The Specimen - Softcover

Lea, Martha

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0857869396 ISBN 13: 9780857869395

Publisher: Canongate UK, 2013

Synopsis

A phenomenal new voice in Vic-lit, for fans of Fingersmith, The Observations, and The Crimson Petal and the White

The year is 1866. Edward Scales is a businessman, a butterfly collector, a respectable man. He is the man Gwen Carrick fell in love with seven years before. Now he is dead and Gwen is on trial for his murder. From country house drawing rooms to the rainforests of Brazil, The Specimen explores the price one independent young woman might pay for wanting an unorthodox life. Set in a Victorian world battling between the forces of spiritualism and Darwinism, polite society and the call of clandestine love, Gwen and Edward's tale is a gripping melodrama, a romance, and a murder mystery that will compel readers to its final thrilling page.

About this title

About the Author:

Martha Lea is a debut novelist.

Review:

This genre-defying novel mixes romance with high drama, science, feminism and old-fashioned murder mystery and intrigues, and surprises right up to the last page -- Kate Saunders * * The Times * * Martha Lea uses language beautifully to evoke a sense of place as we move between Cornwall and Brazil, and there are many twists to keep the reader intrigued right to the very end -- Sheila Wright * * We Love This Book * * Lea's intricate plot takes full advantage of the tropes of Victorian melodrama: Askew sexuality, off-kilter music-hall characters, clandestine relationships, repression, madness, a criminal trial and, yes, a bearded lady * * Marie Claire * * An impressive first novel in a burgeoning Vic Lit subgenre of crime fiction * * Literary Review * * Assured and accomplished . . . this is a rich, deep, rewarding read * * The Age * *

About this edition

• Publisher: Canongate UK
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0857869396
• ISBN 13: 9780857869395
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 362