Return of the Victorian age thriller

[njslater]

With a revival in TV dramas set in the Victorian era I think the time is set for a bit of a resurgence in interest in thrillers set in the 19th century, do you agree? I would like to think however that they could become popular away from the rather hackneyed crime novels in particular those loosely or tightly connected to the Ripper, a story line long since done to death.

My extensive research into this era has uncovered some fascinating areas of Victorian life away from the usual images of wealth and grim industrial poverty.

[Madeleine]

I notice there's a new "Suspicions of Mr Whicher" coming on TV soon - although I was bored stiff by the original book and wall-banged it after 130 pages. The TV adaptation was better, and I also enjoyed Ripper Street recently.

What else have you found? I agree the Ripper is a bit overdone.

[J.D. Oswald]

Not fiction, but I bought 'Mr Briggs' Hat: A Sensational Account of Britain's First Railway Murder' for my dad recently, as he's a railway buff. He enjoyed it. There's a review at http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/ma ... hat-review

[annis]

Posted by J D Oswald

Not fiction, but I bought 'Mr Briggs' Hat: A Sensational Account of Britain's First Railway Murder' for my dad recently, as he's a railway buff.

I read that a year or so back and found it really interesting and readable, in a similar way to Erik Larsen's Thunderstruck. Sometimes the truth can be as strange, or at least as intriguing, as fiction.

I've recently been reading a series of Edwardian-period mysteries by Andrew Martin, based around a Yorkshire railway policeman, which I've been enjoying- I wonder if they might appeal to your dad as well - there's quite a bit of trainspottery involved as well as detection, and most of the characters are keen subscribers to the Railway Magazine. The last two have been set on the Somme and in Mesopotamia during WW1.

Jim Stringer series

[J.D. Oswald]

[quote=""annis""]

I've recently been reading a series of Edwardian-period mysteries by Andrew Martin, based around a Yorkshire railway policeman, which I've been enjoying- I wonder if they might appeal to your dad as well - there's quite a bit of trainspottery involved as well as detection, and most of the characters are keen subscribers to the Railway Magazine. The last two have been set on the Somme and in Mesopotamia during WW1.

Jim Stringer series[/quote]

thanks, yes, I think he's read one or two of the Andrew Martin novels (I have too and enjoyed them). I haven't read the latest one set on the Somme - thanks for that recommendation.

[Susan]

I saw this soon to be published NF book on Amazon today. It must have already been published in the UK because below is a review from The Telegraph.
The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime by Judith Flanders.

[Divia]

Alas! We don't get those period dramas as much as you do over there. Though I do love me some Victorian stories.

[njslater]

One reason that I chose to write in this period is the remarkable contrasts but also the great advances that were made in science and understanding, though of course neither often to the immediate advantage of the masses

[Kat]

[quote=""njslater""]With a revival in TV dramas set in the Victorian era I think the time is set for a bit of a resurgence in interest in thrillers set in the 19th century, do you agree? [/quote]

I think some of the new Steampunk books are leaning towards this genre. The Newbury & Hobbes series by George Mann has a few fantastical elements, but they are basically crime thrillers. The Affinity Bridge, The Osirus Ritual and The Immortality Engine are the main series books, although there are some related stories.

[njslater]

As I researched my book I discovered there were quite enough remarkable things going on in Victorian times without resorting to steampunk. For instance it is strange but true that the fore-runners of the IRA built a submarine in the 1880s in order to attack British ships.