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Martha Peake: A Novel of the Revolution
Master storyteller Patrick McGrath--author of the critically acclaimed novel Asylum and a finalist for England's prestigious Whitbread Prize for fiction--once again spins a hypnotic tale of psychological suspense and haunting beauty. Set among the teeming streets and desolate wharves of Hogarth's London, then shifting to the powder-keg colony of Massachusetts Bay, Martha Peake envelops the reader in a world on the brink of revolution, and introduces us to a flame-haired heroine who will live in the imagination long after the last page is turned.
Settled with our narrator beside a crackling fire, we hear of the poet and smuggler Harry Peake--how Harry lost his wife, Grace, in a tragic fire that left him horribly disfigured; how he made a living displaying his deformed spine in the alehouses of eighteenth-century London; and how his only solace was his devoted daughter, Martha, who inherited all of his fire but none of his passion for cheap gin. As the drink eats away at Harry's soul, it opens ancient wounds; when he commits one final act of unspeakable brutality, Martha, fearing for her life, must flee for the American colonies. Once safely on America's shores, Martha immerses herself in the passions of smoldering rebellion. But even in this land of new beginnings, she is unable to escape the past. Caught up in a web of betrayals, she redeems herself with one final, unforgettable act of courage.
Superbly plotted and wholly absorbing, Martha Peake is an edge-of-your-seat shocker that is crafted with the psychological precision Patrick McGrath's fans have come to expect. A writer whose novels The New York Times Book Review has called both "mesmerizing" and "brilliant," McGrath applies his remarkable imaginative powers to a fresh and broad historical canvas. Martha Peake is the poignant, often disturbing tale of a child fighting free of a father's twisted love, and of the colonists' struggle to free themselves from a smothering homeland. It is Patrick McGrath's finest novel yet.
Settled with our narrator beside a crackling fire, we hear of the poet and smuggler Harry Peake--how Harry lost his wife, Grace, in a tragic fire that left him horribly disfigured; how he made a living displaying his deformed spine in the alehouses of eighteenth-century London; and how his only solace was his devoted daughter, Martha, who inherited all of his fire but none of his passion for cheap gin. As the drink eats away at Harry's soul, it opens ancient wounds; when he commits one final act of unspeakable brutality, Martha, fearing for her life, must flee for the American colonies. Once safely on America's shores, Martha immerses herself in the passions of smoldering rebellion. But even in this land of new beginnings, she is unable to escape the past. Caught up in a web of betrayals, she redeems herself with one final, unforgettable act of courage.
Superbly plotted and wholly absorbing, Martha Peake is an edge-of-your-seat shocker that is crafted with the psychological precision Patrick McGrath's fans have come to expect. A writer whose novels The New York Times Book Review has called both "mesmerizing" and "brilliant," McGrath applies his remarkable imaginative powers to a fresh and broad historical canvas. Martha Peake is the poignant, often disturbing tale of a child fighting free of a father's twisted love, and of the colonists' struggle to free themselves from a smothering homeland. It is Patrick McGrath's finest novel yet.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
26 people are currently reading
720 people want to read
About the author
Patrick McGrath
88 books568 followersPatrick McGrath was born in London and grew up near Broadmoor Hospital where his father was Medical Superintendent. He was educated at Stonyhurst College. He is a British novelist whose work has been categorized as gothic fiction. He is married to actress Maria Aitken and lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
March 5, 2020
Martha Peake narra la storia turbolenta di una ragazza coraggiosa, vittima di un padre dannato, che emigra in America ai tempi della Guerra d’Indipendenza svolgendovi un ruolo rilevante nelle vicende storiche del tempo. La storia di Martha e dello sfortunato padre Harry è narrata postuma, dal giovane parente di un uomo che intrattenne in passato misteriose relazioni con i due protagonisti.
La trama, di per sé piacevole, promette coinvolgimento e azione.
Leggendo “Martha Peake” m’imbatto in un McGrath decisamente inatteso rispetto ad altri suoi romanzi. Sembrano scomparire la finezza introspettiva e la tensione psicologica di “Follia” o “Trauma”, per lasciare spazio ad ambientazioni più esteriori, ricche di azione e avvenimenti.
La storia narra le vicissitudini di Harry , poeta maledetto e sfortunato che fugge dalla Cornovaglia a Londra, ove campa con l’amata figlioletta Martha esibendo in pubblico la propria deformità . Ma quando il passato riemerge e scatena i rimorsi, Harry si abbandona al gin e alla follia.
Nel complesso non si tratta sicuramente del romanzo che ho preferito, tra quelli dell’Autore.
La lettura è piacevole se approcciata con la leggerezza e la curiosità del lettore che vuole “vedere cosa succede”. Ho provato però una certa nostalgia per il McGrath capace di generare quella tensione psichica che incatena al libro dalla prima all’ultima pagina.
La trama, di per sé piacevole, promette coinvolgimento e azione.
Leggendo “Martha Peake” m’imbatto in un McGrath decisamente inatteso rispetto ad altri suoi romanzi. Sembrano scomparire la finezza introspettiva e la tensione psicologica di “Follia” o “Trauma”, per lasciare spazio ad ambientazioni più esteriori, ricche di azione e avvenimenti.
La storia narra le vicissitudini di Harry , poeta maledetto e sfortunato che fugge dalla Cornovaglia a Londra, ove campa con l’amata figlioletta Martha esibendo in pubblico la propria deformità . Ma quando il passato riemerge e scatena i rimorsi, Harry si abbandona al gin e alla follia.
Nel complesso non si tratta sicuramente del romanzo che ho preferito, tra quelli dell’Autore.
La lettura è piacevole se approcciata con la leggerezza e la curiosità del lettore che vuole “vedere cosa succede”. Ho provato però una certa nostalgia per il McGrath capace di generare quella tensione psichica che incatena al libro dalla prima all’ultima pagina.
April 2, 2019
The review quoted on the front of my copy of this book states that Martha Peake is an example of McGrath’s ‘trademark ability to probe the layers of the human psyche’. All I can say is that they must not have read the same book that I did.
