Customer Reviews

Kept: A Victorian Mystery

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After I finished graduate school, I took a lengthy vacation from the works of Charles Dickens, until last year's "Masterpiece Theatre" production of BLEAK HOUSE inspired me to revisit that master of the 19th-century novel. When I picked up D. J. Taylor's new historical mystery KEPT, I was immediately reminded of Dickens's work, with its rich atmosphere, vividly drawn characters and glimpses into the lives of Victorian England's high and mighty and low and seedy alike.

Likewise, Taylor's book turns as if on a dime in virtually every chapter, focusing on kitchen maids and heiresses, police investigators and lawyers, even small-time criminals and various other unsavory sorts. The main plot of this richly multi-plotted novel centers on Isabel Ireland, a young widow whose husband Henry died suddenly following a horseriding accident (or perhaps the mysterious circumstances are slightly more sinister...). Rumored to be mad, hidden away in sealed-off rooms of the ominous, eccentric collector Mr. Dixey, Isabel is unreachable by virtually everyone, even her most determined relatives. But, as readers glean from the accounts of dozens of interrelated characters, Isabel --- and her late husband --- are far from forgotten.

The reader's efforts in piecing together the evidence of a variety of crimes --- from murder to train robbery (modeled on the Great Train Robbery of 1855) --- are paralleled by those of police captain McTurk, a new breed of law enforcement officer described as both "thorough" and "single-minded." And he'd have to be, too, to wade through the letters, memos, diary entries and narratives that combine to form the text. That's not to say that readers have to pursue the mystery doggedly themselves; in fact, the best way to read KEPT is to just get lost in its world, to allow oneself to become absorbed in these Victorian intrigues and romances, betrayals and secrets --- the mystery will take care of itself.

Like many other modern novels based on Victorian characters and themes, KEPT offers today's readers subtle commentaries on Victorian mores even as it delves deeply into its environment. Numerous miscommunications, failed attempts to locate relations (particularly Dixey and Isabel) and unanswered letters underscore the contrast between our own ultra-connected lifestyle and that of the Victorians. Accounts of Isabel's madness, delivered primarily by her husband, doctor and (male) guardian (Isabel herself, when she finally gets to narrate, is genuinely confused about her own sanity), will resonate with anyone who has read THE MADWOMAN IN THE ATTIC or similar feminist critiques.

Even the snide commentaries of the egg poachers who stock Dixey's taxidermy collections offer understated remarks on Victorian practices: "'What we're after, there's few enough of them to be had now....But think of it! These might be the last of them in all England. That's worth a ten pound note if ever a thing was.'"

Undeniably viewed through a modern lens, KEPT nevertheless manages to preserve the authentic flavor of the best Victorian novels.

It's probably no wonder that D. J. Taylor has been able to construct such a well-developed, convincing Victorian world. In addition to novels, his previous works include biographies of George Orwell and William Makepeace Thackeray, as well as critical studies of more recent English literature. The obviously well-read author's acknowledgments mention "the direct influence of Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Gissing, Jack London, Mary Mann, Henry Mayhew, George Moore, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Anne Thackeray Ritchie, W. M. Thackeray and Anthony Trollope." Of course, readers of these influential authors will be the biggest fans of KEPT, and will delight in finding the allusions --- some obvious, some hardly so --- that litter Taylor's prose.

Well-informed by his literary precedents and creative enough to make this novel uniquely his own, Taylor has created a dense, ambitious Victorian novel that is sure to satisfy fans of those 19th-century masters.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

