Macabre London (Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem - Peter Ackroyd)

Member Name: sunmeilan

Product:	Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem - Peter Ackroyd
Date:	27/01/06 (548 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well-researched, very Jack the Ripper in atmosphere

Disadvantages: The unnecessary appearance of Karl Marx, H G Wells and other historical characters from the period

Introduction
Peter Ackroyd is probably most famous for his biographies of Dickens and T S Eliot and I had no idea until recently that he also wrote crime fiction. Being fond of crime fiction set in Victorian London, particularly that of Anne Perry, I expected to enjoy the book and was not disappointed. Although it is crime fiction, the quality of the writing is far better than most crime fiction and the book would also have a place in the modern classics section. The story was so realistic that I actually checked whether it was based on a true story - it isn't, but it is incredibly believable.

The author
Peter Ackroyd sets the majority of his books in London and has covered a variety of historical periods and characters, such as the Great Fire of London and Oscar Wilde. He has won a variety of literary prizes, such as the Whitbread Prize for Fiction for 'Hawksmoor', and the Somerset Maugham Award for 'The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde'.

The plot
Through a series of mediums - court records from the trial, the diary of the Elizabeth's husband's diary and the story told by both Elizabeth Cree and her husband - the story of Elizabeth Cree is set out, from the death of her mother, through her acting career, marriage and finally hanging for the murder of her husband. Her life began in Lambeth Marsh, where she was brought up by her mother. Her early life involved poverty, ill treatment and prostitution. Her life changed the day her hated mother died - finally she was able to escape from the clutches of Lambeth Marsh. She ends up working for a theatre company where the famous Dan Leno, character actor extraordinaire, is based. After a period of time doing odd jobs, she is taken on as a character actor in her own right.

Interspersed with Elizabeth's story is a number of murders committed by a being that the locals name the Limehouse Golem, reported partially from diaries attributed to Elizabeth Cree's husband, John. The murders are particularly cruel and heartless - the first diary entry begins with the phrase: 'It was a fine bright morning, and I could feel a murder coming on.' Eventually we discover that John Cree is a journalist and through his contacts with the theatre, he meets Elizabeth and eventually marries her. Their marriage appears to be happy, although Elizabeth has to stop working. Her maid is a former employee of the theatre. The macabre murders continue; then John Cree dies, seemingly of poison. Could it be that Elizabeth has discovered that her husband is the Limehouse Golem and has seen fit to get rid of him? Whether or not this is the case, Elizabeth is accused of his murder and is hung for it.

The characters
Confusingly, although Dan Leno is mentioned in the title of the book and is a real person, he only plays a minor part in the book. Elizabeth, who shows a remarkable talent for acting and comedy, becomes his protégé, although for some reason, he chooses to keep his distance from her. Elizabeth herself is portrayed as a young woman who has suffered greatly and who has a cruel streak, but has luckily managed to find her feet in the theatre. Her marriage to John Cree appears to be happy, certainly according to his diaries, he frequently refers to Elizabeth as 'his dear wife'. So the fact that Elizabeth poisons her husband seems incongruous.

Conclusion
This is a strange book and to begin with, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. The story is confused by John Cree's visits to the British Library, where he is in the company of characters such as Karl Marx, who later becomes a possible suspect following the murder of someone he had visited shortly before his death. The introduction of these historical characters and various treatises on Thomas de Quincey's works, among others, is unnecessary and comes over as being pretentious. I've no doubt that Peter Ackroyd has researched the period well - this certainly comes across in the descriptions of the theatres of the time - I see no need for these additions, other than he wanted to show off his knowledge. Very distracting.

Despite this, I really enjoyed the actual story. The ending surprised me, although looking back, it was obvious, and after the first few chapters of the book, I was totally hooked. The atmosphere is very Victorian and macabre and we find out just enough about the characters to become interested in them, without finding out enough to guess the ending. On the whole, the good parts of this book far outweigh the bad, hence the four star rating. I recommend this both to fans of crime fiction and fans of well-written novels - but bear in mind that you need to get through the first few chapters before becoming hooked.

The book is available from Amazon for ₤6.99. 282 pages. Published by Minerva Fiction. ISBN: 0-7493-9659-8.

This review is published on other sites under the same username.

Summary: Unusal and a little bit different. Full of atmosphere.