The books duo of unreliable narrators means that no layers of the psyche are probed, human or not. Instead we get yet another book written about a woman by a man writing in the third person. Ambrose Tree, the main narrator, creates Martha as a typical male fantasy rather than a real person. She is beautiful (obviously) in a ‘wild and untamed’ kind of way that’s not unconventional enough to upset the fragile male gaze; clever in that she reads a lot but not too clever in that she becomes able to think for herself or disagree with her father; she has passionate convictions until she’s given the first chance to betray them and then instantly does; full of life and vitality but perfectly happy to placidly sit around sewing all the time; and she is repeatedly described as brave but never seems to really have enough agency to actually do anything brave (or at all, unless you count running from the protection of one man to another) - until the end of the novel, at which point she is promptly bumped off.
Ambrose seems to have a strong emotional connection to the fantasy of a ‘plucky girl’ (a.k.a Strong Female Character) he creates, but again we never learn enough about him to understand why. Or why his Uncle decided to summon him rather than anyone else. And Uncle William is an even shadowier character than he is, we learn nothing more than the bare bones about him.
As for the other significant character, Martha’s father Harry, he’s painted as a tortured Byronic hero who just happens to suddenly go crazy and rape his daughter once or twice. Too much gin you see, makes men rapey monsters who can’t control themselves. Both assault scenes border on cliches that would be more at home in erotic fanfiction - he’s such a manly man that he doesn’t just have a penis, it’s a horse-penis!
After Martha leaves we are treated to much more information around how much he suffered after raping his daughter than we get about her own reaction. That ‘poor lost fellow’ has nobly carried on with his life ‘with a fresh load of guilt to carry on his bent spine’ which is apparently ‘a measure of the mans spirit that he could go on, for all the bitter fruit he had tasted’. Ahhh, bless.
And apparently he does this because of how much he loves her, in case this love is useful to her after she had to flee to the other side of the world to get away from him. Spoiler alert, it isn’t. She even has his child following the assault , and everything about that is just hunky dory because she’s forgiven him because it was just the alcohol to blame of course. In fact the book seems to be trying to sell a sort of twisted love story between Martha and Harry, it ends with their spirits flying ‘across the North Atlantic, and they are, at last, and forever, as one’.
With two narrators and multiple versions of events and two different plots to keep track of the book is evidently finely crafted, and it does feel like a period gothic horror novel at times. The first chapter or so is delicious and sets up the atmosphere and themes of the book perfectly. But the twist at the end was fairly underwhelming and felt like it missed the mark a little. If the book overall is about how we craft the stories about people that we need, rather than letting the truth get in the way; what was the point of having noble Harry the gentle child rapist inexplicably survive to the end? All this means is that we get yet another male version of Martha’s story, and that he gets yet more sympathetic writing. He’s now ‘poor Harry’, ‘the old poet’ who likes to sit innocently and talk to passers by, and has ‘a particular fondness for children’ - I mean that line, really?!
Yes had this book been written at the time it is set attitudes like this might have been expected; but it wasn’t written in 1776, it was written in 2000! Everything that is there is a choice the author made. You don’t have to include a genre convention if you don’t want to. It doesn’t always have to be rape. Female characters can actually make decisions for a whole host of different reasons! And if you can be bothered to give a personality to more than one female character you might even get to show several different reasons at once!
All that Harry does is make the point that it doesn’t matter that Martha betrayed them, the American Revolution needed a hero. Surely it would have been so much more powerful to have had someone like Sara, someone who was actually there, and who helped to spin that version of history into being, survive to explain and reaffirm this message? Otherwise it’s just more hearsay.
The books duo of unreliable narrators means that no layers of the psyche are probed, human or not. Instead we get yet another book written about a woman by a man writing in the third person. Ambrose Tree, the main narrator, creates Martha as a typical male fantasy rather than a real person. She is beautiful (obviously) in a ‘wild and untamed’ kind of way that’s not unconventional enough to upset the fragile male gaze; clever in that she reads a lot but not too clever in that she becomes able to think for herself or disagree with her father; she has passionate convictions until she’s given the first chance to betray them and then instantly does; full of life and vitality but perfectly happy to placidly sit around sewing all the time; and she is repeatedly described as brave but never seems to really have enough agency to actually do anything brave (or at all, unless you count running from the protection of one man to another) - until the end of the novel, at which point she is promptly bumped off.
Ambrose seems to have a strong emotional connection to the fantasy of a ‘plucky girl’ (a.k.a Strong Female Character) he creates, but again we never learn enough about him to understand why. Or why his Uncle decided to summon him rather than anyone else. And Uncle William is an even shadowier character than he is, we learn nothing more than the bare bones about him.
As for the other significant character, Martha’s father Harry, he’s painted as a tortured Byronic hero who just happens to suddenly go crazy and rape his daughter once or twice. Too much gin you see, makes men rapey monsters who can’t control themselves. Both assault scenes border on cliches that would be more at home in erotic fanfiction - he’s such a manly man that he doesn’t just have a penis, it’s a horse-penis!
After Martha leaves we are treated to much more information around how much he suffered after raping his daughter than we get about her own reaction. That ‘poor lost fellow’ has nobly carried on with his life ‘with a fresh load of guilt to carry on his bent spine’ which is apparently ‘a measure of the mans spirit that he could go on, for all the bitter fruit he had tasted’. Ahhh, bless.
And apparently he does this because of how much he loves her, in case this love is useful to her after she had to flee to the other side of the world to get away from him. Spoiler alert, it isn’t. She even has his child following the assault , and everything about that is just hunky dory because she’s forgiven him because it was just the alcohol to blame of course. In fact the book seems to be trying to sell a sort of twisted love story between Martha and Harry, it ends with their spirits flying ‘across the North Atlantic, and they are, at last, and forever, as one’.
With two narrators and multiple versions of events and two different plots to keep track of the book is evidently finely crafted, and it does feel like a period gothic horror novel at times. The first chapter or so is delicious and sets up the atmosphere and themes of the book perfectly. But the twist at the end was fairly underwhelming and felt like it missed the mark a little. If the book overall is about how we craft the stories about people that we need, rather than letting the truth get in the way; what was the point of having noble Harry the gentle child rapist inexplicably survive to the end? All this means is that we get yet another male version of Martha’s story, and that he gets yet more sympathetic writing. He’s now ‘poor Harry’, ‘the old poet’ who likes to sit innocently and talk to passers by, and has ‘a particular fondness for children’ - I mean that line, really?!
