UB Libraries Book Group discussion

I read the book early since it fit a challenge. It's quite a thriller, with some interesting historical figures, including Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens. (Dickens seems a bit obnoxious.) Now I wish I watched the TV series about Victoria.

Mods - please feel free to move or delete this comment if needed.

Hi All, I hope everyone enjoyed the book. It was a quick read and kept me interested throughout. It was a bit timely for me as I just spent 10 days in Germany and toured quite a few castles.

I liked the characters, especially Tom Ginty and Blinky, innocents that were probably in the wrong place at the wrong time and was glad at the end that they were still alive and moving on. I read an interview with Tim Mason and he seems to be working on a sequel to the book, perhaps that is why he didn't wrap up their lives at the end as he did others.

What confused me most is why didn't anyone believe that there was a killer on the lose when so many people ended up dead and missing an ear? I realize that perhaps the police may not have wanted to start a panic but with Fields being fired, rehired and fired, it seems as if the police were either politically involved in the conspiracy or just idiots. It was amazing how many people seemed to be involved in the conspiracy, even those close to the Prince.

Another question I'm hoping someone can help me with is I didn't understand the symbolism of his always cutting off the left ear. Did I miss something in the book?

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I agree with you, Marlies, I liked Tom Ginty and Blinky and was glad they were able to move on. I'd like to read a sequel - I hope Tim Mason is working on one.

I thought the police were in on a conspiracy at several points in the book. I'm not sure why they didn't act faster - could they really have been that obtuse? Other characters I think were well developed and that I enjoyed were Field's wife and housekeper, and Cobb's creepy wife.

Using Darwin's book as a as the thing that sparked the fire was interesting. I had to keep reminding myself of the time period and how radical books like that could easily polarize people and create a fervor. I have been watching the PBS series Victoria, and it helped me place the book setting a bit more.

I'm sorry I didn't realize this discussion was going on. I didn't receive the usual email reminders that would have prompted me to chime in.

I liked the book also, though of course the killer was super creepy. I too have been watching Victoria, so knew about the Prince's interest in science. The part about the pub owner with the secret room connected to the funeral parlor and the way physicians obtained corpses for their work interested me.

Ellen, something went screwy with my notifications too. When I checked, it was saying my email address had been marked spam and had to be updated. it was a Facebook link and I don't use Facebook to log in. Oh well, I fixed it anyway.
On to the book. :-)
I enjoyed it, I also hope there are more in the series. it definitely sounded like there might be. I found the furor raised by Darwin's theory interesting. Science we take for granted wasn't always.
I also found the mentions of Typhoid Mary, Dickens interesting, Sorry for the repitition.
The villain is almost made into a superman and then the twist of his having a tail, twisting him in return. I found quite a bit I could investigate in the time period, the characters, typhoid outbreak, Victoria's consort...

It's been a couple weeks since I finished reading this book, so my memory is a bit fuzzy on it. What was the explanation of why the group of men was so against Darwin's evolution? I know there were the obvious religious reasons. But was it also just that the men in power felt they would lose their power?

I liked the fact that there was a public debate. But the attempts to rig it were disappointing, though very familiar.

Ellen, I believe it was two things. First that Albert was a German, not one of them. I think mostly it was the fact that Darwin was saying all people are equal. That would definitely threaten the class system of the time.

Hey All --
First off, apologies that I neglected to send out discussion reminders on the listserv this week; I was unexpectedly out of town all week and this slipped off my radar.

Secondly, it has also been some weeks since I read this but I also enjoyed it. Echoing Becky, I found the uproar over Darwin's work very interesting and I'd like to learn more about the debates and upheavals that occurred as his work gained traction. Since it has always been settled science for us I find a bit of a parallel to the currently divided viewpoints on climate science (though I feel much of the current opposition is economically based as opposed to religious or social status/power). I'm hopeful this becomes accepted science by those in power soon enough to forestall complete ruination of our environment!

My grasp of this time period in history is very sketchy; Victoria has been on my to-view list for awhile and I think I'm even more interested now.

About the police, it did seem at times like they were intentionally bungling this case but it also seems like a nearly impossible job to be doing at a time where it would be hard to make connections across deaths (although I'm assuming these deaths were likely more gruesome than most). And, yeah, I also can't remember if there was something particular about ears...

The villain was very disturbing but I found the tail angle a bit of an overreach and kind of unnecessary.

I was also glad the author spared Tom and Blinky and that there may be a sequel in the works. I hope Fields' wife is more involved; she seemed like a sharp character I would like to see more of.

It just dawned on me that Cobb's tail could be a symbol for the devil. He certainly was evil!

sorry I've been a negligent moderator, very busy week and weekend. Regarding the debate, I did a little research and it seems that many at the time believed Darwin's theory even though it went against religion. I think that's what drew the ire of the renowned scientists. As stated in the story, Richard Owen had a personal grudge against Darwin since he published his findings before Owen's was able to publish a similar theory. I did try to research a little about the period and couldn't find much, I didn't look too hard, but did find stuff on the debate. I wish I had looked up the custom of body snatching for the medical schools but I believe that was a practice. i think i read about it in another book but the title escapes me.

I like Lori's comparison of Cobb's tail to the Devil. I never saw that but it is very appropriate.