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The Angel of Highgate
“NOTHING LESS THAN THE WICKEDEST MAN IN LONDON…”
It is October 1859, and notorious philanderer Lord Geoffrey Thraxton cares for nothing except his own amusement. After humiliating an odious literary critic and surviving the resulting duel, he boasts of his contempt for mortality, and insults the attending physician. It is a mistake he will come to regret. When Thraxton becomes obsessed with a mysterious woman who appears to him one fog-shrouded night in Highgate Cemetery, he unwittingly provides the doctor with the perfect means to punish a man with no fear of death…
It is October 1859, and notorious philanderer Lord Geoffrey Thraxton cares for nothing except his own amusement. After humiliating an odious literary critic and surviving the resulting duel, he boasts of his contempt for mortality, and insults the attending physician. It is a mistake he will come to regret. When Thraxton becomes obsessed with a mysterious woman who appears to him one fog-shrouded night in Highgate Cemetery, he unwittingly provides the doctor with the perfect means to punish a man with no fear of death…
375 pages, Paperback
First published February 4, 2012
About the author
Vaughn Entwistle
19 books102 followersVaughn Entwistle is a British novelist who lives in the English spa town of Cheltenham..
For most of his life he has rattled about between England and the United States. He lived for over ten years in Seattle where, when not pursuing a day job as a writer/editor, ran a successful gargoyle sculpting business (yes, really!).
When not writing he can be found walking his Brittany pup in the English countryside exploring the many gothic manors, ancient stone circles and remains of Roman towns and forts.
To date, he has published three books in his ongoing series, the Paranormal Casebooks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring the sleuthing team of Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde, who investigate mysteries with a paranormal twist:
His stand alone novel, THE ANGEL OF HIGHGATE was shortlisted by the London-based Dracula Society as one of the best gothic novels of 2015.
He plans on publishing a number of new titles later in 2020.
For most of his life he has rattled about between England and the United States. He lived for over ten years in Seattle where, when not pursuing a day job as a writer/editor, ran a successful gargoyle sculpting business (yes, really!).
When not writing he can be found walking his Brittany pup in the English countryside exploring the many gothic manors, ancient stone circles and remains of Roman towns and forts.
To date, he has published three books in his ongoing series, the Paranormal Casebooks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring the sleuthing team of Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde, who investigate mysteries with a paranormal twist:
His stand alone novel, THE ANGEL OF HIGHGATE was shortlisted by the London-based Dracula Society as one of the best gothic novels of 2015.
He plans on publishing a number of new titles later in 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
August 9, 2017
Doing two different, and, at times, opposing, things simultaneously is challenging for even the most gifted of, um, thing doers (yes, friends, I’m well known for my eloquence). For example, it’s exceedingly difficult to run while juggling. It’s tough to pee and hang glide at the same time (mostly because, well, not enough hands). And, it’s really hard to defenestrate someone in a windowless room. I mean, really, really hard.
It’s also challenging to write a dark and twisty gothic story that features comedic buddy banter and the occasional element of slapstick. Mr. Entwistle, whose work I’ve previously gushed about, gives it a game try here, and perhaps part of the challenge is that his voice/style naturally gravitates toward the comedic elements that serve him so well in his Paranormal Casebooks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle series. Here, however, that style occasionally strikes a discordant note in what is otherwise a heavy and atmospheric tale of loss, social injustice, death, and the afterlife.
Entwistle wears Victorian England like I wear spanx (that is to say, like a second skin, though I doubt he’s been asked by national health authorities to stay out of public view when wearing Victorian England as some of us have when donning those ingenious slimming intimates), so there’s entertainment value to be derived here—just maybe not as much as the ongoing (and hopefully to be continued soon) adventures of Messrs. Doyle and Wilde.
We’ll round up from 3.5 stars.
It’s also challenging to write a dark and twisty gothic story that features comedic buddy banter and the occasional element of slapstick. Mr. Entwistle, whose work I’ve previously gushed about, gives it a game try here, and perhaps part of the challenge is that his voice/style naturally gravitates toward the comedic elements that serve him so well in his Paranormal Casebooks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle series. Here, however, that style occasionally strikes a discordant note in what is otherwise a heavy and atmospheric tale of loss, social injustice, death, and the afterlife.
Entwistle wears Victorian England like I wear spanx (that is to say, like a second skin, though I doubt he’s been asked by national health authorities to stay out of public view when wearing Victorian England as some of us have when donning those ingenious slimming intimates), so there’s entertainment value to be derived here—just maybe not as much as the ongoing (and hopefully to be continued soon) adventures of Messrs. Doyle and Wilde.
We’ll round up from 3.5 stars.
February 14, 2024
Do Angels and Wraiths Walk the Paths of Highgate Cemetery?...
ANGEL OF HIGHGATE by Vaughn Entwistle
No spoilers. 3 1/2 stars. The year was 1859, and Queen Victoria was on the throne...
Early one Sunday morning...
Lord Geoffrey Thraxton was prowling the paths of Highgate Cemetery. A heavy fog was swirling around the mausoleum...
Even at that early hour...
He was dressed formally with top hat, gloves, and walking stick. At 30 years old, Thraxton was handsome and noble...
The fog-laden air was still, and the only sounds in the cemetery were the birds in the bushes and trees...
Highgate was the most beautiful cemetery in London with its Egyptian style tombs and mausoleum...
It was a fashionable resting place for the famous and wealthy to wait for the Doom Crack of ressurection day...
He paused on the path...
He looked on the worn face of a stone angel and heard the clopping of horses
bearing a hearse. Mourners followed...
