⋙ PDF The Devil in the Marshalsea Thomas Hawkins Book 1 Antonia Hodgson 9781444775433 Books

The Devil in the Marshalsea Thomas Hawkins Book 1 Antonia Hodgson 9781444775433 Books

Download As PDF : The Devil in the Marshalsea Thomas Hawkins Book 1 Antonia Hodgson 9781444775433 Books

The Devil in the Marshalsea Thomas Hawkins Book 1 Antonia Hodgson 9781444775433 Books

Oh my goodness I laughed! This is historical fiction at its very best and all of it in your face. I fell in love with Moll, the pub owner, just a few pages in when she spit out a line I cannot repeat here. Or anywhere else, come to think of it.

But when it comes to what it was really like to be in debtors prison, Dickens did not paint it this raw. The only other thing that comes to mind to compare it to is the concentration camps. Children whipped and left to die in the mud, Starvation used as a weapon of social control.

And now we have a murder mystery in a place where death is a near certainty for Thomas, our rogue gentleman, unless he solves it. During that quest, he is always surprised to find out who are his true friends and who will betray and use him because he's so convenient. And so are we. But we DO know who truly loves him, don't we? Now if he'd only open his eyes........

Oh, I should also note that a few characters are - or were - actual people back in 1727 and yes they lived and died in Marshalsea. Read the notes in the back


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The Devil in the Marshalsea Thomas Hawkins Book 1 Antonia Hodgson 9781444775433 Books Reviews

I can't say that I found much, if anything, about this Georgian era mystery interesting or compelling. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters and the mystery itself was lacking which is a shame because the setting of the Marshalsea, a notorious debtor's prison, could have been so much more.
I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. The historical time and place was well-researched and added to the compelling plot, rather than bogging it down it excessive detail. I like "smart novels" and I enjoy learning about a time or place when I'm reading a novel. Above all, I like page turners. I read A LOT of boring material for my job, so i want pleasure reading to be truly pleasurable. This really fit the bill. The only reason it did not get 5 stars is because i reserve those for truly extraordinary novels. This almost got them.
An excellent book, and well written. I would not have chosen this book due to the subject matter, as I would not have said it was my kind of book. It was recommended to me, and I have to say that I soon realised how well written it is.

From the start the reader is led into the life of the main character, and before long I found myself wanting to read on to find out what happened to him.

It was really interesting to learn about the 'set-up' of prison life in this era. Until I read the book I assumed all gaols were set up along the lines of present day prisons, perhaps with more brutality, but I had no idea of the 'two-part' system and the 'privileges' and relatively relaxed set up available for prisoners who could afford to pay for this. To have a system like this but with the brutality that accompanied it was a real eye opener.

Clearly Antonia did a huge amount of research before writing the book, and the fact that her characters are so believable is due to many of them being based on real people. Somehow she has managed to merge fact with fiction in such a way that it makes for a great story.

This was a thought-provoking book, and one that I found hard to put down.
I confess, I'm a history teacher and I enjoy gathering facts and insights into periods of history not normally included in school curriculum.

It is difficult to accept the existence of a debtors prison like The Marshalsea and the conditions of its inhabitants. The murders being investigated by the not-so-likeable hero became almost secondary to the descriptions of every day life in the Marshalsea Prison. I was fascinated by the detail and understanding of the prisoners' living conditions, the power of the guards, and the enormous profit taken by a justice system that robbed people who had no funds.

A lot of characters took turns at being the "devil" on both sides of the law.
In London, 1727, Tom Hawkins in thrown in the Marshalsea prison because he cannot pay back a debt. He opted not to become a country parson like his father but would rather indulge in gambling and women. He has some sponsors so he is placed in the Master's side- or for those who could afford a small fee to be housed in a more livable quarters as opposed to the Common side where prisoners are pressed together and where they die daily. Captain Roberts was a prisoner on the Master's side who was recently murdered. It would be politically expeditious to discover his killer or killers. Tom Hawkins is assigned the task by his sponsors who promise his release debt free if he solves the crime. As Tom wonders through the prison, the reader becomes acquainted with many unsavory characters, as well as, the layout of this historic prison.
Solid research and a clever plot make this an outstanding and memorable debut. The pacing is slow but given the rich historic details, it is easy to see why. Characters are somewhat stereotypic but there are many based on historic personages. For fans of historic fiction, this book is well recommended and worth your time.
Antonia Hodgson has created a small masterpiece in this tale of ne’er-do-well Tom Hawkins, who ends up in 1727 London’s notorious debtors’ prison, the Marshalsea, after robbers steal the gambling winnings he would have used to pay off his creditors. The few coins left in Tom’s pocket entitle him to relatively decent food and rooms on the Master’s Side of the prison. Once they are gone, however, he will be pitched over the wall into the horrors of the prison’s Common Side, where hordes of the penniless live jammed together, diseased and starving, dependent on the charity of people on the outside.

Tom is thrown into the dubious company of the macabre Samuel Fleet, a longtime occupant of the Marshalsea distrusted and feared by nearly everyone. There’s more than one crime a-brewing in this foul place, including the recent grisly murder of a prisoner, his widow’s piteous pleas for justice, the fatal flogging of a young boy by the sadistic governor of the prison, and a ghost that terrorizes the night watchmen. When the governor orders him to solve a second murder or be thrown into the Common Side, Tom must rely on a handful of allies to help him escape this ghastly fate… but not all of them are as innocent as they seem.
Oh my goodness I laughed! This is historical fiction at its very best and all of it in your face. I fell in love with Moll, the pub owner, just a few pages in when she spit out a line I cannot repeat here. Or anywhere else, come to think of it.

But when it comes to what it was really like to be in debtors prison, Dickens did not paint it this raw. The only other thing that comes to mind to compare it to is the concentration camps. Children whipped and left to die in the mud, Starvation used as a weapon of social control.

And now we have a murder mystery in a place where death is a near certainty for Thomas, our rogue gentleman, unless he solves it. During that quest, he is always surprised to find out who are his true friends and who will betray and use him because he's so convenient. And so are we. But we DO know who truly loves him, don't we? Now if he'd only open his eyes........

Oh, I should also note that a few characters are - or were - actual people back in 1727 and yes they lived and died in Marshalsea. Read the notes in the back