Belgrave Square: A Victorian Murder Mystery

London, UK: Souvenir Press. Very Good in Near Fine dust jacket. 1993. 1st Edition UK. Hardcover. Very Good in Very Near Fine DJ: The Book shows light shelving wear to the lower extremities; mild crimping to the heel of the backstrip; the binding leans a little but remains secure; else flawless; the text is clean. Free of any creased or dog-eared pages in the text. Free of underlining, hi-lighting, notations, or marginalia. Free of ownership names, dates, addresses, notations, inscriptions, stamps, or labels. A handsome copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing mild wear and minor, unobtrusive imperfections. The DJ shows very mild wear to the heel of the backstrip; a small, very faint stain to the upper corner of the inside front flap; unclipped. Attractive and intact. Very close to 'As New". REMAINDER, showing a small mark at the bottom edge of the text block. NOT a Book-Club or Ex-Library. 8vo. (8.65 x 5.65 x 1.35 inches). Language: English. Weight: 20.8 ounces. First Edition UK (1993). First published in the USA in 1992. Hardcover with DJ. Longtime readers of Anne Perry will be familiar with Inspector Thomas Pitt, the low-born London copper with a better-born wife, Charlotte. Set during the Victorian era, Perry's mysteries usually examine the dark underbelly of aristocratic life. Homosexuality, adultery, and pedophilia have all been subjects of her previous books. This entry has more than any other of what we love Anne Perry for -- the beautifully drawn descriptions of high and low Victorian life; the interweaving of Charlotte's family's goings-on with the main plot; wonderfully realized secondary characters; etc. In Belgrave Square, we learn for the first time of the deadly secret society known as the Inner Circle, which will return to haunt Charlotte, Thomas, and their families in future books. The main police business at issue -- who blew the head off nasty userer William Weems -- is slightly over-the-top, if undeniably dramatic; but it has several rivals for the reader's attention, including the compelling romance of Micah Drummond and Eleanor Byam (very touching and believable) and the love triangle of Fanny Hilliard, Fitz Fitzpatrick, and Odelia Morden. Thomas and Charlotte themselves continue to grow in interesting ways; here, Charlotte is forced out of her happy-married-woman complacency, learning a new sympathy for the travails of others even when they are not particularly likeable people. There's even a fascinating lesson in colonial economics tucked away in all the plotting and subplotting! But the capper of the book for me is the delicious encounter between Lady Vespasia and Lily Langry at an upper-crust garden party. Every time I reread it, I'm impressed anew by Perry's ability to set a vivid scene and draw her readers into the absurd but deadly serious etiquette games of another time and place. ; Inspector Pitt and Charlotte; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 361 pages .