Thraxton stepped aside to let them pass. The procession stopped at the stone mausoleum...
Thraxton hid and watched...
He could see the body of a beautiful young girl lying in the glass coffin dressed in a lace shroud...
The coffin was deposited inside the tomb, and the mourners walked back down the path and left the cemetery...
Thraxton was alone now, except for the dead, so he walked toward the tomb, lifted the door latch, went inside, and closed the door...
He lifted the coffin lid...
The woman looked young, fresh, and alive. He leaned in and kissed the corpse's lips...
He climbed up onto the bier and into the coffin and had sex with her. He said: Was there ever a more lovely Lazarus?
Geoffrey Thraxton was a man unafraid of death, and he was fixated on Highgate Cemetery...
And...
... the angels and wraiths he was forever seeing walking its paths and grounds...
The first third of this novel was riveting. It was atmospheric, and I was unable to put it down.
What followed was almost like a different story and became more of a Victorian romance novel. It was too bad because the first third had a hook in me that wouldn't let go.
ANGEL OF HIGHGATE by Vaughn Entwistle
No spoilers. 3 1/2 stars. The year was 1859, and Queen Victoria was on the throne...
Early one Sunday morning...
Lord Geoffrey Thraxton was prowling the paths of Highgate Cemetery. A heavy fog was swirling around the mausoleum...
Even at that early hour...
He was dressed formally with top hat, gloves, and walking stick. At 30 years old, Thraxton was handsome and noble...
The fog-laden air was still, and the only sounds in the cemetery were the birds in the bushes and trees...
Highgate was the most beautiful cemetery in London with its Egyptian style tombs and mausoleum...
It was a fashionable resting place for the famous and wealthy to wait for the Doom Crack of ressurection day...
He paused on the path...
He looked on the worn face of a stone angel and heard the clopping of horses
bearing a hearse. Mourners followed...
Thraxton stepped aside to let them pass. The procession stopped at the stone mausoleum...
Thraxton hid and watched...
He could see the body of a beautiful young girl lying in the glass coffin dressed in a lace shroud...
The coffin was deposited inside the tomb, and the mourners walked back down the path and left the cemetery...
Thraxton was alone now, except for the dead, so he walked toward the tomb, lifted the door latch, went inside, and closed the door...
He lifted the coffin lid...
The woman looked young, fresh, and alive. He leaned in and kissed the corpse's lips...
He climbed up onto the bier and into the coffin and had sex with her. He said: Was there ever a more lovely Lazarus?
Geoffrey Thraxton was a man unafraid of death, and he was fixated on Highgate Cemetery...
And...
... the angels and wraiths he was forever seeing walking its paths and grounds...
The first third of this novel was riveting. It was atmospheric, and I was unable to put it down.
What followed was almost like a different story and became more of a Victorian romance novel. It was too bad because the first third had a hook in me that wouldn't let go.
Read
July 25, 2013I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to Victoriana devotees, who should feel free to take a gamble - this is money well spent. Lord Thraxton is a splendid character to spend time with. He's something of a rogueish gentleman, an intriguing hedonist who manages to move in the highest and lowest circles of society. I was expecting a little of the Flashman about him but he's much less repellant (and comedic) than that.
I agree with many of Megan's positive comments. Not entirely sure about the Dickens comparison though. Stylewise, I found this author's style to be far easier to digest. In fact I fairly romped through this book at an terrific rate, lapping up every fog-laden page. Highly atmospheric and well paced, Angel of Highgate is a very well balanced mixture of several genres. There are elements of crime, adventure, horror, period drama and romance. It's ambitious and could easily have felt very disjointed. Instead the story flows artfully and without any jarring of mood/tone.
I hope this doesn't in any way offend the purists but I challenge any reader to not think to themselves, "This would make a great movie." Mental pictures of characters, settings and scenes are conjured so easily, I think I finished the book feeling like I'd just read a splendid fin de siecle graphic novel. Alan Moore would have relished tackling Thraxton's tale I'm sure!
I'm certainly looking forward to the next Entwistle novel, given my experience with Angel.
I agree with many of Megan's positive comments. Not entirely sure about the Dickens comparison though. Stylewise, I found this author's style to be far easier to digest. In fact I fairly romped through this book at an terrific rate, lapping up every fog-laden page. Highly atmospheric and well paced, Angel of Highgate is a very well balanced mixture of several genres. There are elements of crime, adventure, horror, period drama and romance. It's ambitious and could easily have felt very disjointed. Instead the story flows artfully and without any jarring of mood/tone.
I hope this doesn't in any way offend the purists but I challenge any reader to not think to themselves, "This would make a great movie." Mental pictures of characters, settings and scenes are conjured so easily, I think I finished the book feeling like I'd just read a splendid fin de siecle graphic novel. Alan Moore would have relished tackling Thraxton's tale I'm sure!
I'm certainly looking forward to the next Entwistle novel, given my experience with Angel.
February 17, 2016
Entwistle is simply a fabulous writer. He plays with language subtly and intelligently, creates unforgettable and unique characters and suspenseful and moving plots. I couldn't put the book down. I can't recommend his books enough, and intend to read anything this man writes in the future.
December 3, 2020
YES for a haunting Victorian era wistful romance that wasn't too over the top. A great quick read on a dark and stormy night.
January 9, 2022
This book was nothing like I thought it would be. I almost didn't finish reading the first chapter. If you are thinking of quitting because of the first chapter, well, continue. It's not what you think.
