale that brings to life 1830s England's West Country inside a strong investigative tale. Ambrose is terrific as he is in love, but the woman of his dreams though she likes him and perhaps loves him, believes she must move on in her life. The inquiry into whether a murder or a suicide occured is deftly handled so that the audience keeps wondering and wanting to know more as Jane Jakeman provides a wonderful entry in one of the best early nineteenth century mystery series.
Harriet Klausner
Elisabeth and Ambrose exchange letters in which she tells him that her companion wants to learn French and that Sir Antony of Jesmond Place is an invalid cared for by young Dr. John Kelsoe. However, the last correspondence states that Dr. Kelsoe was found dead in his bed; local Dr. Langbridge found a vial of prussic acid near the corpse so declared suicide by poisoning, but Elisabeth has doubts as he was in good spirits. Ambrose arrives more to insure the safety of his beloved though he knows part of accomplishing this includes investigating whether a homicide occurred.
As with LET THERE BE BLOOD and THE EGYPTIAN COFFIN, the latest Ambrose historical mystery is a delightful tale that brings to life 1830s England's West Country inside a strong investigative tale. Ambrose is terrific as he is in love, but the woman of his dreams though she likes him and perhaps loves him, believes she must move on in her life. The inquiry into whether a murder or a suicide occured is deftly handled so that the audience keeps wondering and wanting to know more as Jane Jakeman provides a wonderful entry in one of the best early nineteenth century mystery series.
Harriet Klausner
interesting
26 Sep 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This was my least favorite of the three books in this series but it was not a bad read. The use of poison as the murder weapon and the method of delivery to the victims was creative.
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