Joining the ever-widening ranks of contemporary authors of Victorian sensation novels, D.J. Taylor might seem to be ideally primed to write a novel to join company with Charles Palliser's THE QUINCUNX and THE UNBURIED and Sarah Waters's FINGERSMITH. besides being the author of a highly respected biography of W. M. Thackeray, Taylor is himself the author of several novels. Yet if he is to write a really first-rate Victorian sensation novel he has not done so yet. KEPT, for all its fine evocation of uncanny atmosphere (which is in some ways the first requirement of a good Gothic novel), particularly in the fine scenes set at desolate Easton Hall where a madwoman is in the attic and a wolf loose on the properties, Taylor is not quite so fine at delineating character or tying together his multiple plotlines. There's a mad widow whose story echoes that of Isabella Thackeray; a crazed and ruthless naturalist who is her neighbor; a naive if not wholly guileless lady's maid; a proud and arrogant lawyer; and a whole series of cutthroats and villains, several of whom are planning what will be known one day (according to actual history) as the Great Train Robbery. As if all that weren't enough, Taylor names several supernumerary characters after famous characters from Victorian novels (such as one Miss Marjoribanks, named after the eponymous Margaret Oliphant comic novel), and refers to locations from other Victorian classics (such as Hiram's Hospital). At times his narrator echoes Thackeray's unmistakable tones as the gossipy showman of Vanity Fair; at other times he clearly seems to be aping later Dickens. It's all a bit much. Taylor works so hard to impress us with his skills at creating a pastiche that he neglects the first tasks of any true Victorian sensation novelist: to keep his audience engaged with a suspenseful plot and with vivid characters.

In 1863, Sergeant Morgan of the Suffolk Constabulary inform the Woodbridge Chronicle and Intelligencer newspaper that thirty-two year old respected gentleman Henry Ireland died when he fell from his horse. Henry's widow Isabel struggles with her loss because her spouse made all the decision involving the estate and their marriage.

Her neighbor naturalist James Dixey of isolated Easton Hall offers Isabel some solace and brings her into his home. However, though Isabel initially welcomed having a strong man tell her what to do, she becomes distraught when she begins to believe she is being kept as a trophy just like his stuffed bear and caged raging wolf. Only Isabel's cousin John Carstairs seems to worry about her as he seeks to offer his protection, but cannot find the vanished widow. As Dixey's maid Esther Spalding keeps Isabel somewhat safe, Scotland Yard Police Captain McTurk begins to tie seemingly unconnected dots which include Henry's so called accidental death, the vanished widow, a questionable debt collection service that apparently collects by robbing, and the great train robbery, but who is the mastermind remains murky.

This is a superb multifaceted Victorian mystery that cleverly comes together as the various subplots converge on the missing widow. The cast is solid as they bring a Dickensian feel to the complex story line. Creepy Dixey is a fascinating series of contradictions; for instance he claims to be a naturalist but welcomes poachers and takes pleasure in destroying animal eggs so that his collecting the widow is natural for him. Readers will immensely enjoy this one sitting intelligently dark Victorian mystery.

Harriet Klausner

It's hard for me to decide how much I really liked this book. I can say I appreciate it - it's well written, well researched, I liked the little technique of the style shifting according to the character (there are portions that are 3rd person omniscient that are narrated with "I", which give a nice ominous touch). The plot and construct are compelling, and I'm a sucker for a clever construct.

I had problems however tracking all the different storylines and characters. There was always the sense that they would tie together at the end but sometimes it was hard to stay engaged.

The central storyline is the mystery surrounding a young widow, Mrs. Ireland - her whereabouts, her mental state, her *large inheritance*... - but there are several substantial subplots that seem to take over the story entirely at points and that's where I think the novel starts to come undone. You start to invest in one storyline, and then you abruptly jump to another, and you start to forget who's who and fail to recognize when they pop up in a different storyline...

The numerous related subplots aren't my problem, it's just that sometimes you're slogging through them just because you trust they'll all come together into a wonderful picture by the end. The different subplots vary in quality too -- I really enjoyed a couple but the rest were not that interesting. And at the end, the payoff just didn't seem the effort of reading through all the subplots and keeping track of the characters.

But as difficult as this novel could get, I always felt compelled to come back and keep working through it. There's something to be said for that. Never did I just feel like giving up on the whole thing (ehem, Glass Books of the Dream Eaters--)

If you enjoyed this book, or at least the concept of it, you'll probably like Fingersmith (Sarah Waters), which has one of the best twists I've ever read in a novel, and not just as a gimmicky ending; The Observations (Jane Harris), which for me was an expansion of my favorite subplot in Kept, the servant one; and The Crimson Petal and the White (Michael Farber), The Ghost Writer (John Harwood) and Possession (A.S. Byatt) which all do an excellent job with the whole "multiple storylines coming together in a cool way at the end" trick.