Although I think the author has talent, a great part of the book has quite a bit of purple prose. I became lost in that, and not in a good way.
In addition, as an HSP with violence in my past, this book was NOT a good fit for me. I admit I am too sensitive to violence and cruelty in stories like this and that it likely won't bother the majority of people, but I can't recommend this book to people with sensitivity towards it like I do. I just had to skip over the worst of it.
So all in all a great story teller, but definitely not the book for me, and the reason I usually stick to comedy, biography and regency romance. In fact I think I'll start one right now.
Although I think the author has talent, a great part of the book has quite a bit of purple prose. I became lost in that, and not in a good way.
In addition, as an HSP with violence in my past, this book was NOT a good fit for me. I admit I am too sensitive to violence and cruelty in stories like this and that it likely won't bother the majority of people, but I can't recommend this book to people with sensitivity towards it like I do. I just had to skip over the worst of it.
So all in all a great story teller, but definitely not the book for me, and the reason I usually stick to comedy, biography and regency romance. In fact I think I'll start one right now.
May 14, 2023
TW: Animal abuse
Many moons ago, I started out in the publishing world by writing steampunk. Like other authors, I submerged myself in the era and I think that most of us are accepting that our glamourised version of the Victorian era is one that is extremely sanitised.
This book started out great. I was able to overlook the extremely unnecessary opening scene (male writers: graphic sex scenes aren’t always necessary, especially on page one. On that note, if you must write sex scenes, please go and read some written by female authors because it was, how do I put it? Ungratifying. Might have been what you were going for but please. If you can hear what sounds like marbles rolling across a marble floor - that's how hard I'm rolling my eyes right now).
I Did Not Finish at 200 pages and I’m surprised that I made it that far. The first quarter of the book was, unglamorous sex scenes aside, beautifully written and had a lot of promise. However, it was downhill from there on in. I’m starting to see a pattern with fiction books and that may be because they’re not living up to the image that I have in my head.
Why did I DNF? As well as unnecessary sex scenes there were a handful of unnecessary violent scenes which did nothing to aid the plot. The kicker? A nearly chapter long description of animal abuse in order to build on a character’s back story. Really? Was that needed? What is it with editors these days? The ones I know would have got half a page into that scene and asked if it could be condensed or even erased entirely. As I said, I know that we have a glamourised image of the Victorian era in our heads and that animal abuse is regularly reported in the news. But I’m reading to relax and be entertained, not to slam a book shut in absolute disgust and start drafting a complaint to the publishers (this book was originally published in 2015 and republished in 2020). That scene, especially the length it was, wasn’t needed and did little to drive the plot (it was part of a back story for a side character who I have no clue as to their role in the book because I refuse to finish it). And that scene is presided by a nearly chapter length torture scene which, again, wasn’t needed. I can’t even inject any humour into this review because I’m absolutely horrified at what I read. And not in the “Oh, I didn’t expect that” kind of horrified. This is the “We’re still allowing things like this to be published?” horrified. What century are we in? I suppose you could see the previous point on male writers and sex scenes.
The main character needed a little more depth other than being a London dandy who “wanted to go out with a bang” by spending all of his money on a hedonistic lifestyle. You do start to see his perspective shift in the latter half of the book.
Two stars because the descriptions of London and, especially Highgate, were well done.
I’ve got to give up on reading fiction. So glad that my latest book purchases are mostly non-fiction.
Many moons ago, I started out in the publishing world by writing steampunk. Like other authors, I submerged myself in the era and I think that most of us are accepting that our glamourised version of the Victorian era is one that is extremely sanitised.
This book started out great. I was able to overlook the extremely unnecessary opening scene (male writers: graphic sex scenes aren’t always necessary, especially on page one. On that note, if you must write sex scenes, please go and read some written by female authors because it was, how do I put it? Ungratifying. Might have been what you were going for but please. If you can hear what sounds like marbles rolling across a marble floor - that's how hard I'm rolling my eyes right now).
I Did Not Finish at 200 pages and I’m surprised that I made it that far. The first quarter of the book was, unglamorous sex scenes aside, beautifully written and had a lot of promise. However, it was downhill from there on in. I’m starting to see a pattern with fiction books and that may be because they’re not living up to the image that I have in my head.
Why did I DNF? As well as unnecessary sex scenes there were a handful of unnecessary violent scenes which did nothing to aid the plot. The kicker? A nearly chapter long description of animal abuse in order to build on a character’s back story. Really? Was that needed? What is it with editors these days? The ones I know would have got half a page into that scene and asked if it could be condensed or even erased entirely. As I said, I know that we have a glamourised image of the Victorian era in our heads and that animal abuse is regularly reported in the news. But I’m reading to relax and be entertained, not to slam a book shut in absolute disgust and start drafting a complaint to the publishers (this book was originally published in 2015 and republished in 2020). That scene, especially the length it was, wasn’t needed and did little to drive the plot (it was part of a back story for a side character who I have no clue as to their role in the book because I refuse to finish it). And that scene is presided by a nearly chapter length torture scene which, again, wasn’t needed. I can’t even inject any humour into this review because I’m absolutely horrified at what I read. And not in the “Oh, I didn’t expect that” kind of horrified. This is the “We’re still allowing things like this to be published?” horrified. What century are we in? I suppose you could see the previous point on male writers and sex scenes.
The main character needed a little more depth other than being a London dandy who “wanted to go out with a bang” by spending all of his money on a hedonistic lifestyle. You do start to see his perspective shift in the latter half of the book.
Two stars because the descriptions of London and, especially Highgate, were well done.
