Belgrave Square [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Anne Perry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1992

When an obscure moneylender named William Weems is murdered in the humble Clerkenwell district, there are no mourners—and there is more than a little discreet rejoicing among those whose meager earnings he so mercilessly devoured. Yet when Inspector Pitt finds in the murdered man’s office a list containing the names of some of London’s most distinguished gentlemen, he begins to realize the magnitude of his duty. William Weems, it transpires, was no common usurer but a vicious blackmailer. Fortunately, Pitt’s clever, well-born wife, Charlotte, has entrée to London’s best society. Her insights prove to be invaluable to Pitt’s investigation as she observes, at glittering balls and over gossipy tea tables, a world of passion, power, and greed that the police are seldom permitted to see.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her 12th mystery featuring Victorian police inspector Thomas Pitt and his well-born wife, Charlotte, Perry once again weaves social history and a well-plotted puzzle to moving effect. Here the pair investigate the murder of a back-street usurer.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The masterful Perry ( Bethlehem Road , LJ 6/1/90) again re-creates Victorian London, where Inspector Pitt strives to solve the murder of a usurer with sinister connections to several distinguished gentlemen.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 632 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Pr; 1 edition (September 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560544465
• ISBN-13: 978-1560544463
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,443,575 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anne Perry is the bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels, including Dark Assassin and The Shifting Tide, and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels, including The Cater Street Hangman, Calandar Square, Buckingham Palace Gardens and Long Spoon Lane. She is also the author of the World War I novels No Graves As Yet, Shoulder the Sky, Angels in the Gloom, At Some Disputed Barricade, and We Shall Not Sleep, as well as six holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Grace. Anne Perry lives in Scotland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moneylenders, Murder, and Scandal, July 2, 2000

By 

drdebs (CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Belgrave Square (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the twelfth book in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series of mysteries, and I think it is the best of the series so far. As with all Perry mysteries in the series it begins with the discovery of a body: the body of William Weems, a moneylender. Pitt is asked to investigate the case--even though it is out of the Bow Street jurisdiction--by his boss, Micah Drummond. As Pitt gets to the bottom of the mystery we meet with secret societies, suicide, parliamentary politics, and many secrets. There is a good balance in this book between Charlotte and Thomas, and the supporting character who rises to the top of the story is Micah Drummond.

I was completely baffled regarding motivations until the very last page, when the murderer of Weems was finally revealed. This is an engaging and exciting mystery that you won't be able to put down!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perry is one of the very best, October 19, 2002

By 

Stan Vernooy (Henderson, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Belgrave Square (Mass Market Paperback)

For those unfamiliar with this series, Inspector Pitt is a police detective in Victorian England, in the period shortly after the professional police force was first established. Policemen were respected to a degree, but apparently had about the same social status as a skilled laborer. Pitt's wife, Charlotte, on the other hand, is from a much wealthier and higher-status family. Indeed, Charlotte's sister is married to a wealthy and well-connected man who is being considered for a vacancy in Parliament. That connection enables Charlotte to participate discreetly in Pitt's investigations when they require a peek into the activities of society's upper crust.

The story: a sleazy loan shark is found shot to death in an unusually gruesome manner. Almost everyone who knew the man had good reason to want him dead. Even Inspector Pitt, who is assigned to investigate the case, can't avoid the feeling that the murderer did the rest of society a favor. But murder is illegal, and so the investigation goes on.

It quickly develops that the victim was not only a loan shark, but a blackmailer as well, with several socially prominent people on his list of victims. Hence the investigation must proceed delicately. And that's where (as usual) Pitt's wife, Charlotte, lends a hand.

If you are already familiar with Anne Perry's Inspector Pitt series, you know that she's one of the very best mystery writers around. Personally, I think Elizabeth George and possibly P. D. James are her only superiors in the field. It's hard to rank one book in the series against the others, but this one certainly upholds the high standards of the entire series. The characterizations are vivid and believable, the plot is complex and captivating, and the ending is logical and satisfying. My only complaint about the book (and it applies to all the Inspector Pitt books) is the constant obsession with differences in social class. Those differences existed in Victorian England, of course, but I find it hard to believe they were such a preoccupation in everyone's mind, minute by minute, day after day, as Perry makes them out to be. The class distinctions were more likely taken for granted, like the weather.

If you're a mystery fan and you haven't read any of Perry's work, then this is as good an introduction to the series as any. You're in for a treat.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Odd Reasons, My Favorite Pitt Book So Far, June 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Belgrave Square (Mass Market Paperback)

I have to laugh - this is my favorite book so far in the Thomas & Charlotte Pitt series. Why laugh? Because I realized at the end that the murder that starts the sequence of events off is really unneccesary! Now don't let me spoil the story for you with that comment, because it really is quite a good book. The relationship between Thomas and Charlotte really takes shape here - as much as they love each other, I always wondered how they could both get over the differences in their pasts. They do, but this book shows that it takes work and understanding. In the end, the mystery is good (even if I'm still puzzled about it) and the character studies are even better.