With a cast of characters that reveal the many faces of English Victorian society, this thoughtfully wrought novel is a veritable jigsaw puzzle of eccentric personalities, poachers, criminals, Lords and lawyers, con men, damsels in distress and a greedy guardian. Deftly, layer upon layer, each chapter adds a different perspective, the characters ultimately involved in a puzzling mystery and/or an outrageous railroad robbery. An announcement of the death of the wealthy Henry Ireland is followed by another item of interest, albeit three years later, the first death notice closely related to the second, establishing a pertinent time frame in which various people act out their ambitions, curiosities and questionable deeds; meanwhile Ireland's widow, Isabel, remains a person of interest who has not been seen in public since her husband's death and the guardianship of one James Dixey, squire of an estate far removed from the prying eyes of London.

Indeed, Easton Hall, remote and imposing, is at the heart of the tale, the enigmatic and reclusive squire a subject of much speculation for his love of the arcane, kennels of wild dogs and stuffed animals in his study, even a pet mouse. Isabel Ireland is Dixey's "guest", thought to be afflicted by a fragile mental condition. The true state of her mind remains impenetrable as long as her doctor, a specialist in matters of the mind, demands his patient be kept from any unnecessary excitement or outside influence. While Isabel languishes in her guardian's care, accessible to no one, not even legitimately inquiring cousins, more subtle machinations are in play, from the criminal element to a high-brow attorney, from opportunistic poachers to the infamous Mr. Pardew, a man of questionable associations. A daring train robbery is planned, connecting the diverse characters, even, by extension, the obscure Dixey, Scotland Yard's Captain McTurk keeping a watchful eye over all.

Kept is a decidedly murky Victorian tale, the incremental chapters introducing the many players, much in the way communications were restricted by limited access to one another. Without benefit of modern methods, McTurk works his magic within the framework of society's constrictions, via messages, the gossip of servants, ale house meetings and the usual criminal enterprise, a lawyer hired to pursue an obscure debt, the ramblings of a drugged widow, all part of a vast mosaic of greed and subterfuge. Each character is specific to the plot, including his place in society and particular vulnerability to circumstance. From the well-intentioned kitchen maid, Esther Spaulding, and her opportunistic lover, William Latch, to the ethereal, damaged Mrs. Ireland, Kept is perfectly balanced, its diversity held in check by the convergence of accelerated events and the fickle hand of fate. Luan Gaines/ 2007.

I did not finish reading the book because I didn't like the it, but found nothing physically wrong with the book or when it was received.

D.J. Taylor's 'Kept' is an ambitious undertaking in this day and age...a Victorian mystery, as the dust cover purports...reminiscent of the works of Charles Dickens with a colorful and plentiful cast of characters, even borrowing (or nearly) certain Dicken's character names...and painted with the same gloom and doom of the darker novels of Wilkie Collins...'Kept' has a lot to live up to.

Opening with a pair of (fictional) death notices, set three years apart, the novel tells of the passing of one Henry Ireland and Mr. James Dixey....who readers discover, before too long, were well acquainted with one another...and connected through Mr. Ireland's wife. When Ireland's death comes in the course of the story, his widow, Isabel, who has gone quite 'mad', is sent to live with Mr. Dixey as his ward, in a crumbling, dilapidated estate.

Sought out by well-meaning 'distant' relatives, Mr. Dixey's ward and her care are a matter of concern...as no one is allowed to see Mrs. Ireland, save for the few servants who attend to her most basic of needs. Enter new housemaid Esther Spalding, who eventually gains access to Mrs. Ireland, and becomes a sort of confidant...and sees her as indeed mad, but mostly harmless.

Esther also makes the acquaintance of William Latch, the footman of Mr. Dixey at Easton Hall, who eventually leaves his post for 'greener pastures' working for a certain Mr. Pardew...a bill collector with a less than savory approach to his work.

All of these threads, with a few more to boot, weave together to create 'Kept'. As a lover of Dickens, and Collins, I was most intrigued to find this novel, and eagerly dove into it. However, now at the end of the book...I feel a little 'let down'...as if the author attempted something worthy of his predecessors in Victorian literature, yet lacking in the same savoir faire in tying up all the loose ends and making for a great story.

