After his mother's death, Edward Glyver discovers some secrets from her past which lead him to believe he is the true heir to the wealthy Lord Tansor. The problem is, his old school nemesis, Phoebus Daunt, has inserted himself into Lord Tansor's life, becoming his adopted son, thereby positioning himself to inherit the Tansor fortune. Of course, Edward cannot simply lie back and allow this to happen, and murder seems to be the only answer.

This is a Victorian novel, set in 19th century Britain. I'd added it to my wishlist quite a few years ago after seeing it recommended somewhere and have had the audio sitting on my shelf for quite a while as well. It's long and somewhat daunting, and so I'd put off reading it until now. As many Victorian novels tend to be, it's long, rather depressing, and includes a lot of overly descriptive qualities. I appreciate the writing that goes into such novels, but I can only read one every so often. This had a good basic storyline: some mystery and intrigue, murder, love, etc. The main character of Edward was someone that I was just never sure whether or not to trust or whether or not he was reliable. He wasn't necessarily very likeable and was a bit full of himself, yet as a reader I felt I had to root for him. I liked this story, but the sheer length of it, with all the bogged down details, made it somewhat of a slog for me to get through. But then again, that's often what you get with a Victorian novel. For me, had it been half its length, I would've liked it more. ( )

An excellent period novel with a killer first line. ( )

I just can't get into this book, so I'm leaving off on p. 86. Maybe I'll get back to it sometime in the future...

The Meaning of Night: A Confession was every bit the Victorian mystery that it proclaimed itself to be on the book cover. Chock full of suspense, romance, intrigue, and heartbreak! The only complaint that I can give is that it was a slooooow workup to the main "meat" of the story. For a book that's 695 pages long, it didn't get really interesting until around the 300 page mark. The first few pages started out with a BANG and then there was a lot of background information. A LOT. If you're looking for an epic length story that will provide you with enough detail to build your own model of Victorian England, then this book is most definitely for you. ( )

I think readers who love Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White or Michel Faber’s Crimson Petal and the White will also love this one. Cox skillfully provides readers with a revenge mystery not only set in Victorian England – and filled with characters with Dickensian names – but also accurately reproduces the style of a Victorian-era sensation novel. The “gimmick” to this one is that the story is presented in the format of a genuine 19th century manuscript, complete with footnotes. The story has all of the atmospheric experience of the seedier underside of 1850’s London, juxtaposed against the pristine and awe inspiring Evenwood country estate. If the Victorian atmosphere doesn’t draw you in, then maybe the ”complicated web of happenstance, circumstance and conspiracy” will. If not that, there is always the suspense as Cox sends his characters on an intricate waltz of secrets, deceits and greed. Whether our narrator Glyver is a reliable character deserving of a reader’s sympathy or just a madman ranting, you will have to read this one to reach your own conclusions.

Overall, a richly complex and engrossing Victorian-styled read. ( )