Yes had this book been written at the time it is set attitudes like this might have been expected; but it wasn’t written in 1776, it was written in 2000! Everything that is there is a choice the author made. You don’t have to include a genre convention if you don’t want to. It doesn’t always have to be rape. Female characters can actually make decisions for a whole host of different reasons! And if you can be bothered to give a personality to more than one female character you might even get to show several different reasons at once!
All that Harry does is make the point that it doesn’t matter that Martha betrayed them, the American Revolution needed a hero. Surely it would have been so much more powerful to have had someone like Sara, someone who was actually there, and who helped to spin that version of history into being, survive to explain and reaffirm this message? Otherwise it’s just more hearsay.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2025
Found myself disappointed by this book, as it turned out to be something different than I expected. So maybe I should be disappointed in myself for misunderstanding what I was about to read.
Well, it seemed that despite the subtitle stating “A Novel of the Revolution”, that was not the main focus of the book. Instead it focused heavily on Harry Peake, Martha’s father. Oh, yes, Martha was there in the book but not as much as Harry.
Throughout the book, the story telling is overly dramatic. Then, a good way in the book, out of nowhere, this ghost type scenario appears. Strange sounds coming around in this old manor house and being told no one else was there.
After finishing the book I found out the author is known for his gothic tales. Someone more familiar with the author’s writing then would not be surprised. I bought this book a couple of decades ago, but I certainly wouldn't have done so if I knew about that aspect. My interest was in a woman becoming a hero of the revolution, which does come up in the book, but not until the near end.
I kept going with this to the end, mostly to see how it would all turn out. There is a bit of a twist, or surprise at the end. Not sure it was worth it sticking with the book. Certainly this book would work better for people who like gothic horror, or know what the book is about beforehand.
Well, it seemed that despite the subtitle stating “A Novel of the Revolution”, that was not the main focus of the book. Instead it focused heavily on Harry Peake, Martha’s father. Oh, yes, Martha was there in the book but not as much as Harry.
Throughout the book, the story telling is overly dramatic. Then, a good way in the book, out of nowhere, this ghost type scenario appears. Strange sounds coming around in this old manor house and being told no one else was there.
After finishing the book I found out the author is known for his gothic tales. Someone more familiar with the author’s writing then would not be surprised. I bought this book a couple of decades ago, but I certainly wouldn't have done so if I knew about that aspect. My interest was in a woman becoming a hero of the revolution, which does come up in the book, but not until the near end.
I kept going with this to the end, mostly to see how it would all turn out. There is a bit of a twist, or surprise at the end. Not sure it was worth it sticking with the book. Certainly this book would work better for people who like gothic horror, or know what the book is about beforehand.
August 4, 2021
Drogo Hall, una tenuta fra le brume della brughiera inglese. Appartiene a Ambrose, voce narrante, che lo ha avuto in eredità dallo zio.
Questo l'incipit del romanzo di McGrath ambientato fra Londra e la nuova Inghilterra, e si sviluppa tramite il ricordo, spesso improvvisato e opinabile di Ambrose.
La vita è quella dei suoi antenati: Martha Peake dagli splendidi capelli fulvi e di suo padre Harry, sullo sfondo della rivoluzione americana.
Partiti da Londra si troveranno in prima linea nelle battaglie della guerra di indipendenza americana.
Mi scuso con chi ha apprezzato questo romanzo ma io non sono riuscita a coinvolgermi nel racconto.
Diverso dagli altri romanzi di McGrath che scandagliano le ombre della mente umana e le sue turbe, ma non per questo inferiore, quanto piuttosto per una moltitudine di fatti e situazioni al limite del credibile e troppo forzati.
Questo l'incipit del romanzo di McGrath ambientato fra Londra e la nuova Inghilterra, e si sviluppa tramite il ricordo, spesso improvvisato e opinabile di Ambrose.
La vita è quella dei suoi antenati: Martha Peake dagli splendidi capelli fulvi e di suo padre Harry, sullo sfondo della rivoluzione americana.
Partiti da Londra si troveranno in prima linea nelle battaglie della guerra di indipendenza americana.
Mi scuso con chi ha apprezzato questo romanzo ma io non sono riuscita a coinvolgermi nel racconto.
Diverso dagli altri romanzi di McGrath che scandagliano le ombre della mente umana e le sue turbe, ma non per questo inferiore, quanto piuttosto per una moltitudine di fatti e situazioni al limite del credibile e troppo forzati.
June 17, 2014
English author Patrick McGrath has been hailed as the master of the neo-gothic, but he prefers to describe himself as the creator of "stories of love and madness". I haven't read his other novels, which have generally been highly acclaimed, but having devoured Martha Peake, I can say that the gothic and romantic certainly blend seamlessly here. Told by two unreliable narrators, decades afterward, Martha's tale plays out in four 18th century settings, each equally dark and threatening. Harry Peake makes his first appearance in Cornwall, where he's a good looking, hard drinking smuggler who loses his wife and most of his family in a fire that he caused. His own injuries have left him a bitter, hulking hunchback. He removes with his one loyal daughter, Martha, to London,where, crazed by guilt and grief, Harry tries to expiate himself through humiliation, by displaying his spine nightly to strangers in a seedy bar room. He draws the attention of macabre anatomist Lord Drogo, who employs his own personal resurrection man and displays misshapen human bones at his mansion in the marshes. Martha, who loves her father dearly, becomes terrified about what Drogo might have in mind for Harry. When an unspeakable calamity befalls her, Martha has no choice but to flee alone to America, which is on the brink of revolution. But she can't forget her father, who was alive when she fled, and the choices she makes as a result will make her a symbol of the revolution itself.
The extremes of grotesquery and madness are there, along with injustice and poverty, sordid backstreets, crumbling estates, and foggy cliffs, but what is also there, for those who care to look, are the issues and philosophies of the era. It may even remind you why the war for independence was fought, both the noble and the selfish reasons. To McGrath's credit, he manages to deliver a satisfactory ending while also leaving a sense of mystery about some of the tale's most vivid images (no spoilers, so I won't elaborate). Martha Peake is a finely crafted, multilayered novel, one that deserves to be savored and considered rather than rushed.