I’ve got to give up on reading fiction. So glad that my latest book purchases are mostly non-fiction.
December 20, 2015
Originally published at Risingshadow.
As many readers know, Victorian fiction has a long-standing tradition in England and many Victorian novels have been written over the years. Vaughn Entwistle's The Angel of Highgate is a proud and full-blooded member of this literary genre, because it's a highly enjoyable Victorian mystery novel with a supernatural twist. It's something a bit different yet familiar, and it will please readers who enjoy reading mystery stories.
The Angel of Highgate is a prequel to the author's critically acclaimed The Revenant of Thraxton Hall, which is the first novel of The Paranormal Casebooks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Although this novel is a prequel, it can be read as a standalone novel.
Vaughn Entwistle delivers an excellent story that is rich with atmosphere and insight into Victorian way of life. His vivid descriptions of different places and people evoke powerful images of Victorian era. When you read this novel, you'll find yourself fully immersed in the story, because it leads you on a fascinating journey into Victorian London that is inhabited by lords, ladies, prostitutes and mobsmen and where hideous and sinister things may happen to people.
The Angel of Highgate has a charmingly dark and twisted edge to it that separates it from many other Victorian novels. Its dark and twisted elements will appeal to many readers who are intrigued by sinister happenings, because the author has done his best to create a thrilling reading experience.
Along with Mark A. Latham's The Lazarus Gate (Titan Books, September 2015), The Angel of Highgate is one of the best new Victorian novels. It's also one of the most enjoyable novels of the year, because the story flows effortlessly from start to finish and becomes increasingly interesting with each new chapter.
Here's information about the story:
In the beginning, Lord Geoffrey Thraxton is walking through Highgate Cemetery on an early Sunday morning in October, 1859. He witnesses a funeral and enters a mausoleum where he has an interesting and kinky sexual encounter. A bit later, Lord Thraxton meets August Skinner, a literary critic, who criticises his poetry book in a harsh way. He insults the man and is challenged to a duel. He survives the duel and wounds his opponent by shooting him in a tender place. When he talks with the attending doctor, Silas Garrette, he boasts of his contempt for mortality and insults the doctor. Soon Lord Thraxton falls in love with the mysterious woman who haunts Highgate Cemetery. His falling in love gives Silas Garrette excellent means to punish him...
Vaughn Entwistle writes passionately about the characters and the happenings. He has created a strong story that both entertains and thrills his readers. The story contains a few provocative and also thought-provoking elements that will delight readers who want something extraordinary from their fiction.
Here are a few words about some of the characters:
- Lord Geoffrey Thraxton is a fascinatingly notorious philanderer and womaniser. He has a soiled reputation and his manners leave a lot to be desired. He concentrates on amusing himself and doesn't pay much attention to others and their opinions. He's rich and he uses his money to satisfy his own needs and personal passions. Although he's not a very nice character, he's an interesting and strangely loveable rogue.
- Algernon 'Algy' Hyde-Davies is Lord Thraxton's friend. He often has to apologise for his friend's rash behaviour. He does his best to prevent his friend from insulting and harming others, but he seldom succeeds in it due to his friend's impulsive nature.
- Dr. Silas Garrett is a sociopathic man who has peculiar and macabre secrets of his own that he keeps hidden from others. He's not an ordinary kind of a doctor, because his methods of treating patients are twisted.
- Aurelia is the object of Lord Thraxton's affection. She has an interesting life, because she has to live differently than others.
The author has created good backgrounds for his characters and he gradually reveals their secrets. His characters are wonderfully drawn and the dialogue is often colourful and entertaining.
The author writes well about the friendship between Algernon and Lord Thraxton, because they share a few similar kinds of interests, but are different from each other. The author also writes well about what kind of feelings Lord Thraxton has for Aurelia, because he becomes deeply infatuated by her.
It's great that the author writes about how the doctor gets corpses for his studies. I enjoyed reading about how the local mobsmen provided him with fresh corpses by digging them up at the cemetery. This reminded me a bit of the British black comedy Burke & Hare (2010).
I also enjoyed reading about Algernon's job as the head botanist at the Kew Gardens. His job was to catalogue and cultivate new and unknown species of flora that arrived each day. Because I've been interested in botany for a long time, it was interesting for me to read about these things.
One of the best things about The Angel of Highgate is that the author doesn't shy away from writing how harsh life can be to those who are poor and have to live on the streets. He writes unflinchingly about how prostitutes and mobsmen survive in Victorian London and what kind of things they do to earn money. Life is not easy and pretty for them, but they've learned to cope and get by without help from others.
It's nice that the author has added plenty of genuinely funny and witty humour to the story. At times the humour is deliciously dark and borders on the line of being pitch black, which is great. The humorous elements satisfyingly complement the twisted elements of the story. If you like witty humour, you'll find a lot to enjoy in this novel, because the author has a good sense of humour and he manages to surprise his readers a few times.
Based on this novel, I can say that Vaughn Entwistle is a talented author who has his own writing style and who knows how to write about Victorian way of life in a belieavable manner. I hadn't read anything by him prior to reading this novel, but I will definitely take a look at his other novels, because I loved this novel.
Vaughn Entwistle's The Angel of Highgate is everything I expect from Victorian fiction and more, because it's an enjoyable story with intriguingly macabre elements. It's a first-rate mystery story with an emphasis on entertainment and good storytelling. It can be recommended to readers who love entertaining fiction and are willing to immerse themselves into a gripping story.
My final words are:
This novel is brilliant entertainment - more, please!
