Welcome to the Historical Fiction Online forums: a friendly place to discuss, review and discover historical fiction.
If this is your first visit, please be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing posts, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

The Italian Boy by Sara Wise

Post Reply
User avatar
Vaughn Entwistle
Scribbler
Posts: 19
Joined: July 2010
Location: Seattle, Washington

The Italian Boy by Sara Wise

Post by Vaughn Entwistle » Fri April 13th, 2012, 4:14 pm

The Italian Boy: A Tale of Murder and Body Snatching in 1830’s London by Sara Wise. The young Italian boy of the title is kidnapped from his home and press ganged into service aboard a ship. After suffering a series of travails, he winds up in London’s underworld, forced to do the bidding of resurrection men who specialize in robbing graves to provide fresh cadavers for the capitol’s medical schools. Wise depicts the London of the period intimately. I love books with atmosphere and this novel will leave you with the whiff of chimney soot up your nostrils and London grime embedded beneath your fingernails. Although it’s labeled as Young Adult, it is eminently suitable for Adults. It’s a small book and a quick read, but a deeply compelling ride for the reader. One particular scene that has remained with me is a chilling description of a young girl who rides a private carousel naked for the prurient enjoyment of a rather disturbed Doctor. This would make a great YA read for teenagers of either sex.


Wise also has an excellent nonfiction book: The Blackest Streets The life and Death of a Victorian Slum. This book focuses on a rookery called The Old Nichol, one of the most notorious slums in London. The Old Nichol was a decrepit warren of 100-year-old houses on the verge of collapse. Despite this, the near-derelict properties were huge money makers for the absentee slumlords, which included Peers of the Realm, politicians and clergymen. The book is a chilling look at one of the darker chapters of London History. New copies of The Blackest Streets are available from Amazon (print versions). Used copies of the Italian boy are also available. You might try your local library. I highly recommend both books.

User avatar
SonjaMarie
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 5688
Joined: August 2008
Location: Vashon, WA
Contact:

Post by SonjaMarie » Fri April 13th, 2012, 5:40 pm

This isn't YA or historical fiction, I've read it.

SM
The Lady Jane Grey Internet Museum
My Booksfree Queue

Original Join Date: Mar 2006
Previous Amount of Posts: 2,517
Books Read In 2014: 109 - June: 17 (May: 17)
Full List Here: http://www.historicalfictiononline.com/ ... p?p=114965

User avatar
Amanda
Compulsive Reader
Posts: 910
Joined: August 2008
Location: Sydney, Australia

Post by Amanda » Sat April 14th, 2012, 1:07 pm

That's right SM - both are non-fiction. I have them both.

User avatar
Vaughn Entwistle
Scribbler
Posts: 19
Joined: July 2010
Location: Seattle, Washington

Post by Vaughn Entwistle » Sat April 14th, 2012, 6:57 pm

Oops, yes, you're both correct. (This is what I get for reading 15 books at a time.)

The book I'm thinking of is the RESSURECTION MEN by T.K. Welsh. After reading this book I spotted the Sara Wise book and realized that the true life events had been the seed for the novel.

Ressurrection Men is pretty violent and gritty, which earned it a scathing review from Kirkus. It is considered a YA novel. It might be a bit much for some young people, but I was reading TALES FROM THE CRYPT and similar horror at that age.

Thanks for correcting my error. I'll be more circumspect next time. Sometimes, I only open my mouth to change feet.

Post Reply

Return to “Young Adult Historical Fiction”