From Publishers Weekly
A modern-day Poe, Griffin (The Requiem Shark) paints a thrilling, ghoulish picture of late 17th- and early 18th-century London in this winning historical novel. Young Dr. Joseph Bendix has been studying in Paris, but after being ruined by a French coquette, he returns to his native city in search of a mentor who'll help him to regain wealth and respect. Hired immediately as an apprentice to brilliant veteran surgeon Sir Edmund Calcraft and settled in his Lincoln's Inn Fields household, Bendix is exposed to London's seedy underbelly of thieves, prisoners and prostitutes. Calcraft, a man obsessed, believes that the touch and blood of hanged thieves will cure the ill, and he investigates his theories by dissecting dead bodies clandestinely procured by his shady hired hand, Sixes. Bendix, himself a medical philosopher, is convinced that illness and disease are psychosomatic, and pursues his own researches. The dark days of London's fall and winter are brightened for Bendix by the doctor's best friend, celebrated author Daniel Defoe, as well as by Calcraft's mysterious daughter. Shut away in Lincoln's Inn for most of her life, the smartly sexy Amelia suffers from encroaching blindness and cannot bear exposure to the sun. In love, but too poor to ask for Amelia's hand in marriage, Bendixknows that his only chance is to win her by helping to cure her. He devises a plan that melds his theories and Calcraft's, but a failed experiment with Amelia threatens to tear Lincoln's Inn apart. Basing portions of this fascinating period novel loosely upon headlines of the day, Griffin delivers a funny, compelling and touching tale, expertly capturing the oddities and nuances of London life, from coy mannerisms and elaborate dress to plague horrors and medical superstition. This strong second novel establishes Griffin, who's fast carving out a niche as an expert chronicler of 18th-century intrigue and adventure, as a writer to watch. (Apr. 27).
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Putting behind him unhappy memories of a failed love affair and medical studies in Paris, Jacob Bendix heads for London. There, he hopes to lead a more sober, enlightening, and eventually more lucrative life as an apprentice to the renowned but reclusive doctor, Sir Edmund Calcraft. Unfortunately, apprenticeship to the brilliant anatomist exposes Bendix to more than his master's controversial theories. While searching for the proper anatomical subjects, Bendix plunges into the darkest recesses of 18th-century London's criminal world and suddenly finds himself involved with its more miserable denizens namely, journalist Daniel Defoe and master thief Jonathan Wild. Like David Liss's A Conspiracy of Paper (LJ 1/00), Griffin's second novel (after The Requiem Shark) brings to life the dark underworld of London at that time and one of its most notorious citizens. But Liss's tale of financial intrigue is more intricate, complex, and multilayered than this psychological novel of love, obsession, and medicine. However, those readers patient enough to wade through Griffin's slow start will be rewarded with a well-executed denouement. For all readers of historical fiction. Cynthia Johnson, Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, MA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