As many readers know, Victorian fiction has a long-standing tradition in England and many Victorian novels have been written over the years. Vaughn Entwistle's The Angel of Highgate is a proud and full-blooded member of this literary genre, because it's a highly enjoyable Victorian mystery novel with a supernatural twist. It's something a bit different yet familiar, and it will please readers who enjoy reading mystery stories.
The Angel of Highgate is a prequel to the author's critically acclaimed The Revenant of Thraxton Hall, which is the first novel of The Paranormal Casebooks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Although this novel is a prequel, it can be read as a standalone novel.
Vaughn Entwistle delivers an excellent story that is rich with atmosphere and insight into Victorian way of life. His vivid descriptions of different places and people evoke powerful images of Victorian era. When you read this novel, you'll find yourself fully immersed in the story, because it leads you on a fascinating journey into Victorian London that is inhabited by lords, ladies, prostitutes and mobsmen and where hideous and sinister things may happen to people.
The Angel of Highgate has a charmingly dark and twisted edge to it that separates it from many other Victorian novels. Its dark and twisted elements will appeal to many readers who are intrigued by sinister happenings, because the author has done his best to create a thrilling reading experience.
Along with Mark A. Latham's The Lazarus Gate (Titan Books, September 2015), The Angel of Highgate is one of the best new Victorian novels. It's also one of the most enjoyable novels of the year, because the story flows effortlessly from start to finish and becomes increasingly interesting with each new chapter.
Here's information about the story:
In the beginning, Lord Geoffrey Thraxton is walking through Highgate Cemetery on an early Sunday morning in October, 1859. He witnesses a funeral and enters a mausoleum where he has an interesting and kinky sexual encounter. A bit later, Lord Thraxton meets August Skinner, a literary critic, who criticises his poetry book in a harsh way. He insults the man and is challenged to a duel. He survives the duel and wounds his opponent by shooting him in a tender place. When he talks with the attending doctor, Silas Garrette, he boasts of his contempt for mortality and insults the doctor. Soon Lord Thraxton falls in love with the mysterious woman who haunts Highgate Cemetery. His falling in love gives Silas Garrette excellent means to punish him...
Vaughn Entwistle writes passionately about the characters and the happenings. He has created a strong story that both entertains and thrills his readers. The story contains a few provocative and also thought-provoking elements that will delight readers who want something extraordinary from their fiction.
Here are a few words about some of the characters:
- Lord Geoffrey Thraxton is a fascinatingly notorious philanderer and womaniser. He has a soiled reputation and his manners leave a lot to be desired. He concentrates on amusing himself and doesn't pay much attention to others and their opinions. He's rich and he uses his money to satisfy his own needs and personal passions. Although he's not a very nice character, he's an interesting and strangely loveable rogue.
- Algernon 'Algy' Hyde-Davies is Lord Thraxton's friend. He often has to apologise for his friend's rash behaviour. He does his best to prevent his friend from insulting and harming others, but he seldom succeeds in it due to his friend's impulsive nature.
- Dr. Silas Garrett is a sociopathic man who has peculiar and macabre secrets of his own that he keeps hidden from others. He's not an ordinary kind of a doctor, because his methods of treating patients are twisted.
- Aurelia is the object of Lord Thraxton's affection. She has an interesting life, because she has to live differently than others.
The author has created good backgrounds for his characters and he gradually reveals their secrets. His characters are wonderfully drawn and the dialogue is often colourful and entertaining.
The author writes well about the friendship between Algernon and Lord Thraxton, because they share a few similar kinds of interests, but are different from each other. The author also writes well about what kind of feelings Lord Thraxton has for Aurelia, because he becomes deeply infatuated by her.
It's great that the author writes about how the doctor gets corpses for his studies. I enjoyed reading about how the local mobsmen provided him with fresh corpses by digging them up at the cemetery. This reminded me a bit of the British black comedy Burke & Hare (2010).
I also enjoyed reading about Algernon's job as the head botanist at the Kew Gardens. His job was to catalogue and cultivate new and unknown species of flora that arrived each day. Because I've been interested in botany for a long time, it was interesting for me to read about these things.
One of the best things about The Angel of Highgate is that the author doesn't shy away from writing how harsh life can be to those who are poor and have to live on the streets. He writes unflinchingly about how prostitutes and mobsmen survive in Victorian London and what kind of things they do to earn money. Life is not easy and pretty for them, but they've learned to cope and get by without help from others.
It's nice that the author has added plenty of genuinely funny and witty humour to the story. At times the humour is deliciously dark and borders on the line of being pitch black, which is great. The humorous elements satisfyingly complement the twisted elements of the story. If you like witty humour, you'll find a lot to enjoy in this novel, because the author has a good sense of humour and he manages to surprise his readers a few times.
Based on this novel, I can say that Vaughn Entwistle is a talented author who has his own writing style and who knows how to write about Victorian way of life in a belieavable manner. I hadn't read anything by him prior to reading this novel, but I will definitely take a look at his other novels, because I loved this novel.
Vaughn Entwistle's The Angel of Highgate is everything I expect from Victorian fiction and more, because it's an enjoyable story with intriguingly macabre elements. It's a first-rate mystery story with an emphasis on entertainment and good storytelling. It can be recommended to readers who love entertaining fiction and are willing to immerse themselves into a gripping story.
My final words are:
This novel is brilliant entertainment - more, please!
