"here we are again" - a captivating tale of murder, mystery and music-halls. (Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem - Peter Ackroyd)

Member Name: bobbyperyer

Product:	Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem - Peter Ackroyd
Date:	11/09/09 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A stunning piece of fictional realism, a higher level of crime fiction.

Disadvantages: some inconsequential characters, for some the gruesome and frank depiction of murder may be too much

I WILL NOT REVEAL ANYTHING WHICH WILL ILLUMINATE ANY OF THE PLOT TWISTS OR RUIN THE END OF THE BOOK!

I was asked to read "Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem" for my course at University and I am delighted to say that in three years of trawling through some of the worst texts I have ever laid eyes on, this novel made it all worth while.

It is always exciting when you find a real gem of a novel that you can't put down and I ended up reading this in 2 days, pausing only for sleep and food.

--> INTRODUCTION:

Peter Ackroyd, whose other works include "Hawksmoor" and his biographies of T.S.Eliot and Dickens, no to mention his stunning and comprehensive profiles of London and Venice, has produced a real gem in "Dan Leno". This is crime fiction, but it is crime fiction royalty. The quality of the writing and the realism of the narrative are striking, so real in fact that many in my seminar asked if it was based on a true story.

--> THE AUTHOR:

Ackroyd is an author of cityscapes and enjoys dark and mysterious cities such as London and Venice, cities that come alive from the end of his pen. Many have commented of Ackroyd's work that he can be overly verbose and in some ways show off his decidedly vast knowledge about the areas in which he writes, which is in some ways true. However, in this text I feel that he has used his knowledge to great effect in this multifaceted and twisting narrative. Ackroyd's pedigree is obvious however as he has won both the Whitbread Prize for Fiction for 'Hawksmoor', and the Somerset Maugham Award for 'The Last Testament of Oscar Wilde'.

--> THE PLOT:

Not crime fiction in its simplest format, this text fits better under the banner of historiographic meta-fiction, it being a blending of fact and fiction, bringing together reality and invention into one seamless narrative.

This intensely atmospheric depiction of London will leave you hearing, smelling, tasting and reeling from Ackroyd's characters and cityscape.

Through a number of different mediums - court records, John Cree's diary, a narrator and Lizzy as narrator - Ackroyd sets out his patchwork narrative. This gives him the ability to control character development and the knowledge of the reader as he builds towards his final twist at the climax of the novel.

Elizabeth Cree starts life living with her religiously abusive mother in Lambeth Marsh mending nets for fishermen, but dreams of being in the music halls. With the death of her mother came her first taste of freedom and the pursuit of her dream. We follow Lizzy through her life acting in the music halls with Dan Leno, her meeting and marriage with John Cree and the realisation of the climax of her acting career.

Although in the title of the book and an iconic figure from history Dan Leno is a minor character in the text, an example of Ackroyd fooling you and leading you down the wrong path from the outset.

Written around Lizzy's story are a number of gruesome murders supposedly by a beast raised from the living city called the Limehouse Golem. The narrative builds as we learn more about the murders, largely through the diary of John Cree, as Ackroyd introduces us to his suspects, building their characters towards his fantastical climax.

Ackroyd builds his characters and plot in such a way that he trickles information to the reader, steadily building his characters so that they are interesting, dynamic and life-like, but not allowing you to guess the twist at the end.

--> CONCLUSION:

In my opinion crime fiction does not get better than this. Ackroyd uses the innate mystery of London to add to his carefully constructed and deeply atmospheric tale. He meshes history and fiction in a truly real way, creating passion, depth, cruelty and genius in the personae of his characters.

Some may find the extraneous characters such as Carl Marx and Gissing irritating or unnecessary, but I feel that this adds to the mystery. Ackroyd spends time developing characters which are close to being uninvolved with the main plot, leading the reader to develop ideas about them which Ackroyd will eventually dash. This may be distracting and annoying to some, but this is mystery fiction, what is fun about guessing the ending before the author has a chance to do so with shocking consequences!?

I truly enjoyed this novel and have recommended it to many people so far and none have been disappointed. If I am truly honest, I was hooked by the mystery of the Prison warden perversely putting on the gown in which Lizzy Cree is hung at the end of the first chapter. This story, full of twists and turns, was a truly enjoyable experience and one which I am sure I will relive many times to come.

The novel is available from Amazon for £6.99 ISBN-10: 0749396598 and is worth every penny.

I hope this was useful to you and I have really tried not to give anything away, but this is very difficult in such a multifaceted novel.

Summary: I WILL NOT REVEAL ANYTHING WHICH WILL ILLUMINATE ANY OF THE PLOT TWISTS OR RUIN THE END OF THE BOOK