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In the Tenth House
London, 1896: Dr. Ambrose Gennett can’t shake the fear that gripped him when he heard her voice. On the train platform in Kensington, he went to the aid of a woman hurt in an accident. He didn’t know her, but she knew him–she saw things he had never revealed to anyone. She spoke prophecy and then disappeared into the crowd.
Gennett is a “mad doctor,” one of the few physicians in London aware of the new Freudian theories of the mind. His confidence shaken by the encounter, Gennett vows to find this young woman again, partly to help her and largely to prove to himself that she is not as supernatural as she seems. She has to be either mistaken or mad.
The truth is much worse.
Lily Embly is a fake medium but a real psychic–or at least she believes she is. Struggling to free herself from a lifetime of poverty and schooled as a charlatan by her mother, Lily works the strings and magnets of trickery at séances that have become wildly popular in Victorian England. Her false spirit messages are guided by the tarot cards and horoscopes she consults in secret. But when her mother falls ill, debt threatens to destroy them both.
Desperate, Lily has teamed up with a dangerous con man, Monsieur St. Aubin, to pull off a risky–and potentially very lucrative–séance. And when Gennett discovers that his own sister has fallen under the sway of the spiritual frenzy that has gripped the city, his sanity depends on exposing Lily as a fraud.
Only one can be right, and only one will survive.
Richly atmospheric, In the Tenth House conjures up a world of obsession and passion; it transports readers to an era that saw science and faith collide. Full of wit, insight, and fascinating historical detail, it is an astonishing debut.
From the Hardcover edition.
Gennett is a “mad doctor,” one of the few physicians in London aware of the new Freudian theories of the mind. His confidence shaken by the encounter, Gennett vows to find this young woman again, partly to help her and largely to prove to himself that she is not as supernatural as she seems. She has to be either mistaken or mad.
The truth is much worse.
Lily Embly is a fake medium but a real psychic–or at least she believes she is. Struggling to free herself from a lifetime of poverty and schooled as a charlatan by her mother, Lily works the strings and magnets of trickery at séances that have become wildly popular in Victorian England. Her false spirit messages are guided by the tarot cards and horoscopes she consults in secret. But when her mother falls ill, debt threatens to destroy them both.
Desperate, Lily has teamed up with a dangerous con man, Monsieur St. Aubin, to pull off a risky–and potentially very lucrative–séance. And when Gennett discovers that his own sister has fallen under the sway of the spiritual frenzy that has gripped the city, his sanity depends on exposing Lily as a fraud.
Only one can be right, and only one will survive.
Richly atmospheric, In the Tenth House conjures up a world of obsession and passion; it transports readers to an era that saw science and faith collide. Full of wit, insight, and fascinating historical detail, it is an astonishing debut.
From the Hardcover edition.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
6 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
November 10, 2010
I spent much of this book feeling the same frustration that I encounter upon reading a Facebook page or Livejournal full of vague posts. The characters were interesting enough that I wanted to know more about what was happening with them, but it was all so nebulously put together that I wanted to scream a little. Still, the writing was beautiful for all its lack of transparency. And yes, the whole thing was about Victorian spiritualists and alienists, so vague might have been wholly apt. Still, I found it bothersome that more of the story wasn't told for want of mystery.
May 28, 2010
The reason this novel does not quite succeed is a shortage of originality in its plot. The reason it almost does succeed is that the writing is so scintillating that it made me really want to keep reading. The opening gambit, a chance meeting between an attractive woman with an affinity for tarot cards and a stuffed-shirt gentleman with an affinity for Freud in a Victorian train station in London, is rendered brilliantly. I felt nearly as desperate to learn what would happen next as the doctor in our story felt to puzzle out the meaning in the psychic's words -- and to reconnect with her magnetically appealing person.
But... the concatenation of events was stubbornly unsatisfying. Missed connections. Unfulfilled forebodings. Oblique approaches further damaging the relationship. And to what end? Will these characters ever illuminate each other, or the many lives in tangent to their own? Will the hapless scientist of the Victorian era ever discover a thread of truth in the mystic, or will the odd combination of righteousness and charlatanry ever find comfort in the merely sensible?
