The Anatomy of Ghosts

A good friend of mine raves about Andrew Taylor, and now I know why. I'd never read anything by him before, so when I saw The Anatomy of Ghosts available to advanced reviewers, I jumped on the chance to read it - and I very much enjoyed it. I will definitely be on the lookout for more of his books.

The story takes place mainly at Cambridge University, where a young student claims to have seen a ghost and is taken to a nearby sanitarium for treatment. His mother, Lady Anne, who is connected with the University and is concerned for her son, hires a down-on-his-luck man to investigate the matter and restore her son to his right mind.

This story is chock full of interesting characters, all of whom step right off the page and into living color. Jerusalem college (a college within the larger University), is almost a character in itself with secrets and habits and its own lifestyle. The young men who go there to learn come away with much, much more than the degree they studied for. It was quite intriguing, and put me in mind of rumors and whispers that one hears about old campuses like that.

I particularly loved the writing, though. The story takes place in the late 18th century, and the writing set the tone, character, and pace perfectly, without venturing off into wordy exposition, all the while keeping the suspense and the intrigue going. Quite a feat! Too often historical fiction forgets itself and strays into modernity in order to ramp up the tension and suspense, but Taylor did not lapse at all.

I also really enjoyed the slight social commentary running throughout the novel, with regards to rank and position and power. Of course this is a popular theme throughout history, as people have always been obsessed with rank and position and power, but I felt that here it was put on display, in a way. It's hard to say just what I mean, because I don't mean that the writing was Austen-esque in terms of satirical social commentary, but rather that it was so gritty and real feeling that a modern reader would see it as such. It was not glorified or glamorous, but rather what I think was an accurate representation of the lengths that some will go to to attain power and the lengths some will go to to keep it. Fascinating stuff.

I would have given this book 5 stars, except that I feel that one portion of the plot was not resolved at all in the end, and I was left a little disappointed. The ending itself was satisfying, and I could not guess any of the twists and turns that the story would take (and there were quite a few!), but this one little detail was irksome for not being resolved, and so I had to drop down the rating a bit. Otherwise, I was drawn in and engaged in the story, and felt as if I was watching from the sidelines rather than reading, and I love the feeling of falling through the pages of a book.

I definitely recommend this one to historical fiction, mystery and thriller fans. ( )

Another great Taylor story, historical facts become so interesting in his hands. ( )

Although more of a detective novel than a ghost story, I thoroughly enjoyed Andrew Taylor's thoughtful and well constructed novel. Not so much for the mystery, involving a secret society at Cambridge University and the unrelated drownings of two women, but for the elegant language, very much in keeping with the eighteenth century setting, and the complex characters. Taylor knows how to employ the formal speech of the 1700s without sounding clumsy or impeding the story, and how to craft another time and place from his careful and creative historical research. I also liked reading about John Holdsworth, the 'detective' bibliophile of the novel, who actually made an impact on my imagination instead of merely working as a plot device. ( )

First off I was hooked. I loved period pieces and this was great. The author did a superior job of describing everything. The sights, the sounds, the smells. There were some points I thought if I put down the book I would open my door to their world. You could tell there was alot of research and effort involved and it was much appreciated, all the little details of daily life were amazing.

This novel was so well written and had such an authentic feeling to it. There were times the pace was slowed but the writing more than made up for it. It was as this novel could have been found in an old 18th century trunk locked in someone's attic. It was an amazingly rich read. Like any well written mystery you end up in a web of tangled questions and just when you feel you have all the answers the story turns and you are plummeted into the darkness again! ( )

I don't know why I felt as I was reading this that here is a writer who could do better. It's pretty readable and workmanlike, the story of variously haunted people in eighteenth-century London and Cambridge. It felt like it was put together from elements. ( )