July 15, 2012
This is an accomplished Victorian thriller, and Entwistle writes eloquently, with a descriptive, atmospheric style reminiscent of Dickens, one that puts you right in the heart of London in the 19th Century. Dealing with grave-robbers, strange doctors, spirtualists, unsavory characters and all things macabre, the story begins with a bang and never slows. It follows the exploits of the Byronesque main character, Geoffrey Thraxton, a man with seemingly no fear of death because he has nothing to lose, and his best friend, Algernon Hyde-Davies, a botanist at the Kew Gardens. Entwistle's research is expertly woven throughout, and though he covers a lot of ground here, those with a fascination for all things Victorian will very much enjoy all the places he goes.
July 19, 2016
An enjoyable, atmospheric read, but be a bit wary. Although the writing is pretty, and the characters and setting well drawn, the story here is just a tad on the melodramatic side. It works, because it feels organic to the genre. And this would probably not make a bad movie. But when the story leans into the melodrama in dialogue or in plotting, it can get just a bit cloying. Also be warned that the climax isn't quite everything it could be. There's simultaneously a lack of explanation as to how our beloved characters get to where they are, and a bit of a bow tying contrivance to wrap things up as the story dips into a new genre for the first time in the last few pages. And to be clear, this is a Victorian romance at its heart, not a supernatural thriller by any means.
November 23, 2016
Once I got past the vulgarities and dark subject matter of this book it was a spirited and interesting read. I'm not a big fan of depravity though, so I doubt I would recommend it.
June 28, 2018
One of the professional reviews reads 'a magnificently written, provocative novel' and I must say the opening chapter is very provocative! It leaves you in no doubt at all at Lord Geoffrey Thraxton is, if not mad, then very definitely bad and dangerous to know! Money means nothing to him with a sizeable bank balance and estate to call upon and he buys the best hedonistic living he can from drink to pleasures of the flesh, opiates and even dueling. Quite how his best friend, Algy Hyde-Davies, ever puts up with his friend's proclivities and behaviour is anyone's guess but every hero (or anti-hero) needs his foil.
Thraxton is captured by the almost dreamlike encounter in Highgate Cemetary with a beautiful young woman who haunts his dreams. He vows to track her down, though when he does finally discover she is no ghost but a flesh and blood young woman, he is nearly killed by body snatchers for his troubles.
Add to this plot the ghostly young woman, Aurelia, has secrets of her own, a widow at a seance capturing Hyde-Davies' eye, a revenge seeking columnist and, on top of all this, a very strange doctor with some serious issues and it's a non-stop gallop to the finish via Highgate Cemetary, the British Museum Egyptian Room, the West End of London, and the Rookeries of Seven Dials at it most dangerous. The final encounter in Cremorne Pleasure Gardens (note to fans of Lord Peter Wimsey - yes, I went 'of course!!' too...) is particularly nailbiting.
A library book, not quite what I expected, but I enjoyed it.
Back to the library this weekend.
Thraxton is captured by the almost dreamlike encounter in Highgate Cemetary with a beautiful young woman who haunts his dreams. He vows to track her down, though when he does finally discover she is no ghost but a flesh and blood young woman, he is nearly killed by body snatchers for his troubles.
Add to this plot the ghostly young woman, Aurelia, has secrets of her own, a widow at a seance capturing Hyde-Davies' eye, a revenge seeking columnist and, on top of all this, a very strange doctor with some serious issues and it's a non-stop gallop to the finish via Highgate Cemetary, the British Museum Egyptian Room, the West End of London, and the Rookeries of Seven Dials at it most dangerous. The final encounter in Cremorne Pleasure Gardens (note to fans of Lord Peter Wimsey - yes, I went 'of course!!' too...) is particularly nailbiting.
A library book, not quite what I expected, but I enjoyed it.
Back to the library this weekend.
June 13, 2025
THE ANGEL OF HIGHGATE by VAUGN ENTWISTLE takes place in foggy sooty 1860's London. Lord Geoffrey Thraxton and his lifelong sidekick Algernon cavort with all sorts, the high and mighty and the lowest of the low. We meet Geoff at Highgate Cemetary as he is trying to write a few lines of poetry while sitting on a tabled tomb.Looking up, he spies a wisp in the air or perhaps it's a spirit walking the cemetary at midnight? And so the game is afoot. He won't stop chasing it until he knows for sure.
London is inhabited by all sorts: ruffians, thieves, waifs, street urchins, cutthroats, whores, gentry and working stiffs and the Lord is no stranger to any of them. Life is meant to be lived come hell or high water while death waits in the wings. Perhaps his wealth has spoiled him? What will it take for him to see the real world, an angel maybe.
The Angel of Highgate is not for the faint of heart for you will encounter the dredges of society. Gird yourself as you read the first page and continue on an unstoppable adventure of 1860's London. I read the book in four days. I must say the editing was superb. I can't wait to read Entwistle's other books. I'm hooked.
London is inhabited by all sorts: ruffians, thieves, waifs, street urchins, cutthroats, whores, gentry and working stiffs and the Lord is no stranger to any of them. Life is meant to be lived come hell or high water while death waits in the wings. Perhaps his wealth has spoiled him? What will it take for him to see the real world, an angel maybe.
The Angel of Highgate is not for the faint of heart for you will encounter the dredges of society. Gird yourself as you read the first page and continue on an unstoppable adventure of 1860's London. I read the book in four days. I must say the editing was superb. I can't wait to read Entwistle's other books. I'm hooked.