The extremes of grotesquery and madness are there, along with injustice and poverty, sordid backstreets, crumbling estates, and foggy cliffs, but what is also there, for those who care to look, are the issues and philosophies of the era. It may even remind you why the war for independence was fought, both the noble and the selfish reasons. To McGrath's credit, he manages to deliver a satisfactory ending while also leaving a sense of mystery about some of the tale's most vivid images (no spoilers, so I won't elaborate). Martha Peake is a finely crafted, multilayered novel, one that deserves to be savored and considered rather than rushed.
dnfed
July 2, 2018Oh my …
When I started this book, I was sure I would love it! It is a Gothic novel, with tropes I love, like the unreliable narrator (there are two of them!!), the dark mansion, the story of a girl who might be something more, a scientific aspect.
But something didn't work at all for me, and I'm not sure what it was. Was it the writing style? I had a hard time with it, but if the story had been captivating, I would have kept reading. Was it the two mentions of Henry Peake's "horse penis" (only quoting here)? Was it the end of this first part? I'm not sure. There's also the fact that I was not attached to the characters, be it Martha herself, or the narrator. I just didn't like them, and didn't care for them.
But I may come back to it one day, if I'm ever in the mood.
When I started this book, I was sure I would love it! It is a Gothic novel, with tropes I love, like the unreliable narrator (there are two of them!!), the dark mansion, the story of a girl who might be something more, a scientific aspect.
But something didn't work at all for me, and I'm not sure what it was. Was it the writing style? I had a hard time with it, but if the story had been captivating, I would have kept reading. Was it the two mentions of Henry Peake's "horse penis" (only quoting here)? Was it the end of this first part? I'm not sure. There's also the fact that I was not attached to the characters, be it Martha herself, or the narrator. I just didn't like them, and didn't care for them.
But I may come back to it one day, if I'm ever in the mood.
December 13, 2020
2 e 1/2 quando uno scrittore contemporaneo vuole cimentarsi col gotico, mescola Shelley, Poe, James, condisce con feuilleton pruriginoso e patriottico, ottenendo un brodo allungato e ben poco saporito
September 1, 2019
Sono talmente infastidita che la recensione la faccio domani... Forse
August 20, 2023
A Story Of Love, Madness & The American Revolution
3.5 rounded up.
I can't help but be disappointed. I loved The Asylum, but this was just not as good. The story itself is really quite interesting BUT getting from start to finish was often a torturous experience. The duel narrator did nothing to tickle my fancy. Humph.
3.5 rounded up.
I can't help but be disappointed. I loved The Asylum, but this was just not as good. The story itself is really quite interesting BUT getting from start to finish was often a torturous experience. The duel narrator did nothing to tickle my fancy. Humph.
July 15, 2025
L'inizio ricorda molto, anche troppo, Cime Tempestose. Anche qui una persona, in questo caso il nipote del proprietario di casa, Ambrose, arriva in una notte burrascosa e viene ospitato dallo zio. La serata trascorre ascoltando il racconto del vecchio zio su Harry Peake, un uomo ritratto in un quadro.
Ovviamente una serata non basta, quindi il libro scorre fra ricordi, reali o fittizi che siano, e Ambrose inganna il tempo incalzato dalla curiosità sempre più impellente di conoscere la storia di Harry e sua figlia Martha.
Un classico romanzo gotico a cui non manca davvero nulla per catturare l'attenzione del lettore.
Dalla Cornovaglia del 1700 ci si sposta nella sporca e malfamata Londra, ma poi
Martha, per sfuggire ad un padre che improvvisamente cede al vizio dell'alcol diventando aggressivo e ingestibile, fugge in America e si ritrova coinvolta nella Guerra di Indipendenza svolgendone addirittura un ruolo attivo.
L'unica cosa che non ho apprezzato nella trama è stata la scelta
March 16, 2016
Patrick McGrath è uno dei migliori romanzieri attualmente in circolazione: mescola sapientemente lo stile gotico al dramma familiare, l'affanno psicologico all'amore più ossessivo. Con "Martha Peake" raggiunge l'apice, in quanto a tutto questo concilia l'interesse ed il tratto sorprendente del romanzo storico.
Il libro, ambientato tra il 1760 e il 1770 , racconta la storia di un uomo deforme da un incidente da lui stesso causato - Harry Peake - un londinese (reso ancor più sfigurato dalla vita dissoluta ed infima che conduce) e di sua figlia Martha. La deformazione di Harry è oggetto di studio e culto per il fisiologo dilettante Lord Drogo, un alto borghese pseudo-intellettuale che morbosamente brama il corpo di Harry, al fine di esporne lo scheletro nel suo museo delle curiosità. L'instabilità di Harry Peake diventerà follia a causa degli avvenimenti in Castle Drogo, scatenandosi in tutta la sua violenza sulla giovane Martha che, devastata fisicamente e psicologicamente, fuggirà nelle colonie americane. Una volta là si immergerà totalmente nelle passioni della rivolta, ma la morsa del passato si ripresenterà un giorno come dolorosa e inevitabile.
La finezza di "Martha Peake" non è nell'esplorazione minuziosa della psiche umana che ha già caratterizzato altri romanzi di McGrath (e qui, come non avere un sussulto pensando alla figura di Harry Peake ubriaco e sfigurato tra i vicoli di Londra, o all'assurdità del desiderio folle di Lord Drogo che brama il suo scheletro), ma nello stupefacente virtuosismo della trama. Flashback e disgressioni, passato e presente che si intrecciano in un valzer di ombre oscure e tormentate, le tensioni psicologiche create da McGrath che già avevo amato nei suoi ben più celebri "Follia", "Grottesco" e "Spider".
Un divertissement che, paradossalmente, si ottiene proprio dalla tensione del dramma che l'autore crea per tenerci inchiodati alle pagine. Se McGrath aveva fallito la grandezza del suo genio, parere strettamente soggettivo, nei mediocri "Trauma" e "Il Morbo di Haggard", Martha Peake risolleva le sorti del romanzo storico e lo condisce con una settecentesca salsa gotica che lo rende affascinante morbo d'inquietudine..
Il libro, ambientato tra il 1760 e il 1770 , racconta la storia di un uomo deforme da un incidente da lui stesso causato - Harry Peake - un londinese (reso ancor più sfigurato dalla vita dissoluta ed infima che conduce) e di sua figlia Martha. La deformazione di Harry è oggetto di studio e culto per il fisiologo dilettante Lord Drogo, un alto borghese pseudo-intellettuale che morbosamente brama il corpo di Harry, al fine di esporne lo scheletro nel suo museo delle curiosità. L'instabilità di Harry Peake diventerà follia a causa degli avvenimenti in Castle Drogo, scatenandosi in tutta la sua violenza sulla giovane Martha che, devastata fisicamente e psicologicamente, fuggirà nelle colonie americane. Una volta là si immergerà totalmente nelle passioni della rivolta, ma la morsa del passato si ripresenterà un giorno come dolorosa e inevitabile.