Alas, no! All these small skirmishes that might be resolved in at least one character's favor instead lead only to larger and less comprehensible skirmishes, until at last we all lie in ruins, victims of our own stupidities. The brief encounter of the Other has only hastened everyone's demise.
I would urge this author to turn her considerable gifts to a story where at least one sympathetic character becomes a better, happier person by the end of the book. Thank you for creating such fascinating characters. Please supply them with some fascinating insights.
But... the concatenation of events was stubbornly unsatisfying. Missed connections. Unfulfilled forebodings. Oblique approaches further damaging the relationship. And to what end? Will these characters ever illuminate each other, or the many lives in tangent to their own? Will the hapless scientist of the Victorian era ever discover a thread of truth in the mystic, or will the odd combination of righteousness and charlatanry ever find comfort in the merely sensible?
Alas, no! All these small skirmishes that might be resolved in at least one character's favor instead lead only to larger and less comprehensible skirmishes, until at last we all lie in ruins, victims of our own stupidities. The brief encounter of the Other has only hastened everyone's demise.
I would urge this author to turn her considerable gifts to a story where at least one sympathetic character becomes a better, happier person by the end of the book. Thank you for creating such fascinating characters. Please supply them with some fascinating insights.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 27, 2008
really . . . why? the characters were ciphers -- maybe the author meant for me to decide that all these poor people were pawns or slaves to their beliefs. but instead, we wind up with a book where no one really has much motivation or much personality. 99% of the plot takes place in the last 3 pages, and it's entirely unexpected and bizarre.
September 27, 2015
Eh, I read the whole novel but with a great deal of skimming over dull, drawn out descriptions, so perhaps I missed parts of the story that made it flow. The premise for this book was quite intriguing but was ruined by a difficult to follow plot, heavy writing style and disappointing ending. Skip this one.
February 25, 2013
I tried really hard to get through this book but I hated it more with each page. It was so vague and hard to follow, I finally just gave up because I kept getting more frustrated with each paragraph.
February 22, 2022
This book really seemed like it was right up my alley, but I had a lot of trouble with it, for whatever reason
June 26, 2018
A look into Victorian life and the constraints imposed by conventional society of that time on both men and women, regardless of their social rank. Laura Dietz first novel is a sensual summer read full of description, color and character. It provides a view of the class structure that characterized that time period, what was considered proper or scandalous behavior, and brings you inside the private lives of two very different families struggling to find their way in those perilous, smothering times.
One family's patriarch is a well to do Doctor who is pushing the professional envelope and bucking the tide by embracing the radical leanings of Freudian psychology and talk therapy in his practice. At the same time he's trying (and failing) to control his mother (who is slipping into dementia) and his "old maid" sister and flighty aunt, all of whom have become enamored with the fad of Spiritualism. The family is extremely well provided for due to old mother having made two successful marriages and outliving both husbands. The ladies are taken care of in splendid style in a large home at a tony address in London by an army of servants who feed, dress and clean up after them leaving them with entirely too much time on their hands. They spend that time studying the latest tomes by Madame Blavatsky and attending lectures and seances at other fashionable homes.
It just so happens that the medium of the moment, Lily (or Miss E as she's known to her clients) runs afoul of the good doctor in the opening chapter, having a clairvoyant moment with him during a chance encounter on the street. That leaves him smitten and dying for a chance to get her on the couch. Oddly enough, though he is a psychiatrist and spends every day playing with the minds and feelings of his patients, the man is so out of touch with his own psyche that he spends the entire book mistaking his lust, to either possess or destroy Miss E, for professional interest.
As for the other family, they live in much more meager circumstances in two rooms which they rent and use for everything including seances for the non-gentry crowd. Lily, for her part, is supporting her aging medium mama, a formerly successful, Russian fortune teller, by giving tarot readings in the back of a jewelry shop or helping her mother give seances in their squalid little squat. It is alluded that Lily is not a fake, like most mediums of the time who used cheap theatrics to provide so called evidence of the supernatural, but a natural clairvoyant. Lily, in fact, has a strict code of ethics and highly moral character. She is devoted to her mother and seems to have a natural gift which she augments with her horoscope charts and tarot cards. As the story progresses she seems poised to achieve the heights of fame in the Spiritualist game with the aid of a shady Frenchman named St. Aubin who has started introducing her into the upper crust of society, if only she can keep that Doctor at bay. How thick he seems, as he is unable to control his obsession with her ruin and in the process ruins his own life and that of everyone he holds dear.
