The Dark Lantern
Gerri Brightwell
Reviewed by Megan Chance
I'm a sucker for historical fiction that has morally ambiguous and dark characters. Put those characters in a "real" world setting, where they're trapped in circumstances of their own making, and I'm hooked.
Gerri Brightwell's THE DARK LANTERN has exactly those elements. It is London, in 1893, and Robert Bentley and his wife Mina have just returned from France, where he has been involved in anthropomentry (the science of identifying criminals by their body measurements). They have returned because his mother is dying, but it becomes clear very quickly that Mina had no wish to return to London at all, and has a past she is trying desperately to keep secret.
Into the household enters Jane Wilbred, a new servant who has secrets of her own. The daughter of a convicted murderer, taken from an orphanage and trained to be a useful servant, Jane's own life balances on the edge of a knife–no matter how hard she works or how good she is, the discovery of her birth would be enough to send her into the streets and keep her from getting any other employment. So when another maid discovers her secret and blackmails her, Jane finds herself hopelessly compromised.
The Bentleys are expecting the imminent arrival of Robert's brother, Henry. When Henry is drowned on the passage to England, they are stunned to discover that he had a new wife–a wife he never mentioned. When Victoria Bentley arrives in London, she throws the household into turmoil. Mina doesn't believe the story of her marriage, and compels Jane's aid in discovering the truth. And Robert, who is unaware of the deceptions and secrets in his own house, is wrapped up in the politics over which science should prevail in identifying criminals: anthropomentry or dactylography (fingerprinting). The decision could either make his career, or break him.
THE DARK LANTERN is a suspenseful tale that pulls no punches in its depiction of the resentments and loyalties that make up the complicated relationships between masters and their servants. It is these tensions which move the story forward and held me fascinated. Ms. Brightwell is skilled at depicting the innermost workings of a Victorian household and making the reader feel the uneasiness of a world where a servant can be destroyed by something as small as a too-bold glance, and where servants privy to secrets have no little power of their own.
All in all, THE DARK LANTERN is a fascinating portrayal of a household, and nuanced and well-written historical fiction. An unusual and compelling read.
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About the Reviewer:
Megan Chance is the critically acclaimed, award-winning author of several novels. Her first book won Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award for excellence in Romantic Fiction, and since then, her novels have received several awards and award nominations. The Best Reviews has said she writes “Fascinating historical fiction.” A former television news photographer with a BA from Western Washington University, Megan Chance lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two daughters. Visit her website at www.meganchance.com.
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