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Loading... Mr. Timothyby Louis Bayard
Slow to pick up speed, but is well written in the Dickensian style and three dimensional characters that make it easy for you root to for. (  ) lara.elio | Apr 8, 2013 |  Having read Louis Bayard's The Black Tower a few years back - and being completely captivated by the story - I figured now was a good time to see how Bayard manages to breath adult life into "Tiny Tim" from Dicken's A Christmas Carol. As far as historical mystery fictions go, this one is a gem of a story. 1860 London, England and its people come to life under Bayard's pen. Timothy is an intriguing character and I do like how Bayard has given Timothy ghosts of his own to face, chase through passageways and mentally write letters to. The plot is intricate, and rolls along at a fast pace with some hair-raising moments. To add to the fun, Bayard inserts one or two surprises for the reader, and yes, Ebenezer Scrooge - "Uncle N" - is here, reprising his role from Dicken's famous story. As Uncle N says to Timothy, when discussing the topic of ghosts: "I used to see spirits, too, Tim. Terrible things. How I miss them." Overall, a very good story I would recommend for readers of historical mysteries that enjoy books set in Victorian London. (  ) lkernagh | Dec 31, 2012 | I enjoyed this for the same reasons I enjoy a lot of Bayard's books--language, plot, a twist on historic events, or in this case, on fictional historic events. It's not that profound, nor necessarily even believable, but it's a lot of fun. ( ) randalrh | Nov 22, 2012 | Louis Bayard says that, although he's a big Charles Dickens fan, he never particularly liked Tiny Tim, a notable if minor character in "A Christmas Carol." Even so, Bayard chose to make a grownup Tiny Tim the central character of his Victorian thriller "Mr. Timothy," published in 2003. It's Christmas again and Ebeneezer Scrooge reappears (and so do some ghosts), but otherwise this is a very different story. Tim Cratchet finds himself living in a brothel, hired to teach Mrs. Sharpe, the madam, how to read. He moonlights, quite literally, by helping an old sailor pull corpses out of the Thames. Too many of these corpses have lately belonged to young girls. Soon he rescues a 10-year-old Italian girl, Philomela and, with the help of Colin, an enterprising boy of the streets with a sweet singing voice, he uncovers a prostitution ring involving very young girls. Bayard keeps the suspense and action intense throughout the second half of the novel. This may be one of the best literary thrillers you are likely to find. Not only does he throw in enough Dickens references to please any Dickens fan, but Bayard's sentences are just beautifully constructed. ( ) hardlyhardy | Jul 21, 2012 | I could not get into this novel. However, I may take it up again when 'life' is a little less hectic and I have more time and patience to pursue it further! (  ) eas | Mar 26, 2012 | no reviews | add a review Is a (non-series) sequel to
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