A bit slow to develop at times, the book echoed the slow pace of English life in the Victorian era, everything wrapped in layer upon layer. For example the beautifully detailed descriptions of intricately ornate rooms, or the women's clothing (which included whale boned corsets, petticoats, under and over dresses to the point where a woman needed assistants to help her move) or the layers of meaning in each human interaction, whether by letter or conversation, that had to be sorted through for comprehension.
The Tenth House was more enjoyable for me because I know the Tarot deck, I am familiar with astrology, so Lily's thoughts were easy for me to follow. I was also able to grasp the perspective of the Doctor, someone for whom this whole school of thought is mere poppy-cock, for the first time. To look at the spiritual life from both sides and see both clearly was one of the gifts this novel gave me. But if you're looking for fast paced action and thrills, look elsewhere. This is more like a novel from another time, like reading Proust or George Sand or Jane Austin. If that's your cup of tea, relax and enjoy!
One family's patriarch is a well to do Doctor who is pushing the professional envelope and bucking the tide by embracing the radical leanings of Freudian psychology and talk therapy in his practice. At the same time he's trying (and failing) to control his mother (who is slipping into dementia) and his "old maid" sister and flighty aunt, all of whom have become enamored with the fad of Spiritualism. The family is extremely well provided for due to old mother having made two successful marriages and outliving both husbands. The ladies are taken care of in splendid style in a large home at a tony address in London by an army of servants who feed, dress and clean up after them leaving them with entirely too much time on their hands. They spend that time studying the latest tomes by Madame Blavatsky and attending lectures and seances at other fashionable homes.
It just so happens that the medium of the moment, Lily (or Miss E as she's known to her clients) runs afoul of the good doctor in the opening chapter, having a clairvoyant moment with him during a chance encounter on the street. That leaves him smitten and dying for a chance to get her on the couch. Oddly enough, though he is a psychiatrist and spends every day playing with the minds and feelings of his patients, the man is so out of touch with his own psyche that he spends the entire book mistaking his lust, to either possess or destroy Miss E, for professional interest.
As for the other family, they live in much more meager circumstances in two rooms which they rent and use for everything including seances for the non-gentry crowd. Lily, for her part, is supporting her aging medium mama, a formerly successful, Russian fortune teller, by giving tarot readings in the back of a jewelry shop or helping her mother give seances in their squalid little squat. It is alluded that Lily is not a fake, like most mediums of the time who used cheap theatrics to provide so called evidence of the supernatural, but a natural clairvoyant. Lily, in fact, has a strict code of ethics and highly moral character. She is devoted to her mother and seems to have a natural gift which she augments with her horoscope charts and tarot cards. As the story progresses she seems poised to achieve the heights of fame in the Spiritualist game with the aid of a shady Frenchman named St. Aubin who has started introducing her into the upper crust of society, if only she can keep that Doctor at bay. How thick he seems, as he is unable to control his obsession with her ruin and in the process ruins his own life and that of everyone he holds dear.
A bit slow to develop at times, the book echoed the slow pace of English life in the Victorian era, everything wrapped in layer upon layer. For example the beautifully detailed descriptions of intricately ornate rooms, or the women's clothing (which included whale boned corsets, petticoats, under and over dresses to the point where a woman needed assistants to help her move) or the layers of meaning in each human interaction, whether by letter or conversation, that had to be sorted through for comprehension.
The Tenth House was more enjoyable for me because I know the Tarot deck, I am familiar with astrology, so Lily's thoughts were easy for me to follow. I was also able to grasp the perspective of the Doctor, someone for whom this whole school of thought is mere poppy-cock, for the first time. To look at the spiritual life from both sides and see both clearly was one of the gifts this novel gave me. But if you're looking for fast paced action and thrills, look elsewhere. This is more like a novel from another time, like reading Proust or George Sand or Jane Austin. If that's your cup of tea, relax and enjoy!
