Wirral Libraries Bookbuzz discussion

Victim or Villain? Mad or a Muderer?

I loved the dark, mysterious atmosphere of this book. From the “curse” of Ruth’s sewing, that has roots in ancient mythology, to the modern Victorian science of Dorothea’s phrenology, two differing lives drawn together by a strange connectivity.

The two main characters are so similar in many ways, the loss of a mother, a somewhat remote father, but also they are so very different in terms of their station in life and life experiences. The outcome for each seems to be written before it begins, until the story unfurls and other endings can be seen as having been a possibility for both, if different decisions were made or different actions taken.

Dorothea’s possible future with her beau from a lower class is prophesied in Ruth’s mother, a miserable and undeserved end. Ruth’s mother trying to provide her a better future, and even Ruth’s skill with the needle, could have seen her surviving and thriving if it were not for a twist of fate.

I found myself not particularly liking Dorothea to begin with, who seemed to see Ruth as an experiment not a person, but when things were disclosed, later in the book, I felt myself rooting for her. Similarly with Kate, a very dislikeable character until almost the end, I felt the same blow of injustice that Ruth felt on her behalf.

The whole social structure , the lack of justice for the poor, magnified by the low standing of women in society. Women whose lives were under the control of men, as shown in Captain Metyard’s continuing control of his family from beyond the grave, and Billy’s manipulation of the females around him.

When I think back on the book it is the females that stand out. Ruth, and her mother’s sacrifice to keep her safe. Dorothea and Lady Morton’s attempt to protect her. Poor Mim fighting for her own life. Nelly, Daisy and Ivy, taking the path of least resistance, and even participating in cruelty, to survive. In this way I found them very similar to Kate, whose story unfolds later in the book, a victim of men, even through her own mother, Mrs Metyard. I found myself pitying Kate more than any other of the characters, including Ruth.

The men in comparison seem half drawn, not padded out. Even Billy, who has a back story, seems to fade next to the well painted characters of these women. The most interesting male character for me is Sir Thomas, who could have stepped straight from the pages of a regency drama, and I was disappointed that this character played such a small part, but that might just be the Jane Austen romantic in me.

What I took away from the book was a feeling that, when it comes to survival, we can all be victim and villain, as each of these females was. The question it left me with was, how far do any of us need to be pushed to make us mad or a murderer?

This book is not one that I'd usually pick up (gothic thriller / horror) but one of the advantages of belonging to a reading group is that you do generally read a wider range and move out of your comfort zone, and I'm glad I did.
I thoroughly enjoyed this walk through the darker streets of victorian London. It started a bit slowly but soon picked up pace as the characters took shape and the grim reality of their lives unfolded.
It's a great atmospheric story. If you like to be a little scared and shocked then the writer pulls it off.