The Devil in the Marshalsea

A riveting, fast-paced story . . . Magnificent. Jeffery Deaver
London, 1727. Tom Hawkins refuses to follow in his father s footsteps and become a country parson. His preference is for wine, women, and cards. But there s honor there too, and Tom won t pull family strings to get himself out of debt not even when faced with London s notorious debtors prison.
The Marshalsea Gaol is a world of its own, with simple rules: those with family or friends who can lend them a little money may survive in relative comfort. Those with none will starve in squalor and disease. And those who try to escape will suffer a gruesome fate at the hands of its rutheless governor and his cronies. The trouble is, Tom has never been good at following rules, even simple ones. And the recent grisly murder of a debtor, Captain Roberts, has brought further terror to the gaol. While the captain s beautiful widow cries for justice, the finger of suspicion points only one way: to the sly, enigmatic figure of Samuel Fleet.
Some call Fleet a devil, a man to avoid at all costs. But Tom Hawkins is sharing his cell. Soon Tom's choice is clear: get to the truth of the murder or be the next to die.
A dazzling evocation of a startlingly modern era, The Devil in the Marshalsea is a thrilling debut novel full of intrigue and suspense.

A wonderfully convincing picture of the seamier side of eighteenth-century life. Antonia Hodgson has a real feel for how people thought and spoke at the time and, God knows, that s a rare talent. Andrew Taylor, author of An Unpardonable Crime
Antonia Hodgson is the editor in chief of Little, Brown UK. She lives in London. The Devil in the Marshalsea is her first novel.
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