February 5, 2023
This was pretty interesting and never boring. I like Dr. Silas Garrette and his jars of children best of all. He's pretty unique and sadistic. I really don't see the point of main character Geoffrey's best friend Algernon being in here other than to help him fight off mobsters during one scene. I think the 'angel' Aurelia is pretty bland and found her relationship with Geoffrey to be very underdeveloped and rushed. Two kidnappings involving her were too much. I like the cast of mobsters and what a motley crew they were. The action involving them and Geffrey and Algernon was too over the top though.
October 7, 2019
I'd never read Victorian Era fiction before this book. My wife picked it up and loved it. I read it after her. Since reading it, we've also bought Entwistle's other two novels and have loved them. This story is my personal favorite. The author draws you into the dark, foggy, and dangerous streets of old England of the late 1800's. The story was creepy from the very beginning and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I wasn't so sure I liked the morbid subject matter in the beginning, but once I spent a half hour ingesting the story, I couldn't put it down.
I think readers sometimes get into a rut reading the same kinds of books all the time. This story was so different and so well told that I can't recommend it enough. Because of Entwistle's descriptive skills, you will find yourself immersed into another time and place, and it is so fun. Not to ruin the ending, as it is something you won't expect. It was a very deep ending and despite the creepiness of the story, I actually shed a tear. This is a sexy, supernatural, creepy horror love story.
Buy it now..........it's a whole lot of fun. A++
I think readers sometimes get into a rut reading the same kinds of books all the time. This story was so different and so well told that I can't recommend it enough. Because of Entwistle's descriptive skills, you will find yourself immersed into another time and place, and it is so fun. Not to ruin the ending, as it is something you won't expect. It was a very deep ending and despite the creepiness of the story, I actually shed a tear. This is a sexy, supernatural, creepy horror love story.
Buy it now..........it's a whole lot of fun. A++
December 2, 2019
Just, ugh. This was the first book in 10 years that warranted me breaking my self imposed “finish every book you start” rule. I’ve given it two stars rather than one, because the initial plot was interesting, and after a wholly gratuitous and unnecessary opening scene, the first few chapters actually showed some promise. Unfortunately, the story drove itself off a cliff soon after. The characters became largely one-dimensional and uninteresting, and the plot devolved clumsily into stereotypical gothic tropes. I ultimately decided to only briefly skim through the last several chapters, and was happy I didn’t waste any more time trying to make it through this hot mess of a book.
July 5, 2026
This makes the 6th Entwistle book I've devoured, having consumed the 5 Wilde/Doyle adventures.
Where to start? This has a bit of everything--Dickensian, bit of Hawthorne, very reminiscent of one of my favorite stories, "Rappucini's Daughter"--plus horror, ghosts, villainy, romance, adventure, and beautiful writing.
The villains are depraved--there is dark and ugly here, but also humor, romance, mystery, intrigue... a great STORY.
Many books, I can read and then release back to the wild. These, I may very well read again.
Will be hunting up another Entwistle offering soon.
Where to start? This has a bit of everything--Dickensian, bit of Hawthorne, very reminiscent of one of my favorite stories, "Rappucini's Daughter"--plus horror, ghosts, villainy, romance, adventure, and beautiful writing.
The villains are depraved--there is dark and ugly here, but also humor, romance, mystery, intrigue... a great STORY.
Many books, I can read and then release back to the wild. These, I may very well read again.
Will be hunting up another Entwistle offering soon.
April 9, 2019
Shades of Conan Doyle, Poe, and Dickens in a rousing, sometimes action-packed romp. Lots of high drama (not necessarily all in a good way, so maybe melodrama), some fantasy, some gruesomeness from some very shady characters, some extremely coincidental occurrences....you name it, its probably here. A quick, smooth read tho and except for some of the action sequences that went on a bit, and which usually lose me anyway, it was worth a read.
July 12, 2020
After a fairly shocking first scene I wasn't sure what to make of this! But once that was quickly resolved The Angel of Highgate settled into a very readable homage to all things Victorian London. The rookeries of the Seven Dials, Dickensian characters, the eerie yellow fog of gaslights and the highlight of course the gothic and alluring Highgate Cemetery.
June 5, 2017
This book was magnificently written and so detailed. The story line is amusing, gruesome and romantic!! I loved it.
April 2, 2019
This is probably enough.
November 17, 2021
Not my thing. The writing was well done, but I was not the biggest fan of the main character.
March 8, 2022
Recommended
April 27, 2024
I really enjoy Vaughn Entwistle's books: good writing, good characters, lots of suspense, but this one was a little gory for me.
December 4, 2015
Thank you Titan Books for sending me this in exchange for an honest review
So when I first started reading "The Angel of Highgate" I was instatly taken by it. I can't put my finger on it but I was hooked to this story from chapter one. There was just something special that sucked me into the world of Lord Geoffrey Thraxton. The book is set in 1859 and whilst I was reading I felt like I was transported back in time and was walking side by side with Lord Thraxton. I don't want to spoil it for people who intend to read it so I won't say alot about the plot except that it is so well thought out and I actually found there was a meaning behind the story. It became so real for me and it just encouraged me even more to continue reading and I ended up finishing it within a day. I loved how the story developed and how we say Lord Thraxton change into a decent person who you cant help but end up liking, because when I first started reading I wasnt sure wether or not I was going to end up liking and by the end of the story he was my favourite character. I liked most of the main characters including Lord Thraxton and Algermon. Algermon was such a great character and friend to Thraxton, no matter what Thraxton did good or bad, Algermon was there to help out when needed. I also fell in love with thr heroine of the story who happens to be one of the main characters love interest. I think she is such a brave woman to cope with the struggles she faces. What added even more to the story was Vaughn Entwistle's writing. It was just pure brilliance that draws you in from page one. I am now a huge fan of Vaughn Entwistle and want to read more of his work.
