Highgate Rise (Ulverscroft General Series) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Anne Perry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1994 | Series: Ulverscroft General Series

Clemency Shaw, the wife of a prominent doctor, has died in a tragic fire in the peaceful suburb of Highgate. But the blaze was set by an arsonist, and it is unclear whether she or Dr. Shaw was the intended victim—or did the doctor himself set the blaze in order to inherit his wife’s large fortune? Baffled by the scarcity of clues in this terrible crime, Inspector Thomas Pitt turns to the people who had been closest to the couple—Clemency’s stuffy but distinguished relatives. Meanwhile, Pitt’s wellborn wife, Charlotte, retraces the dangerous path that Clemency walked in the last months of her life, finding herself enmeshed in a sinister web that stretches from the lowest slums to the loftiest centers of power.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Having temporarily abandoned Victorian police inspector Thomas Pitt and his highborn wife, Charlotte, in her last, highly acclaimed novel, The Face of a Stranger , Perry features the duo once again. She exhibits her customary skill in recreating 19th-century London, but here her well-drawn contrasts of upstairs and downstairs Victorian society have added psychological acuity. And her focus on a social issue--the secret ownership by members of high society of appalling slum housing--lends depth to the mystery surrounding the death of Clemency Shaw, a courageous woman who devoted her life-- and may have lost it--to exposing those who built their fortunes on the misery of the poor. Highgate is a posh Victorian neighborhood that becomes the scene of some highly dramatic house fires that consume people dear to Dr. Shaw, Clemency's husband, a free-speaking liberal who is Perry's most dynamic character to date. Just who is the target of these infernos? Thomas and Charlotte seek answers, while Charlotte in particular finds that Clemency's legacy of compassion did not die with her. Rounded out by a host of lively characters, this is a memorable tale.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

YA-- London in the 1890s is the setting for this page-turner. Inspector Thomas Pitt has been called in to help solve a murder in a fashionable suburb of the city. Clemency Shaw, the wife of a prominent physician, has been killed in a fire deliberately started in her house, but it's unclear whether she was the intended victim. As the inspector searches for clues, facts unravel and lead readers to the East End and an investigation of slum landlords. Through such characters as Clemency Shaw and Inspector Pitt's wife, Charlotte, Perry reveals the role of women in Victorian society--a time of boredom for middle- and upper-class women and extreme hardship for the working class. A gripping mystery as well as a look into the London of gas lights and foggy nights. --Roberta Lisker, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA-
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: Ulverscroft Large Print Books; Lrg edition (January 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0708930131
• ISBN-13: 978-0708930137
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,590,887 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:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gracie the Maid gets into the act, June 17, 2000

By 

drdebs (CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Highgate Rise (Mass Market Paperback)

Charlotte and Thomas Pitt's maid, Gracie, has been admiring her mistress's detecting adventures for the past few books, but her participation in this story adds a freshness to the plot and the characterizations. Dedicated readers of the Pitt series know Charlotte, Emily, Thomas, and Great Aunt Vespasia so well now that new characters are always welcome additions to the cast.

In this story Pitt is called in to investigate a mysterious fire and death in Highgate, a prosperous northern suburb of London. While most London policemen are investigating the Jack the Ripper murders at Whitechapel, Pitt must get to the botom of how and why the Shaw house was set ablaze and whether the intended victim was really Clemency Shaw, a modest woman involved in social reform, or her husband Dr. Shaw.

The ending of this mystery was not really up to Perry's usual standards. I was pretty sure who had done the deed from the beginning, but as usual Perry provided some excellent and suprising insights into the other secrets lurking on Highgate Rise.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quite good, all in all, May 2, 2000

By 

Starla (Spokane, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Highgate Rise (Mass Market Paperback)

Having read all the previous Pitt novels in the series, I found arson a refreshing change from the usual murder weapon of choice...the characters were complicated and well-developed, and the murderer was in question until the end--but then Perry picked the most obvious choice for the villain, which disappointed me--I was expecting some great revelation, but instead, we got someone whose motives were already obvious (so obvious I'd written the character in question off my list of suspects ^_^), and the cheesy way the confession came about read like a melodrama. Other than the unconvincing ending, the book was quite good, and Gracie finally got some a share of the adventure! If there's one thing you can count on, Anne Perry always has some interesting development in her characters' personal lives, no matter what the case.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Overall good....but needs a dash of pepper, July 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Highgate Rise (Mass Market Paperback)

Some good writing here, needs a few things though to keep me buying book after book. This story has a very well developed plot, UNTIL the end. It seemed that the most convenient villain was chosen and it left me thinking "No she did NOT do this to me after 342 pages"! The ending came out of nowhere, but not in that clever way that marks a true work of art. The characters were likable, and there were some quote worthy lines in this story, but I kept waiting for some real suspense. Waiting for suspense IS the suspense. However the author does do her homework and there is a ton of edifying information about the living conditions in England during this time period. Nutshell is a good book to read before bed, because it is not hard to put down when you're ready to turn the lights off.