Belladonna

Alfred Swain #1

by Donald Serrell Thomas

The man the world knew as Lewis Carroll, author of the adventures of Alice, was known to his colleagues in the Christ Church Common Room as the Reverend C. L. Dodgson, a middle-aged Oxford don. His hobby was photography, especially of pubescent girls 'in their favourite dress of nothing to wear'. When evidence of the Reverend's pastime falls into the hands of Charles Augustus Howell, the infamous Victorian blackmailer, and a murder victim is fished out of the Isis, Inspector Swain is called to investigate the case that casts the shadow of doom over Dodgson

316 pages, Hardcover

First published November 17, 1983

About the author

aka Francis Selwyn

Donald Serrell Thomas is an English author of (primarily) Victorian-era historical, crime and detective fiction, as well as books on factual crime and criminals, in particular several academic books on the history of crime in London. He has written a number of biographies, two volumes of poetry, and has also edited volumes of poetry by John Dryden and the Pre-Raphaelites.

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

From my book journal in 1997:

Charles Dodgson, the Victorian photographer, has a favorite model named Jane Ashimole. When he is blackmailed with pictures of nude young Jane and him embracing, Dodgson refuses to meet Dicky Tiptoe. Tiptoe is found dead along the river the next day with a picture of naked Jane changing along the opposite bank. The main suspects are: Dodgson, who walked along the river earlier that night and has no alibi; Tiptoe's partner Howell, who fought with him publicly earlier; and Mrs. Ashimole's border and enemy of Dodgson, Thomas Godwin.