The Dark Lantern: A Novel [Hardcover]

Gerri Brightwell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2008

London, 1893. Elderly Mrs. Bentley is on her deathbed, and her son Robert has returned from France. But in the Bentleys’ well-appointed home, everyone has their secrets, including Robert’s beautiful and elusive wife, the orphan maid she hires from the country, and the mysterious young woman who arrives, claiming to be the bride of Robert’s drowned brother.

Robert is quickly developing a reputation in anthropometry, the nascent science of identifying criminals by body measurements. Yet soon he is caught up in the deceptions swirling around him, for no one under his roof is quite what they seem. When an intruder enters the house and ransacks the study, a chain of events is set in motion that threatens not only the genteel, comfortable life the Bentleys have managed to secure but also their very survival.

A fascinating portrayal of a vanished England as well as an unconventional mystery, The Dark Lantern exposes the grand “upstairs” of a Victorian home and the darker underbelly of its servants’ quarters. The clash between the classes makes for a suspenseful novel of mistaken identities, intriguing women, and dangerous deceptions.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Brightwell's debut, an uncanny thriller, brings late Victorian London to vivid life. Devon-born housemaid Jane Wilbred has snared her new post with the Bentley family with a letter of reference she forged, omitting any mention of the possibly pertinent fact that her late mother was a notorious murderer. That, however, is trifling compared to the shady games being played both upstairs and downstairs at 32 Cursitor Road while the family matriarch lingers on her deathbed, especially the struggle between mysterious beauty Mina Bentley, wife of younger son Robert, and the wan stranger who claims to be the widow of older brother Henry (drowned recently while sailing home after years in India). Meanwhile, Robert is focused on a battle closer to his heart: winning official recognition for anthropometry, the science of identifying criminals by body measurements. Far from being an arcane digression, Robert's passion eventually figures into the intricate and surprising plot. The action will keep the reader as intrigued as a parlor maid eavesdropping outside her mistress's boudoir. (Mar.)
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From School Library Journal

Adult/High School—This novel transports readers to dark, damp, gritty Victorian London as surely (but less bloodily) as Johnny Depp's movie Sweeney Todd. Secret pasts, hidden identities, class divisions, romance, criminal behavior, police procedures—Lantern has it all. The suspenseful tale features well-drawn characters whose secrets are slowly revealed, leaving readers unsure of who can be believed or trusted. Brightwell's detailed descriptions of the grueling work of a Victorian housemaid offer many reasons to sympathize with Jane Wilbred, an orphan who has accepted a position in the Bentley home. As she struggles to figure out the politics of the household and keep up with her endless chores, she worries about who may know (or find out) about her mother's shameful past. Jane's employers and fellow servants are hiding secrets too, and they continually regard one another with suspicion. The author's use of dialogue and action to advance the story is highly effective. An omniscient narrator allows the tale to unfold from multiple points of view, with Jane as the main protagonist. Brightwell manages to reveal the secrets and interconnections among her characters without creating confusion for her audience, and the story remains suspenseful through the final pages. The ending is satisfying but open to discussion.Lantern will appeal to readers of historical fiction, suspense, and coming-of-age stories.—Sondra VanderPloeg, Tracy Memorial Library, New London, NH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1St Edition edition (March 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307395340
• ISBN-13: 978-0307395344
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,765,951 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gerri Brightwell was brought up in South Devon, England. After deciding a degree in zoology was not for her, she took up literature and art history, and lived on a narrow boat in Bristol. Since then she has roamed more widely, working in Spain, Thailand, Canada and the United States. She has worked as a cleaner, ice-cream seller, sandwich-maker, pottery sponger, editor, nanny and, most recently, a teacher of writing and literature.

She has master's degrees in creative writing from the University of East Anglia, and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, plus a doctorate in literature from the University of Minnesota. Her novel, The Dark Lantern, has been published in North America, Australia, New Zealand and Italty, and tells the story of a maid and her mistress in a nineteenth-century household full of secrets. Her first novel, Cold Country, was published by Duckworth in 2003 and is set in Alaska.

Gerri lives in Fairbanks, Alaska, with her husband, fantasy novelist Ian Cameron Esslemont, and their three sons. She teaches in the creative writing programme at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ah, the things that happened in Victorian England, March 8, 2008

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dark Lantern: A Novel (Hardcover)

Jane Wilbred takes a new position as the second maid in a London household to escape the injustice of her service in the country for a family who knows of her past. But Jane may have made a poor choice in accepting a position at the Bentley household because it is full of unkind, even manipulative people who also have secrets.

The matriarch of the Bentley family is dying. Second son Robert, who is an enthusiast of the study of anthropometry (the science of identifying criminals by the measurements of certain parts of their bodies), and his wife Mina, have returned home from Paris. Also there is the first son's widow-he had married without informing the family-and then died in a shipwreck on his way home from India.

There's a butler who likes his drink more than his job; a cook; Mrs. Bentley's ladies maid; a first maid who searches through her employer's things or stands outside of doors to overhear what is going on; a simple scullery maid; and Jane. Everyone has secrets and is less than stellar representatives of the human race. Put them all together and you have an intriguing look at life in a Victorian England household filled with deception and mystery.

Jane is doing more than her share of the work, blackmailed by the first maid who figured out who Jane is, and pressured by the mistress of the house to spy on her fellow servants-or lose her position without a character reference. How can Jane survive in London where she knows no one and her position is becoming intolerable?

I was captivated from the first page of the story and held prisoner all the way to the end, trying to guess what would happen next, who was a good guy and who was a bad guy, and who would survive the obvious coming downfall of the household of a Victorian England family that is teaming with secrets and deception. It is fascinating to watch the plots and plans unravel around the people there. And through it all, poor hardworking, mistreated Jane is just trying to survive.

Armchair Interview says: Although it sounds like a miserable story, it is not. It is a wonderful set of interconnected mysteries that will leave you glad that you didn't have to serve as a servant in Victorian England!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book ever!, December 11, 2008

By 

Gristle McThornbody - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dark Lantern: A Novel (Hardcover)

This is one of the best books I've read all year! I honestly had a hard time putting it down it was so riveting. If you're looking for a great mystery, look no further, this is it! I REALLY hope she writes another which takes place during this time frame or earlier, that would be awesome.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for an afternoon by the fire or a day at the beach, October 20, 2008

By 

Lauren B. Davis (Princeton, New Jersey) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Dark Lantern: A Novel (Hardcover)

What a lovely read. Perfect for a summer afternoon. Well-paced, good characterization, thoroughly engaging, clean direct prose, wonderfully intriguing. I read it in two sittings and consider it time well spent. Enjoy.