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Who knew banking could be fun? In their fourth appearance in the teeming, smelly, exuberant London of the tail end of the 17th Century, that redoubtable pair, Lady Ashby de la Zouche, Countess of Clapham, Baroness Penge, and her sidekick (hardly a maid) Alpiew, find themselves unexpectedly in the money and thus in need of a safe place to keep it. Their search leads them into the brave new world of investment banking, where no one quite seems to understand the rules, perhaps because these are being invented by the day. Their new money seems to be attracting some very uncomfortable attention to their house, which is invaded by an escaped highwayman, his threatening moll, several mutilated corpses which have an odd habit of disappearing, the local watch, a monkey, and a 13-year-old prospective bride. Unsurprisingly, their money disappears and they are embroiled in a series of entertaining, if life-threatening, adventures that take them from the relatively genteel surroundings of Laura's Lace Emporium (and knocking shop), to the stews of Southwark, to the tunnel beneath the glassworks, home to demobbed soldiers and the Black-Guards, homeless young boys who prefer these quarters to the newly-invented workhouse. Daniel (not yet De) Foe makes an appearance and learns something of his novelist's craft from Alpiew. Through it all we are treated to a picture of a time when many of the institutions we know so well were just beginning. Morgan is marvellous at capturing the sense of newness and possibility, not to speak of the filth, the disorder, and the stink of a city becoming modern with a vengeance. It is a city populated with odd and wonderful men and women, all utterly unrestrained by notions of propriety or manners. We are also treated to an ingenious plot and some thrilling episodes. This series ought to be required reading for all those who take a dim view of historical crime novels -- there's not an ounce of romantic prettiness about it nor are any of the characters cardboard cut-outs to be dressed in period costume. The language is fresh and inventive and (at least according to an afterword) authentic. In fact, if I were teaching history, I'd put it on the reading list. It would be the perfect answer to the teenager's complaint, "But, Miss, history is so booooring."
Reviewed by Yvonne Klein, April 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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