People of abandoned character / Clare Whitfield.

Select an Action

Title:

People of abandoned character / Clare Whitfield.

Author:

Whitfield, C. (Clare)

ISBN:

9781838932732

Publication Information:

London, England : Head of Zeus, 2020.

Physical Description:

421 p.

Abstract:

He is my husband. To honour and obey. Until murder do us part. London, 1888: Susannah rushes into marriage to a young and wealthy surgeon. After a passionate honeymoon, she returns home with her new husband wrapped around her little finger. But then everything changes. His behaviour becomes increasingly volatile and violent. He stays out all night, returning home bloodied and full of secrets. Lonely and frustrated, Susannah starts following the gruesome reports of a spate of murders in Whitechapel. But as the killings continue, her mind takes her down the darkest path imaginable. Every time her husband stays out late, another victim is found dead. Is it coincidence? Or is he the man they call Jack the Ripper?

Personal Subject:

Jack, the Ripper-Fiction.

Subject Term:

Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.

Married people -- Fiction.

Criminal investigation -- Fiction.

Marriage -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

London (England) -- History -- 1800-1950 -- Fiction.

Genre:

Historical fiction.

Suspense fiction.

Detective and mystery stories.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Adult Fiction Book Hardback	120791002877078	F WHI	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

What if you thought your husband was Jack the Ripper?
London, 1888. Susannah rushes into marriage to a young and wealthy surgeon. After a passionate honeymoon, she returns home with her new husband wrapped around her little finger. But then everything changes. His behaviour becomes increasingly volatile and violent. He stays out all night, returning home bloodied and full of secrets.

Lonely and frustrated, Susannah starts following the gruesome reports of a spate of murders in Whitechapel. But as the killings continue, her mind takes her down the darkest path imaginable. Every time he stays out late, another victim is found dead. Is it coincidence? Or is her husband the man the papers call Jack the Ripper?

Reviews for People of Abandoned Character :
'A mistreated wife suspects her husband might be the Whitechapel killer. . . Compelling' Sunday Times
'An astonishing book' M.W. Craven
'A gripping and original take on the world's most notorious serial killer. A perfectly thrilling read for those long winter nights' Adam Hamdy
'This impressive debut builds up pace, pathos and intrigue superbly, with plenty of twists and turns' Woman's Weekly

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In 1888, Susannah Chapman, the narrator of Whitfield's uneven debut, marries Thomas Lancaster, a surgeon at London Hospital, where she used to work as a nurse. Susannah, who grew up poor, looks forward to a comfortable life with Thomas, but after their blissful honeymoon, he starts treating her harshly and exhibits a violent streak. The morning after the murder of a prostitute, who's later identified as possibly Jack the Ripper's first victim, Susannah finds scratches on Thomas's neck, which he claims were inflicted by a cat he tried to rescue, and she spots his fiercely loyal housekeeper, who was once his nanny, trying to wash bloodstains out of the doctor's shirts. Her suspicions only increase as the killing spree, attributed to the Ripper, continues. Whitfield does a decent job of keeping her audience guessing whether the obvious explanation is the true one, but the closing revelations come as a letdown. Readers interested in a similar plotline will be better served by Peter Ackroyd's superior The Trial of Elizabeth Cree. (May)

Library Journal Review

Susannah Chapman has always hidden her past, even when she studied nursing in London. In 1888, she considers herself lucky to marry Dr. Thomas Lancaster, a surgeon. On her honeymoon, he worships her, and she discovers she married a hedonist who draws her into his lifestyle, including liquor and laudanum. When they return to his house in Chelsea her insecurity returns in the face of a now abusive, angry husband, and Mrs. Wiggs, a housekeeper who frightens her. When violent murders occur in Whitechapel, and Thomas returns home in the early hours of the morning, covered in blood, Susannah begins to suspect he might be the killer she's reading about in the newspapers. Her suspicions lead her to the streets of Whitechapel and into trouble, as Mrs. Wiggs and Thomas turn on her, with plans to send her to an asylum. Her defenses crumble as her husband twists her comments and uses her past secrets against her. But Thomas's own actions have repercussions, bringing violence into the house on the day Susannah tries to flee her prison. VERDICT This debut historical mystery contains echoes of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca and Jack the Ripper. The unreliable narrator combines with richly detailed writing in a mystery with a shocking conclusion.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN