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3.0 

The Death of Sir Martin Malprelate

By Adam Roberts
The Death of Sir Martin Malprelate by Adam Roberts digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

A gothic tale of murder and corruption set in 1840s Victorian London, taking inspiration from our most famous 19th century writers.

1848, the spectre of revolution stalks London…

“The story of the death of Sir Martin Malprelate acquired, from its earliest telling, a phantasmagorical quality, shrouding the violence of the assault in an embellishment of diabolic spectres and uncanny mystery.”

Struck down in a Camden street, the railway magnate never lived to see his dream of a line from London to Middlemarch. But who was to blame? An angry mob? Or were the witnesses who swore he was struck by a demonic train, wheels ringing on rails where no rails lay, to be believed? A hated man who many wished dead? An impossible death?

Truly a case for the father of all detectives.

From award-winning author Adam Roberts comes a gothic murder mystery like no other; a gripping novel set in the tangled realms of 19th century fiction. In a world woven from the imaginations of Charles Dickens, George Eliot and Arthur Conan Doyle the inexplicable death of a railway magnate opens endless possibilities.

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3 Reviews

3.0
“3.5 stars. This is an atmospheric piece of historical fiction that is a murder mystery with magical realism added to it. When Sir Martin’s death is witnessed by many people who swear that they all saw a train running on no tracks hitting him, it makes for a very weird yet intriguing death to investigate. The story gave me Sherlock Holmes vibes but with a paranormal element to it alongside a Dickensian feel with it being set in Victorian London. The immersive descriptions of that setting is rich and vivid. The author brings in some famous characters into the story; Ebenezer Scrooge, Charles Dickens’ Inspector Bucket from Bleak House, The invisible Man and Sherlock Holmes’ father. I did at times find the pacing was a bit off at times but it still kept me engaged. The social commentary, the mystery and the murder all created an enjoyable novel that is perfect for reading during these dark winter nights.”

About Adam Roberts

ADAM ROBERTS is Professor of 19th Century Literature at Royal Holloway, London University. He is a leading authority on the works of Charles Dickens and has also published numerous books and academic studies on, amongst others, Browning, Tennyson, Wells, Walter Scott and Coleridge.  He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Vice President of the H.G. Wells Society and the author of more than 20 critically acclaimed SF novels and a number of non-fiction books on the genre. He lives to the West of London with his wife and two children.

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