La finezza di "Martha Peake" non è nell'esplorazione minuziosa della psiche umana che ha già caratterizzato altri romanzi di McGrath (e qui, come non avere un sussulto pensando alla figura di Harry Peake ubriaco e sfigurato tra i vicoli di Londra, o all'assurdità del desiderio folle di Lord Drogo che brama il suo scheletro), ma nello stupefacente virtuosismo della trama. Flashback e disgressioni, passato e presente che si intrecciano in un valzer di ombre oscure e tormentate, le tensioni psicologiche create da McGrath che già avevo amato nei suoi ben più celebri "Follia", "Grottesco" e "Spider".
Un divertissement che, paradossalmente, si ottiene proprio dalla tensione del dramma che l'autore crea per tenerci inchiodati alle pagine. Se McGrath aveva fallito la grandezza del suo genio, parere strettamente soggettivo, nei mediocri "Trauma" e "Il Morbo di Haggard", Martha Peake risolleva le sorti del romanzo storico e lo condisce con una settecentesca salsa gotica che lo rende affascinante morbo d'inquietudine..
July 18, 2007
This is both a very typical McGrath book, for its untrustworthy narrator and flights of addiction and depravity, and a rather non-typical McGrath book for its more upbeat conclusion. I refrain from saying "happy ending", but it is far from the sad or even psychotically depressing end most of his books contain.
Set during the early days of the American Revolution, it is the story of Martha Peake's flight from England and from her deformed, both morally and physically, father. As with all McGrath, much reading can be done between the lines to determine the true motives of the characters, as well as much of the truth of the plot itself. And though the predominant sentiment can be seen as cynicism, there is more hope here than initially catches the casual observer. Usually the narrator presents himself to be an idealist or "good" person and is proven to be of questionable sanity, ill informed, and/or immoral. Here, McGrath puts a new spin on his formula with a moral but ill informed narrator inadvertently twisting the tale to his own conclusions, in the hopes of subverting an ostensibly cynical uncle's opinion of the American Revolution, only to be awakened to his error before the book's conclusion.
As always, the plot takes most of the book to unfold, reading like three hundred pages of exposition for a twenty page pay off. But what a pay off! Never give up on a McGrath is a notion I always bear in mind when reading this author, as his stories often take very unexpected turns.
However, if you are after just a taste of this writer, I can not over estimate the worth of Spider, with Asylum coming in a close second. Martha Peake is, perhaps, McGrath for McGrath fans.
Set during the early days of the American Revolution, it is the story of Martha Peake's flight from England and from her deformed, both morally and physically, father. As with all McGrath, much reading can be done between the lines to determine the true motives of the characters, as well as much of the truth of the plot itself. And though the predominant sentiment can be seen as cynicism, there is more hope here than initially catches the casual observer. Usually the narrator presents himself to be an idealist or "good" person and is proven to be of questionable sanity, ill informed, and/or immoral. Here, McGrath puts a new spin on his formula with a moral but ill informed narrator inadvertently twisting the tale to his own conclusions, in the hopes of subverting an ostensibly cynical uncle's opinion of the American Revolution, only to be awakened to his error before the book's conclusion.
As always, the plot takes most of the book to unfold, reading like three hundred pages of exposition for a twenty page pay off. But what a pay off! Never give up on a McGrath is a notion I always bear in mind when reading this author, as his stories often take very unexpected turns.
However, if you are after just a taste of this writer, I can not over estimate the worth of Spider, with Asylum coming in a close second. Martha Peake is, perhaps, McGrath for McGrath fans.
April 3, 2021
A story within a story with a classic McGrath unreliable narrator, Martha Peake is a dark and complex read. The story constructed by the narrator is relentlessly bleak and the story unfolds in a manner that is actually a bit too overcomplicated, even for McGrath. The writing is great (as is usually the case with McGrath), but the pacing is a little too slow and the plot isn’t as captivating as some of his other novels.
Overall, this is not one of his stronger novels, but still worth a read. There is a bit too much switching back and forth between narratives here; it’s a novel that certainly requires patience.
Having finished this, I’ve read everything published by Patrick McGrath (that I am aware of), but luckily there’s just one more month until his newest novel, Last Days in Cleaver Square, comes out. Fingers crossed I enjoy it a bit more than I did this one!
Overall, this is not one of his stronger novels, but still worth a read. There is a bit too much switching back and forth between narratives here; it’s a novel that certainly requires patience.
Having finished this, I’ve read everything published by Patrick McGrath (that I am aware of), but luckily there’s just one more month until his newest novel, Last Days in Cleaver Square, comes out. Fingers crossed I enjoy it a bit more than I did this one!
June 11, 2020
Romanzo stranamente artificioso. Sembra che McGrath abbia voluto cimentasi nell'impresa di scrivere al giorno d'oggi un romanzo settecentesco. Somiglia infatti, nell' ambientazione, nei personaggi, e nell'impostazione narrativa, a una via di mezzo fra Cime Tempestose e La lettera scarlatta. Tuttavia non è che un'imitazione, e si sente: nella profusione di lacrime, di drammi, di disgrazie, di eroismi, il lettore avverte la forzatura, e Martha Peake non potrà mai rimanerci nel cuore come Cathy Earnshaw.
July 30, 2023
Romanzo storico con il tratto inconfondibile di McGrath. Bello.
January 24, 2024
I enjoyed it very much. Written in the style of the classics. It has the darkness of Poe. Good read if you like historical fiction.
January 11, 2021
Patrick Mc Grath is truly the master of gothic story telling.....but in ever such a proper way so at times the language feels almost archaic and it is not an easy read...every word needs to be read in the very particular manner in which it is written.That said,it is an absorbing tale,unfolding as an elderly uncle narrates his perspective and his young heir adds the drama in a possibly delerious state of marsh fever fugue whenever the tale gets stuffy or avoidant.
I laughed at another reviewer being put off the book by the description of Harry Peake’s “ horse penis”....I agree it was TMI!
