Reviewed by Chris
Longmuir
We first meet the main character, Captain Robert Catto, as
he leads his town guard on a raid of Surgeons’ Hall, where they expect to find
an illegal dissection in progress. I particularly liked the description of the
Town Guard as “A Pack of wolves metamorphosing into men”. Captain Catto may
have his sword, but the men are highlanders carrying Lochaber axes.
Captain Catto presents as a brutal man, insensitive to the
fear and pain he imposes on the household of the surgeon-apothecary, in
particular, the daughter of the house, Christian Rankeillor. But, as the book
progresses he turns out to be a much more complex character than he initially
appears.
Christian, on the other hand, comes across as a caring and
intelligent woman, unusual for the time and place. But she is pulled into the
Jacobite conspiracy, and as a result comes into conflict with Captain Catto.
At first, because of the opening raid on Surgeons’ Hall, I
thought this was going to be a resurrectionist novel, with themes of
grave-robbing and dissections. However, the main theme surfaced as a Jacobite
rebellion one, with conspiracy, spies, and murder. Oh, and a little romance
thrown in as well.
The historical background is well depicted, and the poverty
and despair of the ordinary people is realistic enough to make the reader
shudder. The abuse, rape, and murder of working class women, is of little
consequence to their oppressors who are of more noble birth.
This book kept me guessing right up to the end. I could not
see how the electric spark of attraction between Christian and Catto could ever
be resolved given the extreme nature of their differences. And I’m not going to
tell you whether it was resolved because that would be too much of a spoiler.
I enjoyed this book very much because of the historical
accuracy, the political aspects, and it was a rattling good story.
Chris Longmuir
You can find the book at:-
No comments:
Post a Comment