The Devil in the Marshalsea

Name: The Devil in the Marshalsea
Brand: Tantor Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Antonia Hodgson
ISBN: 9781494572815

Author: Antonia Hodgson

Narrator: John Lee

Unabridged: 11 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/10/2014

Categories: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Historical Fiction

Synopsis

It's 1727. Tom Hawkins is damned if he's going to follow in his father's footsteps and become a country parson. Not for him a quiet life of prayer and propriety. His preference is for wine, women, and cards. But there's a sense of honor there too, and Tom won't pull family strings to get himself out of debt—not even when faced with the appalling horrors of London's notorious debtors' prison: The Marshalsea Gaol.

Within moments of his arrival in the Marshalsea, Hawkins learns there's a murderer on the loose, a ghost is haunting the gaol, and that he'll have to scrounge up the money to pay for his food, bed, and drink. He's quick to accept an offer of free room and board from the mysterious Samuel Fleet—only to find out just hours later that it was Fleet's last roommate who turned up dead. Tom's choice is clear: get to the truth of the murder—or be the next to die.

About Antonia Hodgson

Antonia Hodgson is the editor in chief at Little, Brown UK. Her first novel, The Devil in the Marshalsea, won the CWA Historical Dagger Award in 2014. It was also shortlisted for the CWA First Book Award and was named one of the top ten mystery thrillers of 2014 by Publishers Weekly. Antonia lives in London.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Josh on May 19, 2018

Set in a debtor's gaol in London 1727, The Devil in the Marshalsea provides for an insightful look at the harsh conditions the inhabitants had to ensure as a result of not being able to pay pitiful fines. There's an island-like mentality to the Marshalsea, as the gaol grounds separates itself from t......more

Goodreads review by Shaun on November 04, 2014

Disappointing. I think that one word summarizes my experience reading The Devil in the Marshalsea. While the prose were smooth, the writing competent, and the over-all premise intriguing, the story and the characters were severely lacking. Forget the fact that I couldn't imagine the protagonist as a......more

Goodreads review by Helen on August 06, 2014

This is a murder mystery with a difference, being set almost entirely within the confines of an eighteenth century debtors' prison. Our narrator, Tom Hawkins, is a young man who has rebelled against his clergyman father's plans for his future and is enjoying himself in London, spending all his money......more

Goodreads review by Betty on February 07, 2015

This fantastic novel was recommended by a GR friend who is also an author of some repute. 5 stars awarded by this lady has to be thoroughly well deserved and having now listened to the audio version I was not disappointed. In fact it's hard to believe that this is a debut novel, so expertly and beau......more