It is not in my opinion a story of the Revolution but a study of obsessional love and the dangers of gin! (the gin bit hasn’t put me off my grapefruit gin cocktails thank god)
I laughed at another reviewer being put off the book by the description of Harry Peake’s “ horse penis”....I agree it was TMI!
It is not in my opinion a story of the Revolution but a study of obsessional love and the dangers of gin! (the gin bit hasn’t put me off my grapefruit gin cocktails thank god)
September 13, 2016
I listened to a nicely read version of this. McGrath is a superb writer, without question, and unlike so many popular scribes these days, can craft impressive sentences. He comes under (and perhaps exemplifies) the contemporary literary gothic genre, and is very much in the tradition of Poe. He brings to his tales an awareness of psychology, as well as a fair amount of irony and a dark wit. This novel demonstrates another side of McGrath, but is still very much in line with his other writings.
"Martha Peake" finds the author setting a tale two centuries in the past, and altering his writing style to fit the conventions of that period. A young man finds himself laid up at his old uncle's manor house (Drogo Hall), and the two of them while away the hours by recalling, and speculating upon, the tale of a local man, Harry Peake, and his daughter, Martha. Harry, a robust young smuggler, is badly injured in a fire, and left with a badly humped and misshapen spine. His spirited daughter is deeply devoted to him, and they eek out a living among the poor of London. Harry has an artistic temperament, and along with writing some fine poetry, is prone to bouts of serious boozing. Following some painful developments, the girl goes off to New England to make a new life, and finds herself in the middle of the growing fervor of the revolution. Some of both Martha and Harry's actions make them look quite a bit less than heroic. But this must have partly been the point - the life that McGrath portrays here is not a sanitized one, but has its share of unsaintly behavior - sex, drunkenness, et cetera. It is not a colonial era soap opera, however, and neither is it a supernatural chiller, although it contains elements of both.
Martha ultimately finds redemption in an act of heroism, but by that point the astute reader has become aware that he has fallen under the spell of an unreliable narrator. Young Ambrose Tree, who is telling the tale, has been neurotically fantasizing and embellishing quite a bit, and the truth, when it is finally, but less than completely revealed, is not as gothic and grotesque as he imagined it. MP is a fine read, but I am more partial to McGrath's writings that set his visions in the contemporary world, or closer to it. Somehow they seem more dark and real (and amusing) than this story does.
"Martha Peake" finds the author setting a tale two centuries in the past, and altering his writing style to fit the conventions of that period. A young man finds himself laid up at his old uncle's manor house (Drogo Hall), and the two of them while away the hours by recalling, and speculating upon, the tale of a local man, Harry Peake, and his daughter, Martha. Harry, a robust young smuggler, is badly injured in a fire, and left with a badly humped and misshapen spine. His spirited daughter is deeply devoted to him, and they eek out a living among the poor of London. Harry has an artistic temperament, and along with writing some fine poetry, is prone to bouts of serious boozing. Following some painful developments, the girl goes off to New England to make a new life, and finds herself in the middle of the growing fervor of the revolution. Some of both Martha and Harry's actions make them look quite a bit less than heroic. But this must have partly been the point - the life that McGrath portrays here is not a sanitized one, but has its share of unsaintly behavior - sex, drunkenness, et cetera. It is not a colonial era soap opera, however, and neither is it a supernatural chiller, although it contains elements of both.
Martha ultimately finds redemption in an act of heroism, but by that point the astute reader has become aware that he has fallen under the spell of an unreliable narrator. Young Ambrose Tree, who is telling the tale, has been neurotically fantasizing and embellishing quite a bit, and the truth, when it is finally, but less than completely revealed, is not as gothic and grotesque as he imagined it. MP is a fine read, but I am more partial to McGrath's writings that set his visions in the contemporary world, or closer to it. Somehow they seem more dark and real (and amusing) than this story does.
April 4, 2017
I'm always a huge fan of Patrick McGrath, I love his stories, his oddball trademark unreliable narrators, and his complete fucking mastery of language. He just rolls on at a pace that's never hurried, and every single word seems necessary. He doesn't fuck around.
For years I didn't pick this book up because I didn't like the subtitle (or whatever you call what goes after the colon in the title), I actually think my version said "A Novel of the American Revolution," which sounds even more boring. I should never have feared! I should be punished for my reluctance!
The present part of the book is mainly set, I guess, in a typically McGrathian decaying old English manor, in a swamp, and the plot concerning Martha Peake and her totally tragic father is told over a series of nights by an aging, evil-looking uncle at night over alcohol and tinctures and stuff, and all is related to the reader by the aforementioned unreliable narrator, who later on you find out is just making up shit to make the story he hears more glorious and romantic, and the ending, the best I can remember McGrath writing, well, I won't ruin it. But everything gets flipped around on its head, and I came away reeling. What a badass book!!!!!
For years I didn't pick this book up because I didn't like the subtitle (or whatever you call what goes after the colon in the title), I actually think my version said "A Novel of the American Revolution," which sounds even more boring. I should never have feared! I should be punished for my reluctance!
The present part of the book is mainly set, I guess, in a typically McGrathian decaying old English manor, in a swamp, and the plot concerning Martha Peake and her totally tragic father is told over a series of nights by an aging, evil-looking uncle at night over alcohol and tinctures and stuff, and all is related to the reader by the aforementioned unreliable narrator, who later on you find out is just making up shit to make the story he hears more glorious and romantic, and the ending, the best I can remember McGrath writing, well, I won't ruin it. But everything gets flipped around on its head, and I came away reeling. What a badass book!!!!!
September 6, 2022
Tentativo di raccontare la Guerra di Indipendenza Americana attraverso le vicende di una ragazza fuggita dall’Inghilterra nel 1700. Il tutto inserito nella classica "cornice" tipica dei romanzi ottocenteschi: uno zio racconta la storia di Martha al nipote nelle lugubri stanze di un palazzo nobiliare nella periferia di Londra. Uno schema ripetitivo e snervante con continue interruzioni nei momenti clou e continue promesse di eventi straordinari, o drammatici che poi invece boh…
La protagonista è un personaggio piatto, viene definita un'eroina ma che poi che cosa ha fatto? Ha passato tutto il tempo a nascondere una gravidanza frutto di un incesto, ha tradito gli americani raccontando ad un capitano inglese dove erano nascoste le armi per poi tentare di uccidere il suddetto capitano e finendo invece lei stessa uccisa e per questo gesto assurta a eroina e martire, ma martire di che?
