Synopses & Reviews
From the acclaimed author of
The Whiskey Rebels and
A Conspiracy of Paper comes a superb new historical thriller set in the splendor and squalor of eighteenth-century London. In Benjamin Weaver, David Liss has created one of fictions most enthralling characters.
The year is 1722. Ruffian for hire, ex-boxer, and master of disguise, Weaver finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse, pitted against Jerome Cobb, a wealthy and mysterious schemer who needs Weavers strength and guile for his own treacherous plans.
Weaver is blackmailed into stealing documents from Englands most heavily guarded estate, the headquarters of the ruthless British East India Company, but the theft of corporate secrets is only the first move in a daring conspiracy within the eighteenth centurys most powerful corporation. To save his friends and family from Cobbs reach, Weaver must infiltrate the Company, navigate its warring factions, and uncover a secret plot of corporate rivals, foreign spies, and government operatives. With millions of pounds and the security of the nation at stake, Weaver will find himself in a labyrinth of hidden agendas, daring enemies, and unexpected allies.
With the explosive action and scrupulous period research that are David Lisss trademarks, The Devils Company, depicting the birth of the modern corporation, is the most impressive achievement yet from an author who continues to set ever higher standards for historical suspense.
From the Hardcover edition.
Review
"Satisfyingly twisty debut thriller...so well detailed that one can almost smell the corruption, and the irrepressibly roguish Tom makes a winning hero." —
Booklist "Historical fiction just doesnt get any better than this. A riveting, fast-paced story…Magnificent!" —Jeffery Deaver, author of the bestselling The Kill Room and Edge
"Antonia Hodgsons London of 1727 offers that rare achievement in historical fiction: a time and place suspensefully different from our own, yet real. The Devil in the Marshalsea reminds us at every turn that we ourselves may not have evolved far from its world of debtors and creditors, crime and generosity, appetite and pathos. A damnd good read." —Elizabeth Kostova, author of The Historian and The Swan Thieves
"A wonderfully convincing picture of the seamier side of 18th-century life. The narrative whips along. Antonia Hodgson has a real feel for how people thought and spoke at the time—and, God knows, thats a rare talent." —Andrew Taylor, author of An Unpardonable Crime and The Four Last Things
Synopsis
From the acclaimed and bestselling author of
The Whiskey Rebels and
A Conspiracy of Paper comes a stunning new thriller set in the splendor and squalor of eighteenth-century London.
The year is 1722. Ruffian for hire and master of disguise Benjamin Weaver finds himself pitted against a mysterious mastermind who holds the lives of Weaver’s friends in the balance. To protect the people he loves, Weaver must stage a daring robbery from the headquarters of the ruthless British East India Company, but this theft is only the opening move in a dangerous game of secret plots, corporate rivals, and foreign spies. With the security of the nation—and the lives of those he loves—in the balance, Weaver must navigate a labyrinth of political greed and corporate treachery.
Explosive action and utterly vivid period detail are the hallmarks of an author who continues to set the bar ever higher for historical suspense.
Synopsis
Thrilling new historical fiction starring a scoundrel with a heart of gold and set in the darkest debtors prison in Georgian London, where people fall dead as quickly as they fall in love and no one is as they seem.
Synopsis
Its 1727. Tom Hawkins is damned if hes going to follow in his fathers 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 theres a sense of honor there too, and Tom wont pull family strings to get himself out of debt—not even when faced with the appalling horrors of Londons notorious debtors prison: The Marshalsea Gaol.
Within moments of his arrival in the Marshalsea, Hawkins learns theres a murderer on the loose, a ghost is haunting the gaol, and that hell have to scrounge up the money to pay for his food, bed, and drink. Hes 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 Fleets last roommate who turned up dead. Toms choice is clear: get to the truth of the murder—or be the next to die.
About the Author
David Liss is the author of
The Whiskey Rebels, The Ethical Assassin, A Spectacle of Corruption, The Coffee Trader, and
A Conspiracy of Paper, winner of the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. He lives in San Antonio with his wife and children.
From the Hardcover edition.