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Review
Up there with the work of Angela Carter and Sarah Waters... a gripping and accomplished Victorian murder mystery. A wildly inventive romp through the lowlife of 19th-century
Smacks of period authenticity... written in a literary style that is of a far greater quality than the genre normally attracts... a compelling plot. Walking in Pimlico is an excellent debut novel.
(The British Theatre Guide Newsletter )'Anyone who liked Sarah Waters' Fingersmith is sure to find this a very rewarding read. A real gem'
(Historical Novels Review )Product Description
To ‘walk in Pimlico’ colloq. to be handsomely dressed
Murray’s Dictionary of Slang, Cant and Flash Words and Phrases (1857, 3rd ed.).
Stumbling across Bessie Spooner’s murdered body, comedian Corney Sage is caught in a tangle of deception and lies. He flees from his concert-room job in London’s Whitechapel to a comfortable spa town, and then to a circus and music hall. But try as he might, he cannot elude the killer. And in Corney’s world of theatricals, clowns and showmen, where appearances are surface deep and secrets are deadly, any one of them might be the murderer . . .
From the drawing rooms of polite society to dingy lodging houses, through shabby pump-room pavilions, fairgrounds and freak shows, Ann Featherstone brilliantly reconstructs nineteenth-century England in this gripping psychological thriller.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Written in a diction so authentic I could believe the author has a time machine in the garden shed in which she traverses history to pick up the slang, innuendo and argot of the Victorian streets of Whitechapel and beyond.
The book deals with the intertwining stories of one Corney Sage, comic and clog dancer who has graced the stages of many a disreputable music hall and the somewhat mysterious Miss Phyllida Marweather, who is many things besides but I am not here to spoil your pleasure of reading this brilliant and bursting piece of outrageous fantasy fiction.
Ann Featherstone has adopted the great traditions of story telling and quoted the same within her text. She has Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allen Poe (and even Virginia Woolf) sitting at her shoulder as she writes as well as such contemporaries as Anne Perry and Sarah Waters.
Her tale is a deeply textured tapestry of intrigue, double-dealing `orrible murders; a picaresque confection that should satisfy any reader not only of the genre but also for the jaded reader who might be looking for something a little different, and different this book definitely is, I have not read anything quite like it before.
Ms Featherstone is a researcher (see her other books, essays and articles) and has woven that research into a thumping good read but unlike other writer of historical crime she does not let the research show, the narrative flows in an uninterrupted way that the likes of Dan Brown could only dream of.
I give the book 5 stars without any reservation as it ticks every single box as a great yarn, a captivating mystery, an historical insight and an unputdownable read
The book deals with the intertwining stories of one Corney Sage, comic and clog dancer who has graced the stages of many a disreputable music hall and the somewhat mysterious Miss Phyllida Marweather, who is many things besides but I am not here to spoil your pleasure of reading this brilliant and bursting piece of outrageous fantasy fiction.
Ann Featherstone has adopted the great traditions of story telling and quoted the same within her text. She has Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allen Poe (and even Virginia Woolf) sitting at her shoulder as she writes as well as such contemporaries as Anne Perry and Sarah Waters.
Her tale is a deeply textured tapestry of intrigue, double-dealing `orrible murders; a picaresque confection that should satisfy any reader not only of the genre but also for the jaded reader who might be looking for something a little different, and different this book definitely is, I have not read anything quite like it before.
Ms Featherstone is a researcher (see her other books, essays and articles) and has woven that research into a thumping good read but unlike other writer of historical crime she does not let the research show, the narrative flows in an uninterrupted way that the likes of Dan Brown could only dream of.
I give the book 5 stars without any reservation as it ticks every single box as a great yarn, a captivating mystery, an historical insight and an unputdownable read
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This book is rare indeed. Impeccable research captures the sounds, sights, smells, and murder of nineteenth-century London. The product of impeccable research the novel is narrated in the first person through two characters, one the murderer.
Although the reader, due to the nature of the narrative, learns of the `killer' early on, this really doesn't spoil the fast pace and page-turning nature of this book. Such is the care to detail, and the writing skill of the author, the book remains compelling.
I have no reservations in recommending this book to all who like thrillers, quality writing, or historical novels.
Although the reader, due to the nature of the narrative, learns of the `killer' early on, this really doesn't spoil the fast pace and page-turning nature of this book. Such is the care to detail, and the writing skill of the author, the book remains compelling.
I have no reservations in recommending this book to all who like thrillers, quality writing, or historical novels.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
With its wonderful depiction of Victorian England, a grim Whitechapel murder-thriller plot, some cross-dressing adventures, all caught up in the theatrical world of music halls and circuses, Ann Featherstone's Walking in Pimlico will almost certainly appeal to fans of Sarah Waters who miss the spicy Victorian melodrama of her earlier novels such as Fingersmith and Tipping The Velvet.