This isn't to say that the author isn't a capable writer...nor to say that he isn't a good 'storyteller'. I simply found something lacking in the way that the storylines came together, as if it was just too 'transparent' where things were going, and where they would conclude. I found it rather easy to unravel the 'mystery', even with all the various threads and side-plots, and was left feeling flat, rather than 'triumphant' in realizing I was correct in my guess. Looking back now, I realize why it was was so easy to guess the 'mystery'...as it's really all spelled out for you in the first 100 pages or so.

I gave the book three stars in my review because I love to see authors attempt this type of literature in modern times, as the 'masters' are long dead now, and unless there is a cache of undiscovered stories somewhere...there is a finite amount of their works available. I just hope that if D.J. Taylor attempts another work of this genre, he actually keeps some mystery to his mystery until the very end.

I like historical fiction and I don't mind dry narrative, and this book seemed to have enough mystery and suspense to not be too boring, but in the end I felt it was a bit drawn out. It could have used some more editing and some of the side plots and anecdotes seemed irrelevant. But overall it was an enjoyable book however I wouldn't read it again or rush to recommend to a friend.

Like another reviewer, I find it difficult to decide whether or not I truly enjoyed this book. Its scholarship was obvious (though either Mr. Taylor or his editor - preferably both - should learn the difference between "further" and "farther") but so much so that one wonders whether Mr. Taylor wrote it as "A Victorian Mystery" (not that there was any mystery in it) or purely as a challenge to himself, or an exercise in writing. Well done, with more than enough plots and counter-plots, all leading up to a somewhat disappointing ending which just seemed to drift away to nothingness.

Though billed as a mystery, British novelist and biographer ("Orwell," "Thackeray") Taylor's atmospheric and literary tale of death, madness, love (well, lust, at least) and skullduggery is more of a classic Victorian gothic melodrama than a mystery.

Although the two subject corpses roughly define the boundaries of the narrative, the murderers - if there are any - are not of burning importance. The reader will be more curious about Isabel Ireland, widow of the first corpse, Mr. Henry Ireland, and ward of the second, an eccentric naturalist and recluse, Mr. James Dixey. Isabel, you see, is mad. Or is she?

The only thing we know for sure is that she's locked up in Dixey's manor house and has not been seen in public since her husband's death in a riding accident three years earlier, in 1863.

The novel opens with a mysterious scene in which two men journey into the Scottish Highlands on a cold April evening and plunge into frigid water to steal two rare bird eggs. Dunbar is the intrepid eggman, Dewar is his luckless assistant. Though both deliver the prize to Dixey, whose study is filled with stuffed birds and beasts and displays of rare eggs, we hardly see Dunbar again (the more interesting of the pair) while Dewar becomes a hapless pawn in a plot not of his making.

The novel moves leisurely from scene to scene and character to character, using letters, diary entries, newspaper accounts and criminal depositions as well as anecdotal narrative to tell its wonderfully convoluted story.

Through an array of characters, Taylor explores the gradients of Victorian class and character. There's Esther, Dixey's new servant girl, curious about the locked room upstairs and willing to take a chance on a handsome footman and Mr. Crabbe, Henry Ireland's buttoned-up lawyer whose secrets leave him open to the machinations of clever, unscrupulous, daring Mr. Pardew, who schemes a big score for himself and any confederates left alive.

There's Mr. Dixey's neighbor clergyman who pines for a better place and a wife to go with it, and the efficient and talented Capt. McTurk, a London police detective with a prodigious memory and tenacity to match. And there are numerous supporting characters, from a witty cameo by George Eliot to the sleazy ministrations of Pardew's assistant, Mr. Grace.

What there is not is a main character to latch on to. McTurk might have served, but we don't meet him in person until two thirds of the way through and while there is a narrator, it is an omniscient, authorial voice that makes only a few appearances. While this lack is not a small thing, the novel is so well written, so exuberant and so wonderfully complex, most readers will love it anyway and fans of 19th century literature will relish Taylor's many allusions and homages, acknowledged in a detailed appendix of chapter notes.