London, 1859 - an era of great exhibitions, foreign conquests, underground trains. But the age of Victorian progress is also the time of the Great Stink. With cholera and depravity never far away, it isn't just the sewers that smell bad. Beneath the respectable surface of society, a multitude of ills needs flushing out. Young police recruit Campbell Lawless is newly arrived from Scotland, and wide-eyed at the marvels of the metropolis. When a hydraulic engine explodes at Euston Station and a body is recovered, he stumbles onto the trail of an elusive revolutionary named Berwick Skelton. Lawless is drawn into a heady world of music hall hoofers and sewer dwellers, corrupt industrialists and disaffected idealists. He learns of Skelton's rise from humble beginnings to mix with London's high and mighty, of his breathless love affair, and of the mysterious philanderer who has stolen his sweetheart. Aided by code-cracking librarian, Ruth Villiers, and a gang of street urchins known as the Worms, he searches for Skelton. Can they track down this mastermind of the underworld before he unleashes a spectacular attack on those who have wronged him and his people? With a cast of colourful characters - including walk-on parts for Dickens and Marx - "The Worms of Euston Square" is a compulsively readable mystery, alive with the sights, sounds and smells of Victorian London.
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Review
'A first-rate piece of Victorian crime fiction.' -- The Herald
'William Sutton's first novel is fine, extravagant and thoroughly
enjoyable...an exhuberant tale...the fun is fast and furious...'
-- Allan Massie, The Scotsman
A thoroughly enjoyable tale.
'William Sutton's first novel is fine, extravagant and thoroughly
enjoyable...an exhuberant tale...the fun is fast and furious...'
-- Allan Massie, The Scotsman
A thoroughly enjoyable tale.
... terrorist agents at work in Victorian London.
A promising debut. -- Scottish Review of Books, Sunday Herald, 12 Nov 06
Tongue in cheek Victorian romp and magnificent picture of imperial
capital. ... enjoyable, well written, atmospheric journey back in time. -- Dooyoo.co.uk
genuinely funny ... Prose and interweaving plots built like
wrought-iron Victorian follies ... highly original and engaging debut
novel. -- Scotland on Sunday, 10 September 2006 http://living.scotsman.com/books.cfm?id=1335012006
shines in its excellent evocation of Victorian London: a living,
breathing, stinking beast of a city, terrible and awe inspiring. -- TheBookBag.co.uk
About the Author
William Sutton grew up in Scotland. He has also lived in London, South America and Italy. Besides writing plays, stories and articles, he has performed on the Edinburgh Fringe, acted in the world's longest play, taught Latin and Greek, and played cricket for Brazil. he has just returned to the UK after several years abroad writing, teaching and singing in pubs and ice-cream parlours. He is working on another Campbell Lawless mystery.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a beautifully written and utterly absorbing novel. A page-turner of the highest order which resonates historically, intellectually, politically, and most strikingly, linguistically: Sutton's use of the English language and turn of phrase is quite brilliant, and sets him apart as a writer of the highest order.
Set in the volatile underbelly of Victorian London, a city obsessed with the relentless march of progress yet rotten to the core with corporate greed and inequality, this is a blast from the capital's past which brilliantly mirrors our own troubled and nervous times.
And it's very funny. Wonderfully anachronistic with legions of fabulous contemporary references to spot - full Marx (that's Karl and Groucho). This is a novel which is both challenging and supremely witty: London will never feel the same to me again.
You must buy this book. Or better still join the British Library in Euston and read it there. Or better still break into the British Library and read it there.
Set in the volatile underbelly of Victorian London, a city obsessed with the relentless march of progress yet rotten to the core with corporate greed and inequality, this is a blast from the capital's past which brilliantly mirrors our own troubled and nervous times.
And it's very funny. Wonderfully anachronistic with legions of fabulous contemporary references to spot - full Marx (that's Karl and Groucho). This is a novel which is both challenging and supremely witty: London will never feel the same to me again.
You must buy this book. Or better still join the British Library in Euston and read it there. Or better still break into the British Library and read it there.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was a little suspicious of the title at first, and then I went to a book reading of 'The Worms', given by William Sutton, and I bought the book without hesitation. William Sutton does have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Victoriana, and an eye for detail. However, none of this would be of any consequence without a great plot and good characters. The book is both atmospheric and very readable. Thoroughly enjoyable. I await the next Campbell Lawless novel with anticipation!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this book on the back of a good review in The Scotsman and was not disappointed.
Will Sutton is a real talent with a distinctive voice. He has obviously put in a tremendous amount of research into early 1860s London, but his novel wears this lightly. The detective story is exciting, the settings atmospheric, the discursions into Victorian culture provocative, the dialogue lively and vernacular. The narrative voice nods its head to the great Victorian novelists, without descending into pastiche. There are some laugh-out-loud moments too.
All in all this is an extraordinary debut and I already can't wait for the next Campbell Lawless mystery.
Will Sutton is a real talent with a distinctive voice. He has obviously put in a tremendous amount of research into early 1860s London, but his novel wears this lightly. The detective story is exciting, the settings atmospheric, the discursions into Victorian culture provocative, the dialogue lively and vernacular. The narrative voice nods its head to the great Victorian novelists, without descending into pastiche. There are some laugh-out-loud moments too.
All in all this is an extraordinary debut and I already can't wait for the next Campbell Lawless mystery.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read for any crime fiction fan
A quality piece of historical crime writing. Set in London in 1859, this is the first of what will hopefully become a long-running series of Victorian detective novels featuring... Read more
Published 16 months ago by EMLYN REES
4.0 out of 5 stars
The early days of steampunk
Review first published in The Small press Review. As editor, I received a free copy. I have no personal contact with the author. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Fiona Wallace
5.0 out of 5 stars
Historical and original crime writing at its best
A magnificently evocative novel that I could not put down from page 1 to 363. The author combines an outstanding quality of historical novelistic writing with the traditional crime... Read more
Published on 11 April 2011 by T. Crook
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cracking stuff
This is a marvellous book. Set in mid-nineteenth-century London, it has a noble hero, an intriguing anti hero, a sexy love interest and a selection of cameo characters, ranging... Read more
Published on 3 April 2011 by thejollypilgrim
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
I loved this book. Your main character's great, as are the children, the depiction of London and the plot. Read it!
Published on 30 July 2009 by A. G. Sunderland
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mystery and murder in the murky underworld of Victorian London!
Bravo! Love the plot, the rich prose, and the masses of period detail. Trying to work-out where facts end and fiction begins is pleasingly tricky. Read more
Published on 11 Oct 2006 by A. Stone
5.0 out of 5 stars
My book of the year!
Compelling story, unpredictable and entertaining. I could not put it down. Loved the characters, their names, the backslang and the atmosphere. Highly recommended.
Published on 25 Sep 2006 by J. C. Naish
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great details fill this story. An entry to an old world, new to...
The author has a sense of fun combined with a depth of knowledge to convey place and time. Almost akin to fantasy writing the Worms inhabit a world that was once actually real no... Read more
Published on 15 Sep 2006 by S. Cahn
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Worms..
I was not too sure at first, but I was immediately captured by the atmosphere and `picture' of Victorian London. Read more
Published on 15 Sep 2006 by Mr. R. H. Gilbert
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