Un libro inutile che non mi hai lasciato assolutamente nulla.
La protagonista è un personaggio piatto, viene definita un'eroina ma che poi che cosa ha fatto? Ha passato tutto il tempo a nascondere una gravidanza frutto di un incesto, ha tradito gli americani raccontando ad un capitano inglese dove erano nascoste le armi per poi tentare di uccidere il suddetto capitano e finendo invece lei stessa uccisa e per questo gesto assurta a eroina e martire, ma martire di che?
Un libro inutile che non mi hai lasciato assolutamente nulla.
November 9, 2007
I'm a big Patrick McGrath fan. This is a twisty -- and twisted -- tale of a young British girl who ends up in America during the Revolution. His characters are interesting because they aren't always good or likeable but they're almost always cunning. The stories are suspenseful and creepy but always feel like they cold be real life.
I liked Martha Peake -- the details were vivid and seemed true to me. I really felt that he wrote a believable female character -- strong and willful but limited in what her life could be. And he as able to make the character strong without making her seem too modern in her sensibilities as some times happens in historical novels.
This is a good intro to McGrath if you haven't read his stuff.
I liked Martha Peake -- the details were vivid and seemed true to me. I really felt that he wrote a believable female character -- strong and willful but limited in what her life could be. And he as able to make the character strong without making her seem too modern in her sensibilities as some times happens in historical novels.
This is a good intro to McGrath if you haven't read his stuff.
December 15, 2019
Started out great guns, with terrific moody, Gothic atmosphere and then went vastly awry. I'm notvsurevwhy McGrath wasted his copious talents on this over the top melodrama of a spunky girl who escapes to America to get away from her brute of a father and who inexplicably becomes a heroine of the incipient Revolution. The tale is told in breathless fashion by the heir to the estate at which her father ended his days, who seems a complete superfluous dunderhead. Atmosphere and spooky creaks in the night can only carry a plot so far. A disappointment.
July 3, 2021
Diciamo che dopo aver letto con molta fatica "Altri libertini" di Tondelli, speravo di potermi risparmiare, almeno per un po', perversioni varie e peni penzolanti. Questa storia non mi ha fatto né caldo né freddo, non mi ha entusiasmata, non mi ha coinvolta. Un bel "copy and paste" di romanzi più famosi.
February 5, 2017
Dette hørtes spennende ut for meg som elsker "gotiske" romaner, men her ga jeg opp halvveis. Språket hakket så mye at det gikk ut over konsentrasjonen. Bedre på originalspråket, antagelig.
December 20, 2023
Il tentativo di colpo di scena finale non è bastato a rendere coinvolgente una trama decisamente debole, poco credibile e dal contesto storico non particolarmente sviluppato. Mi aspettavo molto di più da un romanzo di McGrath onestamente.
December 6, 2017
Onvan : Martha Peake: A Novel of the Revolution - Nevisande : Patrick McGrath - ISBN : 375701311 - ISBN13 : 9780375701313 - Dar 367 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2000
May 29, 2022
Een verhaal met potentie dat helaas is geschreven alsof de schrijver continu op een rempedaal trapte, waar hij juist gas had moeten geven.
April 20, 2023
"Harry diceva che, quando si ubriacava, era come posseduto da un demone, diceva che riusciva perfino a vederlo: una creatura nera, spettrale, seduta sulla sua testa, che gli strisciava sbavando sulla spina dorsale, incitandolo a nuovi eccessi; e lui non era che una cosa vuota, dentro la quale le parole del demone riecheggiavano fino a diventare un frastuono senza senso, e non rimaneva nulla nella sua anima che sapesse opporsi a quell'influenza maligna"
Ambientato tra la fumosa Londra e le colonie del Massachusetts, ci troviamo nel periodo imminente la rivoluzione americana. Lo scrittore ci racconta la storia di Martha e di suo padre Harry Peake, poeta e contrabbandiere, appassionato di gin e del loro rapporto che assumerà tinte fosche. Harry Peake a causa di un dato evento ha la schiena deformata, è considerato dall'altrui sguardo, un mostro. Si guadagna da vivere nelle birrerie londinesi dando "spettacolo" della sua menomazione.
Man mano che la sofferenza scava buche profonde nel suo animo, Harry le riempie di alcol ed è così che si risvegliano in lui istinti bestiali. Martha decide così di allontanarsi da quella povertà in primis d'umanità, si imbarca e fugge a Boston, nelle colonie americane.
Si tratta, innanzitutto, di un romanzo dal sapore spiccatamente gotico, troviamo un McGrath totalmente diverso da "Follia".
Chi ci racconta la storia è una voce narrante, Ambrose il nipote di William Tree, che ha conosciuto Harry e Martha.
La prima parte del libro, circa la metà, è estremamente avvincente, sono rimasta completamente irretita, specie dallo stile di McGrath.
Poi sono cominciati alcuni dubbi, che non hanno inficiato il mio apprezzamento circa lo stile, la scrittura meravigliosa dell'autore, ma hanno di sicuro viziato la costruzione della trama. Affidare il racconto a un personaggio "esterno" è stata una mossa azzardata, perché porta a congetture, ipotesi, voli pindarici da parte di Ambose, voce narrante, che sembrano sgretolare la veridicità dei fatti realmente accaduti, a favore di considerazioni personali. La voce narrante ci dà, in alcuni punti, la sua versione dei fatti, questo può essere per il lettore elemento disturbante, perché sembra voler convincere chi legge dell'autenticità dei fatti.
Altro elemento dubbio è il ruolo di eroina di Martha nella rivoluzione americana, ruolo secondo me marginale. I riferimenti storici sono sporadici mai perfettamente approfonditi, ma si avverte il tentativo di dare spirito irredentista al romanzo proprio attraverso questi riferimenti.
Detto ciò, l'elemento che sana questi vizi è la scrittura: chi legge non solo per godere della storia, ma anche per immergersi nella bellezza della scrittura, può arrivare ad apprezzare comunque l'opera, una storia che è toccante, potente.
In definitiva, lo consiglio a chi vuole leggere una storia che coinvolge indubbiamente il lettore e a chi ancora vuole assaporare McGrath, avulso però dalle tensioni psicologiche che contraddistinguono le sue opere.