February 7, 2016
If you are looking for a straight-forward, easy-to-read book which won't stretch your mind, this is not the book for you (as it does not appear to have been the book for others).
If however you are looking for a complex Victorian story of deception, faith, and science where coincidence masquerades as fate (and fate masquerades as coincidence), there's lots to love here. The author knows her subject matter -- theosophy and Madame Blavatsky, tarot cards, astrological charts, spiritualism, the parlour tricks of mediums, and the early days of Freudian psychoanalytic treatments -- better than most writers who explore these ideas.
I'll admit the challenge of the book lies in all these details, probably too many details for some readers, especially if one is not already acquainted with these delicious late-Victorian ideas.
If however you are looking for a complex Victorian story of deception, faith, and science where coincidence masquerades as fate (and fate masquerades as coincidence), there's lots to love here. The author knows her subject matter -- theosophy and Madame Blavatsky, tarot cards, astrological charts, spiritualism, the parlour tricks of mediums, and the early days of Freudian psychoanalytic treatments -- better than most writers who explore these ideas.
I'll admit the challenge of the book lies in all these details, probably too many details for some readers, especially if one is not already acquainted with these delicious late-Victorian ideas.
September 20, 2008
Fascinating look at late Victorian England, focusing on a doctor (interested in the very new field of psychoanalysis) and a medium, Lily, that the doctor glimpses and is intrigued by. At first he's sure he wants to help her and then becomes convinced she's destroying his family. Dietz does a great job of capturing the Victorian era, especially in terms of how people viewed themselves and their actions (or at least I think so--judging from the other reviews and ratings I'm in the definite minority!).
The ending is perfect, capturing--as Lily herself says,-- "However tortured the rationalizations we prefer, the thirst of one human being for another can be so--humbling--but I preferred to think of it as fate. And then mad desire. Anything but a fortress built on the back of a whim...How much easier to say there is no coincidence, and certainly no mistakes, and carry on to our destruction in defense of...how shall I put it? My idea of myself. One will sacrifice anything for that."
The ending is perfect, capturing--as Lily herself says,-- "However tortured the rationalizations we prefer, the thirst of one human being for another can be so--humbling--but I preferred to think of it as fate. And then mad desire. Anything but a fortress built on the back of a whim...How much easier to say there is no coincidence, and certainly no mistakes, and carry on to our destruction in defense of...how shall I put it? My idea of myself. One will sacrifice anything for that."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2007
It took every ounce of self determination that I had to finish this book.
10th house, had the usual things a good book should...
it had a plot, it had characters, bit of Victorian history, it had a subject.
Sadly 10th house is just a book. Not a very good one, and worse... I wasted over a month of my life trying to make sense of it.
If Laura Dietz would cut out every third adjective and modifier, and spent any amount of time on developing the characters .... well maybe if she had written a totally new book loosely based on her original idea it would have been better.... * le sigh*
10th house, had the usual things a good book should...
it had a plot, it had characters, bit of Victorian history, it had a subject.
Sadly 10th house is just a book. Not a very good one, and worse... I wasted over a month of my life trying to make sense of it.
If Laura Dietz would cut out every third adjective and modifier, and spent any amount of time on developing the characters .... well maybe if she had written a totally new book loosely based on her original idea it would have been better.... * le sigh*
July 11, 2019
I am not a person to not complete anything l am reading ...but this novel has taken me nine weeks of picking up and trying and trying. I understand the title to represent the horoscope of acchievement and maximum acchievement but the characters and events were very dismembered for me. The story never flowed. The characters didnt make me want to know them..this one has been a total waste of time for me. Very disappointing because it sounded so fascinating.
August 13, 2010
New author, great read. You think you know here it is going... but you don't! Rare occurrence... I'll look for this author again.
July 30, 2011
I enjoyed this novel. Not sure why others were so luke warm. Interesting to read about the "birth" of psychoanalysis.
January 16, 2016
Why this got so low of a rating is beyond me. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
February 17, 2019
A fun read—tons of Victorian spiritualism and quaint psychological theories.
August 12, 2019
I am only half way through the book, but agree with Goodreads reviewer, Liz Mandeville on her 4 stars...thus far anyways.
