Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson - Available

The Devil in the Marshalsea

by Antonia Hodgson
John Lee
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
It's 1727. Tom Hawkins is damned if he's going to follow in his father's footsteps and become a country parson. Not for him a quiet life of prayer and propriety. His preference is for wine, women, and cards. But there's a sense of honor there too, and Tom won't pull family strings to get himself out of debt—not even when faced with the appalling horrors of London's notorious debtors' prison: The Marshalsea Gaol.


Within moments of his arrival in the Marshalsea, Hawkins learns there's a murderer on the loose, a ghost is haunting the gaol, and that he'll have to scrounge up the money to pay for his food, bed, and drink. He's quick to accept an offer of free room and board from the mysterious Samuel Fleet—only to find out just hours later that it was Fleet's last roommate who turned up dead. Tom's choice is clear: get to the truth of the murder—or be the next to die.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    June 10, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781494522810
      • File size: 343712 KB
      • Duration: 11:56:03

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from April 14, 2014
      Hodgson, the editor-in-chief of Little, Brown U.K., conjures up scenes of Dickensian squalor and marries them to a crackerjack plot, in her impressive first novel, set in 1727. Tom Hawkins, the 25-year-old wastrel son of an English minister, has the misfortune to land in London’s hellish debtors’ prison, the Marshalsea Gaol. With his life and sanity at stake, Hawkins seizes a possibility for a reprieve. Shortly before his entry to the Marshalsea, the hanging death of another prisoner, Capt. John Roberts, was ruled a suicide. Roberts’s widow believes otherwise, and with reports of the captain’s ghost haunting the jail, the authorities hope that Hawkins will conduct an independent investigation that they can use to calm the inmates. Hodgson makes the stench, as well as the despair, almost palpable, besides expertly dropping fair clues. Fans of Iain Pears and Charles Palliser will hope for a sequel. Agent: Clare Conville, Conville & Walsh Literary Agency (U.K.).

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Antonia Hodgson's historical thriller is a fascinating look at the conditions of the notorious eighteenth-century debtor's prison, the Marshalsea. Narrator John Lee brings the characters to life, differentiating their voices and imbuing them with vivid personalities. Tom Hawkins finds himself imprisoned in the Marshalsea, sleeping in a room whose last occupant either killed himself or was brutally murdered. The story has nearly endless twists and turns, although Hodgson brings everything together for an immensely satisfying ending. Between Hodgson's plotting and Lee's narration, this is an exciting and atmospheric listening experience. J.L.K. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading
Check Out What's Being Checked Out Right Now