3/5⭐
Recensione a cura di Lena Ceglia in data 10/12/2021 sul blog lalocandadeilibri.com©
Tutti i diritti riservati ©
Ambientato tra la fumosa Londra e le colonie del Massachusetts, ci troviamo nel periodo imminente la rivoluzione americana. Lo scrittore ci racconta la storia di Martha e di suo padre Harry Peake, poeta e contrabbandiere, appassionato di gin e del loro rapporto che assumerà tinte fosche. Harry Peake a causa di un dato evento ha la schiena deformata, è considerato dall'altrui sguardo, un mostro. Si guadagna da vivere nelle birrerie londinesi dando "spettacolo" della sua menomazione.
Man mano che la sofferenza scava buche profonde nel suo animo, Harry le riempie di alcol ed è così che si risvegliano in lui istinti bestiali. Martha decide così di allontanarsi da quella povertà in primis d'umanità, si imbarca e fugge a Boston, nelle colonie americane.
Si tratta, innanzitutto, di un romanzo dal sapore spiccatamente gotico, troviamo un McGrath totalmente diverso da "Follia".
Chi ci racconta la storia è una voce narrante, Ambrose il nipote di William Tree, che ha conosciuto Harry e Martha.
La prima parte del libro, circa la metà, è estremamente avvincente, sono rimasta completamente irretita, specie dallo stile di McGrath.
Poi sono cominciati alcuni dubbi, che non hanno inficiato il mio apprezzamento circa lo stile, la scrittura meravigliosa dell'autore, ma hanno di sicuro viziato la costruzione della trama. Affidare il racconto a un personaggio "esterno" è stata una mossa azzardata, perché porta a congetture, ipotesi, voli pindarici da parte di Ambose, voce narrante, che sembrano sgretolare la veridicità dei fatti realmente accaduti, a favore di considerazioni personali. La voce narrante ci dà, in alcuni punti, la sua versione dei fatti, questo può essere per il lettore elemento disturbante, perché sembra voler convincere chi legge dell'autenticità dei fatti.
Altro elemento dubbio è il ruolo di eroina di Martha nella rivoluzione americana, ruolo secondo me marginale. I riferimenti storici sono sporadici mai perfettamente approfonditi, ma si avverte il tentativo di dare spirito irredentista al romanzo proprio attraverso questi riferimenti.
Detto ciò, l'elemento che sana questi vizi è la scrittura: chi legge non solo per godere della storia, ma anche per immergersi nella bellezza della scrittura, può arrivare ad apprezzare comunque l'opera, una storia che è toccante, potente.
In definitiva, lo consiglio a chi vuole leggere una storia che coinvolge indubbiamente il lettore e a chi ancora vuole assaporare McGrath, avulso però dalle tensioni psicologiche che contraddistinguono le sue opere.
3/5⭐
Recensione a cura di Lena Ceglia in data 10/12/2021 sul blog lalocandadeilibri.com©
Tutti i diritti riservati ©
February 4, 2026
This is the first gothic novel I've read, specially as a historical fiction, and overall, it was a good experience. I didn't expect much from it; I was mostly intrigued because I’m interested in the human psyche. The plot twist I was hoping for didn't happen, but the actual conclusion was reasonable nonetheless. I was hoping for the narrator, Ambrose, to have a bigger character revelation—iykyk. Ambrose remained too much of a "device" to tell the story, rather than having his own explosive, identity-altering plot twist at the end.
[SPOILER: perhapsambrosetreeandharryrindpeakewasthesameperson;thesonofmarthaandharrypeake.giventhefactthatharrywaseagerandimpacienttoseeambbroseatdrogohalltotellhimhissideofthestoryaccurately.alsothewayharrycaredforambrosewhenhepassedout,andthewayhelookedathimandholdhishand.]
Martha didn't just fight physically; I also want to recognize the mental suffering she experienced, as did her father. The real battle in the book wasn't the war for American independence; it was the mental battle Martha fought to survive her father's abuse and the grim reality of 18th-century London. I want to view the psychological pain as the true weight of the story. Perhaps that makes up for my disappointment regarding how she became the heroic figure of the revolution. It does not matter that the legend is a lie, provided the suffering was not for nothing.
[SPOILER: perhapsambrosetreeandharryrindpeakewasthesameperson;thesonofmarthaandharrypeake.giventhefactthatharrywaseagerandimpacienttoseeambbroseatdrogohalltotellhimhissideofthestoryaccurately.alsothewayharrycaredforambrosewhenhepassedout,andthewayhelookedathimandholdhishand.]
Martha didn't just fight physically; I also want to recognize the mental suffering she experienced, as did her father. The real battle in the book wasn't the war for American independence; it was the mental battle Martha fought to survive her father's abuse and the grim reality of 18th-century London. I want to view the psychological pain as the true weight of the story. Perhaps that makes up for my disappointment regarding how she became the heroic figure of the revolution. It does not matter that the legend is a lie, provided the suffering was not for nothing.
May 20, 2021
How does an author tell his story? Having recently read Kazuo Ishiguro's "Klara and the Sun", I am still in awe of its simplicity. Everything gets a name early on, we understand Klara from the beginning, we are able to follow the story. And there is a story. Compare this with McGrath's "Martha Peake" which is told in a terribly convoluted way: related by an old man to a younger man who neither are related to Martha Peake and seem much more preoccupied with her father, Harry Peake. Try as I would, I simply do not understand why McGrath set up such a complicated narration. For a start, the storytelling takes place around 1800, with the events related having happened 1774-76. Why?
And so, the novel that is intermittently boring and adventurous, with a fair bit of Gothic thrown in, was in my estimation more fun for McGrath to construct and write than for me to read. I do not wish to give the plot away but the central mystery is not quite as fascinating as I think the author thought it would be. I loved his "Asylum", expected to read another psychological exploration that I would enjoy. "Martha Peake" is quite different from "Asylum" - not my cup of tea at all. And who can fathom why McGrath decided to give "Martha Peake" a subtitle: a novel of the revolution?
And so, the novel that is intermittently boring and adventurous, with a fair bit of Gothic thrown in, was in my estimation more fun for McGrath to construct and write than for me to read. I do not wish to give the plot away but the central mystery is not quite as fascinating as I think the author thought it would be. I loved his "Asylum", expected to read another psychological exploration that I would enjoy. "Martha Peake" is quite different from "Asylum" - not my cup of tea at all. And who can fathom why McGrath decided to give "Martha Peake" a subtitle: a novel of the revolution?
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