Fifth Star: In my review I'll start with missing 5th star. I find Deitz' mind sometimes difficult to follow. Her prosey style is paradoxically clear and abstruse. At times, I simply have no idea what she's talking about.
However, I quickly learned to not re-read those difficult passages in an effort to ferret out the meaning, but to simply flow on past them.
Fourth star: I would give it for her subtle interweaving of some major themes that were extant in not only 19th century life, but in 21st century life as well. The patriarchy is still alive and accepted. Women are still not understood. Bizarre , harmful medical treatments are still alive and accepted. Child rape is still alive and widespread, (but its existence is somewhat more acknowledged. ) Contempt for spiritual knowledge by the scientifically inclined is still in its ascendency ( but so is spiritual wisdom ascending .) Personal and cultural domination by males over females and a general contempt for THE REAL Feminine is still commonplace and widely accepted ( by both males and females). Our current stage in the liberation of females, still mainly involves encouraging them to copy men, but this does NOT produce REAL women to my mind.
Third star: I too have studied both tarot and astrology and , while I no longer use it much, my general knowledge contributed to my enjoyment of her allusions to the same.
Second star: Her skilled attention to prose is unusual today. Her style reminds me of Dickens in a way, or perhaps more generally, of that era of writing. I love the detailed descriptions of furnishings and dress and the use of now extinct historical terms...or at least unknown to me. I often stop to look up a phrase , such as "second economy in the hospital" and am glad I did , for it enriches my understanding of the times. And, as with Dickens, I find her characters believable and engaging enough, yet also archetypally interesting enough, for me to lose myself in their story.
One star: The plot is unfolding nicely at this halfway point, although I have read reveiws that suggest that the ending disappoints. My ideal ending would be that Lily becomes even more of a genuine medium or psychic and that Dr. Gennet realizes this and comes to respect her more. A nice additional touch would be if he attains a certain insight into himself and men in general.
This insight would be, that, to men, she (and all women) represent a missing SPIRITUAL piece of men. He would realize that male sexual ardor is all about their misguided attempt to become whole again with their OWN rejected Feminine side.
He would also realize that , because of the current psychological fad of being outwardly and physically directed, that men tend to seek only( or majorly) to connect superficially with The Feminine...that is...sexually.
And he would realize that this is an inept way that men try and complete themselves. He would see that: their insatiable "animal" appetites, expressed as frequent unfaithfulness to marriage vows; the use of marriage vows as a way to control their "stash" (their wife or S. O.); their parade through numerous extramarital affairs, or bachelor affairs; their use of prostitutes or mistresses; their quick remarriage after divorce or widowerhood...all of these he would begin to understand for what they are...an effort to "possess" The Feminine, but without being possesed by Her...without any deep spiritual connection to their own Feminine Self.
Additionally, in my dream ending, his "specialty" in female psychology would change to a specialty in male psychology ...particularly as relates to delusions of grandeur, egocentricity and obsessions with their need to dominate and control the Feminine.
He would see all of this in himself and would encounter an increasing interest in healing himself, rather than projecting his own weaknesses onto others and attempting to heal himself by trying to heal others. This would be suggested in the ending I'd like to see.
However, at this point I am still enjoying the book and am looking forward to discerning what I believe is her subtle subplot of a critique of the "Modern Age" through the literary technique of displacing sensitive subjects onto another age in the past or future.
Fifth Star: In my review I'll start with missing 5th star. I find Deitz' mind sometimes difficult to follow. Her prosey style is paradoxically clear and abstruse. At times, I simply have no idea what she's talking about.
However, I quickly learned to not re-read those difficult passages in an effort to ferret out the meaning, but to simply flow on past them.
Fourth star: I would give it for her subtle interweaving of some major themes that were extant in not only 19th century life, but in 21st century life as well. The patriarchy is still alive and accepted. Women are still not understood. Bizarre , harmful medical treatments are still alive and accepted. Child rape is still alive and widespread, (but its existence is somewhat more acknowledged. ) Contempt for spiritual knowledge by the scientifically inclined is still in its ascendency ( but so is spiritual wisdom ascending .) Personal and cultural domination by males over females and a general contempt for THE REAL Feminine is still commonplace and widely accepted ( by both males and females). Our current stage in the liberation of females, still mainly involves encouraging them to copy men, but this does NOT produce REAL women to my mind.