You can find this review along with an interview with the authour at book senses.wordpress.com
So when I first started reading "The Angel of Highgate" I was instatly taken by it. I can't put my finger on it but I was hooked to this story from chapter one. There was just something special that sucked me into the world of Lord Geoffrey Thraxton. The book is set in 1859 and whilst I was reading I felt like I was transported back in time and was walking side by side with Lord Thraxton. I don't want to spoil it for people who intend to read it so I won't say alot about the plot except that it is so well thought out and I actually found there was a meaning behind the story. It became so real for me and it just encouraged me even more to continue reading and I ended up finishing it within a day. I loved how the story developed and how we say Lord Thraxton change into a decent person who you cant help but end up liking, because when I first started reading I wasnt sure wether or not I was going to end up liking and by the end of the story he was my favourite character. I liked most of the main characters including Lord Thraxton and Algermon. Algermon was such a great character and friend to Thraxton, no matter what Thraxton did good or bad, Algermon was there to help out when needed. I also fell in love with thr heroine of the story who happens to be one of the main characters love interest. I think she is such a brave woman to cope with the struggles she faces. What added even more to the story was Vaughn Entwistle's writing. It was just pure brilliance that draws you in from page one. I am now a huge fan of Vaughn Entwistle and want to read more of his work.
You can find this review along with an interview with the authour at book senses.wordpress.com
February 21, 2016
This book started off well but went downhill about half way through. Notorious society take, Lord Geoffrey Thraxton hangs out in Highgate Cemetery to write bad poetry. There he sees an apparition dressed all in black that intrigues him. He becomes obsessed with her and one night drags his friend, Algernon, with him to find her. He gets attacked by some gave robbers and she appears to him and he is instantly in love.
Later he finds out she is the daughter of a man who works for Algernon. He climbs onto a her roof to meet her in her greenhouse and they fall in love. She later meets him at the cemetery and walks him through Whitechapel where she gives her pocket money to the poor and Thraxton has an epiphany. Oh and she suffers from porphyria so she can't have a normal life.
Add into the mix a crazy doctor who collects the corpses of deformed babies and calls them his "children" even hearing them speak to him and what can I say? I have no idea how the books ends because as soon as the porphyria came into it I thought "enough already" and threw in the towel.
The writing was smooth and flowing but the characters were ridiculous and the story got progressively more so the further I got in. I have too many books I want to read to waste my time with this silliness.
Later he finds out she is the daughter of a man who works for Algernon. He climbs onto a her roof to meet her in her greenhouse and they fall in love. She later meets him at the cemetery and walks him through Whitechapel where she gives her pocket money to the poor and Thraxton has an epiphany. Oh and she suffers from porphyria so she can't have a normal life.
Add into the mix a crazy doctor who collects the corpses of deformed babies and calls them his "children" even hearing them speak to him and what can I say? I have no idea how the books ends because as soon as the porphyria came into it I thought "enough already" and threw in the towel.
The writing was smooth and flowing but the characters were ridiculous and the story got progressively more so the further I got in. I have too many books I want to read to waste my time with this silliness.
February 26, 2016
Es la primera novela que leo con un tema paranormal-Regencia-misterio-gótico y quizá se le podrían añadir más, es difícil de calificar en pocas palabras. He de confesar que, sobre todo al principio, he sentido la tentación de dejarlo. A ratos me ha parecido morbosa, violenta, deprimente... pero no he podido dejar de seguir adelante. ¿Y ahora que la he terminado? No sé realmente qué decir. ¿Me ha gustado? Sí, pero me alegro de haber terminado. ¿Volvería a leer algo semejante o del mismo autor? Nunca digas nunca jamás, pero me inclino por el no. No quiero que nadie piense que el fallo está en el libro, sino más bien en quien lo ha leído. Está muy bien escrito, perfectamente construido aunque en algún momento me ha parecido que la trama se forzaba un pelo para encajar, y sin duda mantiene el interés hasta el final. Pero, como dicen los angloparlantes, no es mi cup of tea, no encaja con mis gustos. Ahora, eso sí, para quien disfrute con este tipo de historias, recomendable al cien por cien.
February 16, 2016
This is the third book from Mr. Entwistle, and I have thoroughly enjoyed all of them. The author knows how to write about friendship. In his Doyle/Wilde stories, the friendship between the two notables in literature is wonderful and really makes his stories a pleasure to read. In "Angel of Highgate" he writes of a friendship between Thraxton and Algernon that touched my heart. When Algernon inquires of Thraxton "are we still friends?" Thraxton answers: "Forever". Thraxton's love for Aurelia was almost too beautiful for me, and the end when the author describes Thraxton dancing with Aurelia made me cry--something I was not prepared for. It was just too sweet and lovely. I doubt that I will forget this story.
Now then, with all that said, how the hell did they survive the balloon crash? No human can crash to earth from those heights and survive! Please, someone, explain this phenomenon to me.
Now then, with all that said, how the hell did they survive the balloon crash? No human can crash to earth from those heights and survive! Please, someone, explain this phenomenon to me.
January 18, 2014
Entwistle's prose is exquisite and poetic. His descriptions of Victorian London absorbed me, and I didn't want to leave. A thriller, a romance, a mystery, and at many times humorous, the story continued to surprise and amaze me. I enjoy reading books that teach me something new and Angel of Highgate delivered many interesting, little-known bits of history and science that the author expertly intertwined in his characters and plot. I cannot wait for more books from this imaginative and skillful author.
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