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The Murder of Harriet Monkton by Elizabeth Haynes (view source)
Revision as of 09:13, 10 June 2018
, 09:13, 10 June 2018no edit summary
The writing is exceptional: I spent much of the book in a state of visceral terror for Harriet, not because of what would happen to her, but because of her situation whilst she was alive, as those who could have - should have - helped her refused to do so, usually with an entirely unwarranted sense of piety and righteousness. Her options were severely limited, with the workhouse being the only backstop. Haynes captures the age perfectly and she's particularly good on the precarious life of the unmarried woman, virtuous or not.
A plot based on a true story can be too constrained and is usually all the more so when research has been done to the extent it's been done in this story. Haynes has taken some liberties with facts, but they're relatively small and documented in the Afterword. Rather than being constrained the plot has a sense of completeness about it and the ending blew me away: it just seemed to so right. In real life the murder might remain unsolved, but Haynes' solution is neat, realistic and entirely plausible. Perhaps the highest praise that I can give this book is to say that it won't be too long before I reread to see how it was all done.
I'd like to thank the author for sending a copy of the book to the Bookbag.