Featherstone, previously the co-author of an academic study of the Victorian Clown, clearly knows the period she is writing about, filling the authentic characterisation with authentic and relevant background details that capture the contrast between seediness and the glamour of the period, as well as the seediness behind the glamour of another profession that isn't entirely unconnected from "the oldest profession" itself. There is however no info-dumping of academic research here - everything is in the service of the characterisation and the plot.
Written from a number of first-person viewpoints with an authentic sense of the language and idiom that is appropriate for the class background of each of the characters, the period is brought vividly to life, not least the bawdy music hall comedian and circus clown Corney Sage (also known as Professor Hugh Moore on account of his comic credentials). On the run from a dangerous killer, a well-dressed gent he has witnessed murdering one of the working girls at a Whitechapel music hall show, Corney finds it's safer now to keep on the move and on the road in the itinerant lifestyle of the circus clown.
The murder storyline is not the most convincing element of the novel and often takes a backseat to descriptions of other schemes and the colourful lifestyles of performers who must become adept at thievery, deception and impersonation in order to simply get by - but this and the novel's cross-dressing exploits suit the wider theme of the differences in Victorian attitudes towards men and women, and how each have to find different ways to survive the hard times always just around the corner, trying to keep one step ahead of fate eventually catching up with them. Strong characterisation, a colourful setting, a solid literary and historical theme and some wonderful writing combine then to make this an entertaining novel and one that is easy to get thoroughly involved in.
Featherstone, previously the co-author of an academic study of the Victorian Clown, clearly knows the period she is writing about, filling the authentic characterisation with authentic and relevant background details that capture the contrast between seediness and the glamour of the period, as well as the seediness behind the glamour of another profession that isn't entirely unconnected from "the oldest profession" itself. There is however no info-dumping of academic research here - everything is in the service of the characterisation and the plot.
Written from a number of first-person viewpoints with an authentic sense of the language and idiom that is appropriate for the class background of each of the characters, the period is brought vividly to life, not least the bawdy music hall comedian and circus clown Corney Sage (also known as Professor Hugh Moore on account of his comic credentials). On the run from a dangerous killer, a well-dressed gent he has witnessed murdering one of the working girls at a Whitechapel music hall show, Corney finds it's safer now to keep on the move and on the road in the itinerant lifestyle of the circus clown.
The murder storyline is not the most convincing element of the novel and often takes a backseat to descriptions of other schemes and the colourful lifestyles of performers who must become adept at thievery, deception and impersonation in order to simply get by - but this and the novel's cross-dressing exploits suit the wider theme of the differences in Victorian attitudes towards men and women, and how each have to find different ways to survive the hard times always just around the corner, trying to keep one step ahead of fate eventually catching up with them. Strong characterisation, a colourful setting, a solid literary and historical theme and some wonderful writing combine then to make this an entertaining novel and one that is easy to get thoroughly involved in.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fascinating story
This is a gripping, atmospheric story set in Victorian London, and cleverly written - a story of murder and intrigue. The characters are vividly depicted. Read more
Published 18 months ago by weaverhelen
Excellent piece of fiction
I was worried when reading this book that it would come across stilted as some academic writing does. Read more
Published 19 months ago by RuthW
fantastic, gripping read
I was utterly gripped by this book from start to finish...I literally couldnt put it down...the atmosphere is so authentic, the characters are well drawn and the detail the author... Read more
Published 20 months ago by V. lowe
Atmospheric & artful psychological, historical thriller
An almost five-star novel, only let down (a little) by a slightly unlikely ending. Please don't let that put you off, it doesn't much affect enjoyment. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Sarah W
Running after me with his boots crack-cracking on the stones
To be `Walking in Pimlico' is to be handsomely dressed, derived from a (1857) dictionary of "slang, cant and flash words and phrases," and the usage testifies to the authenticity... Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2010 by Eileen Shaw
Historical fiction of the interesting and unusual variety
This is a novel for those who like historical fiction, it's written in a slightly archaic language so its also a kind of a pastiche of the classic Victorian novel. Read more
Published on 19 Jan 2010 by Elizabeth Taylor
Enjoyable - but lacks a spark.
There are some many good points about this novel that I feel churlish only awarding it a three-star review, but after finishing the book my overwhelming thought is "what might have... Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2010 by R. Shear
Patchy at first, but got going eventually
Billed as a modern Gothic tour de force, this is a curious novel that is stylistically redolent of Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus and concerns a music hall entertainer in... Read more
Published on 20 Dec 2009 by Captain Pugwash
Loads of period atmosphere
As you read this you are taken on a tour of Victorian music halls, and the haunts of those who performed in them, and the major strength of the book is the authenticity of this... Read more
Published on 13 Dec 2009 by Andy Edwards
More a historical novel than a crime story
Corney Sage is a small-time performer in the music halls and circuses of Victorian London. When his friend, a prostitute named Bessie Spooner, is brutally beaten to death in the... Read more
Published on 29 Nov 2009 by AR
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