Bluegate Fields

Something about Anne Perry's writing - or at least, the writing that I've read, which includes book 1-6 of this series plus about a billion of the William Monk series - appeals to me very much. I complain about it a lot in my head, mostly due to certain details or situations or descriptions that get repetitive (and somewhat annoying) when you're reading the entirety of a series, back to back to back. But she sets a scene so well that I would feel perfectly at home in any Victorian drawing room, should I stumble across one somewhere in the metaverse. When Charlotte Pitt is freezing after a long hansom ride and asks Gracie to build up the fire and bring some tea, I feel vicariously cozy. All this to say, I am still enjoying this series. show more

Of course there is a but. I find there generally is. In this case, the but is - Thomas Pitt is a terrible, horrible, very, very bad detective. Take this example. He has just interviewed the murdered boy's tutor, trying to gather as much information about the victim as he can. Immediately after, the boy's bereaved father asks him (regarding the tutor), "Good God! You don't really suspect him of--of--"

Spoiler alert: Pitt did not suspect the tutor of anything at all, at least, not at that time. And he says so. "Is there any reason why I should?" he asks.

"Of course not!" says the father, and now I am really paraphrasing. "Of course he had but the greatest references and etc etc but hmmm, I guess maybe I should give it some thought."

Minutes, literally minutes later, Pitt gets home and tells Charlotte, "It appears as if it was the tutor. It's all very sad and grubby..."

It is maddening. The man could wear a suit made of clues and still not find the guilty party. I hate him. I will continue reading about him with pleasure. show less

The darkest so far of the Pitt mystery series, Bluegate Fields is Anne Perry’s sixth mystery in the Thomas Pitt series, and named for one of the worst slums in nineteenth-century London.

The naked body of a sixteen year old boy is found in a channel of the sewers, drowned, defiled, and in the first stages of syphilis. Judging by his smooth skin and the contents of his stomach, he is from a moneyed family. Evidence suggests he was drowned elsewhere. When Pitt is called in to solve the crime, the victim’s family does not cooperate, but rather sabotages the inspector's initial attempts to investigate. Pitt’s wife, Charlotte, turns to her brother-in-law, and, later, to her sister, Emily and Great-Aunt Vespasia Cumming-Gould in order show more to help with the later stages of Thomas’s investigation, which, after twists and turns, and at the last minute discovers the perpetrator. In the process, Ms. Perry gives the reader a dark glimpse of Victorian society, its repressions, its stuffiness, its hypocrisy and the blindness at its heart.

The plot is dark, finely wrought, the characters richly drawn and from all classes, the historic detail, meticulously researched. Few readers will wince at the subject matter, but all Perry mystery lovers will find the book very difficult to put down. show less

The story begins with the discovery of the naked body of a teenage boy in a sewer in Bluegate Fields, a London slum. It is set in 1885 Victorian England, when Great Britain was at the height of its Empire. The case is assigned to Inspector Pitt who manages to identify the victim as the eldest son of a minor aristocrat. An autopsy reveals that the boy was strangled and had been homosexually violated. He was also suffering from syphilis, which was then incurable. The search for the killer is complicated by the boy's family's reluctance to co-operate with the police.

The boy's tutor is arrested and charged with murder, although Pitt has doubts about his guilt. A jury finds him guilty and he is sentenced to hang in three weeks. Despite his show more superior officer's opposition, Pitts sets about to find out whether the man is actually guilty or not and needs to do so before the hanging.

The accused tutor is an unsympathetic character, full of pride and with a "chip on his shoulder" against his place in the world. It makes it easy for him to be cast as the killer. Similarly the male members of the victim's family are unattractive people; Perry paints them as smug boors.

This is a sombre and dark murder mystery story set against cold and miserable London weather where it seems to always rain. The rigid social structure of Victorian English society plays a large role in the way Pitt needs to conduct his investigation; he is not an aristocrat and needs to take care not to offend "his betters". He is hampered by his boss who is a pompous bureaucrat and anxious to please the aristocracy. Pitt is kept on a tight rein.

The book is not light reading. The mystery story is used in a somewhat heavy-handed way to illustrate shortcomings of Victorian times . Perry's ability to capture the Victorian culture and lifestyle make it easier to take the pontificating. The aristocracy's ignorance of poverty and such social ills as child prostitution are particular targets in his book. It is however a good whodunit mystery, although preachy at times.

Recommended. show less

Another installment in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series and probably one of the edgier ones in terms of content - a teenaged male murder victim who had been "used homosexually" (and yes, that is the term which is repeatedly used in this Victorian era set tome). I think the author was hoping that the use of a "contemporary" theme occurring in the victorian era would carry the novel, but she was mistaken. The awkward way the subject is handled - particularly around the female characters - became tedious. Not a favorite.

8.5/10
This was different from the previous Charlotte & Thomas Pitt books in that a case actually went to trial and beyond. In addition, several unsavory aspects of Victorian life were explored. For once, Charlotte and her family were not put in danger, although Thomas did almost lose his job.

Another good one from Perry, though it seemed rather obvious who the "who" was early on. It is good to read (and I am assuming this is not purely fiction) that women were at the forefront of some of the social changes in the late 19th c. We know they have been ever since.

This story involved more detail than the last few books, and moved quickly. A sewer worker finds the naked body of a wealthy youth. Pitt and the police surgeon discover that the boy has been murdered. Pitt begins the journey to uncover the nature of this violent deed. The police arrest Arthur's tutor, Jerome; and the jury convict Jerome of murder. In three weeks, Pitt must find the real killer before Jerome is hanged. Charlotte and Emily approach the grieving family in a quest to find answers. The characters are rich, but Perry hammers home the total degradation found in England for the poor. But that dilemma still remains. Perry’s description of the setting and characters brings all the horrors of life for the poor, and shows the show more lack of sympathy of the entitled. show less