Third star: I too have studied both tarot and astrology and , while I no longer use it much, my general knowledge contributed to my enjoyment of her allusions to the same.
Second star: Her skilled attention to prose is unusual today. Her style reminds me of Dickens in a way, or perhaps more generally, of that era of writing. I love the detailed descriptions of furnishings and dress and the use of now extinct historical terms...or at least unknown to me. I often stop to look up a phrase , such as "second economy in the hospital" and am glad I did , for it enriches my understanding of the times. And, as with Dickens, I find her characters believable and engaging enough, yet also archetypally interesting enough, for me to lose myself in their story.
One star: The plot is unfolding nicely at this halfway point, although I have read reveiws that suggest that the ending disappoints. My ideal ending would be that Lily becomes even more of a genuine medium or psychic and that Dr. Gennet realizes this and comes to respect her more. A nice additional touch would be if he attains a certain insight into himself and men in general.
This insight would be, that, to men, she (and all women) represent a missing SPIRITUAL piece of men. He would realize that male sexual ardor is all about their misguided attempt to become whole again with their OWN rejected Feminine side.
He would also realize that , because of the current psychological fad of being outwardly and physically directed, that men tend to seek only( or majorly) to connect superficially with The Feminine...that is...sexually.
And he would realize that this is an inept way that men try and complete themselves. He would see that: their insatiable "animal" appetites, expressed as frequent unfaithfulness to marriage vows; the use of marriage vows as a way to control their "stash" (their wife or S. O.); their parade through numerous extramarital affairs, or bachelor affairs; their use of prostitutes or mistresses; their quick remarriage after divorce or widowerhood...all of these he would begin to understand for what they are...an effort to "possess" The Feminine, but without being possesed by Her...without any deep spiritual connection to their own Feminine Self.
Additionally, in my dream ending, his "specialty" in female psychology would change to a specialty in male psychology ...particularly as relates to delusions of grandeur, egocentricity and obsessions with their need to dominate and control the Feminine.
He would see all of this in himself and would encounter an increasing interest in healing himself, rather than projecting his own weaknesses onto others and attempting to heal himself by trying to heal others. This would be suggested in the ending I'd like to see.
However, at this point I am still enjoying the book and am looking forward to discerning what I believe is her subtle subplot of a critique of the "Modern Age" through the literary technique of displacing sensitive subjects onto another age in the past or future.
August 2, 2024
It has been a long time since I thoroughly enjoyed a novel so much. Beautiful writing, complex and engaging characters, a unique storyline layered with hearty atmospheric descriptions and most importantly a really fun and thought provoking comparison of Victorian spiritualism and psychology. So many historical fictions make me cringe, are dumbed down or rote - not this one. Loved it and will be looking for more from the author.
July 23, 2020
Looking at other reviews, I wonder if the negative comments result from mistaken audience expectations. If you believe ghosts are really channeled by mediums, or fault a writer for having an extensive vocabulary, do not read this book. If you enjoy Dickens and ironic endings, you'll probably enjoy this novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2018
3.5 Stars. This one intrigued me while I was browsing the stacks at our wonderful downtown library and I was captured by the cover (the spine taro card art) and the subject matter. I liked this book and thought it was very well written. Fascinating subject.
February 19, 2024
Slow pace with a lot of details. I loved the author's voice and imagery. I was definitely hoping for a more spiritual lean and it went the opposite direction, so I am a little disappointed. Not the ending I was expecting but still clever, well-written, and interesting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 27, 2017
Konusu dışında, gerisi çöp. Veyahut çevirisinden dert yakınmalıyız. Çünkü daha önce bu kadar ilerlemeyen bir çeviri görmemiştim. Okutmuyor, yerinde saydırıyor adeta.
May 12, 2022
Overall the book didn't excite me and make me want to read it. I thought it had a lot of promise from the get go but in the end it was hard to get into.
March 9, 2025
What began as a promising story devolved onto a big mess. What a waste of my time.
November 30, 2022
(One of my favorite movies is the Scorsese film “The Age of Innocence.” This film immerses the viewer in the opulent Victorian era. It’s a beautiful but restricted society, where males and females have very different roles, and where social class is well defined. The movie familiarizes the type of banter heard between the gentlemen, and visualizes the importance of particular womenswear and ornament. This film was in the back of my mind as I read “In the Tenth House.”). “IN THE TENTH HOUSE”:
Main characters Lily and Ambrose circle around each other in a feverish Victorian entwinement. He is a doctor for the mentally ill, specializing in female maladies and taking on Freud’s innovative theories. She believes in Fate and reads the Tarot to guide and reassure herself. She makes a living using the theatre of Spiritualism. Ambrose resents his family’s involvement in spiritualist activities. He professes that spiritualists are parasites “who at best empty your purse and at worst inflict intolerable mental damage as they do.” But can this also be said of the Victorian age psychologists? There are unexplained forces of disaster afoot for Lily and Ambrose, and neither has the least control over Fate. A great book to read in October.🎃
Main characters Lily and Ambrose circle around each other in a feverish Victorian entwinement. He is a doctor for the mentally ill, specializing in female maladies and taking on Freud’s innovative theories. She believes in Fate and reads the Tarot to guide and reassure herself. She makes a living using the theatre of Spiritualism. Ambrose resents his family’s involvement in spiritualist activities. He professes that spiritualists are parasites “who at best empty your purse and at worst inflict intolerable mental damage as they do.” But can this also be said of the Victorian age psychologists? There are unexplained forces of disaster afoot for Lily and Ambrose, and neither has the least control over Fate. A great book to read in October.🎃
January 28, 2017
I have no idea why women read books like this. From the first meeting between the lead characters, it was blatantly obvious that a combination of misunderstandings and social norms would keep Ambrose and Lily apart until the end, there would be a crisis and then there would be a big ending involving doomed love.
Then two-thirds of the book involved this happening very, very slowly and the ending was about as fun as running naked through a paper cut generator followed by a bath in lemon juice.
I've long been a detractor of Jane Austen but at least after tormenting her characters for 200 pages she generally has a happy ending.
It's well enough written, but why put yourself through the agony?
Then two-thirds of the book involved this happening very, very slowly and the ending was about as fun as running naked through a paper cut generator followed by a bath in lemon juice.
I've long been a detractor of Jane Austen but at least after tormenting her characters for 200 pages she generally has a happy ending.
It's well enough written, but why put yourself through the agony?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2007
This novel explores the relationship between a psychologist leaning towards the recent theories of Freud and a fortune/teller medium in fin de siecle London. I found the first three-quarters of the novel fascinating, in particular Dietz's discussion of psychological methods and trends (hurrah classism!) and her rich descriptions of London life. However when finally called upon to tie together all the lose ends, Dietz seems to be at a loss. All of her careful connections, predictions, and premonitions are hastily scraped together in the final chapters. Enjoyable from the perspective of someone who enjoys random references to Daniel Dunglas Home and intricate tarot readings, but otherwise the novel falls short of satisfying.
August 19, 2008
This book, set in late 19th Century London, begins with a coincidental encounter between a mysticist and a man of science, a psychiatrist who was embracing Freud well ahead of his English colleagues. Both "professions" were of great interest to the upper classes at that time. Despite the huge rift in their socio-economic status (note the era), the mysticist and esteemed doctor become fascinated with each other, and play a cat and mouse game to discover more about one another (discretely, or so they believe). To say more would be a spoiler; let's just say I dusted off my Tarot deck after I read this book, I enjoyed it so much.
October 2, 2012
This book was very riveting, about a doctor of the struggling science of the mind investigating a psychic in the late 1890's. It was a little hard to read because of the intense emotional constraints and turmoil of the characters. I was glued to it until the end but it left me feeling very unsettled, and not in the way that produces insight. I believe it was well written but just not my cup of tea.
March 30, 2015
This book clearly had great research in it and I am fascinated with this time in history myself. She really captured it well. It is very tragic book and so not for everyone. The way we enter the story makes it hard for the average reader to get their bearings so you have to work at it a bit. The writing is very good and heavy on dialogue, which I like, but I don't know if it belies a weakness or not. For me a very worthwhile read.
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