Postcard highlight: Gaslight Crime

Submitted: 13th June 2016

A marvellous discovery – Booktrail The Lodger here

I had a lovely surprise at the weekend. I came across a copy of The Lodger. The dark cover got me all intrigued and the subtitle – a story of the London Fog. I have to say the title conjured up all kinds of thoughts. The Hitchcock film of the same name only came later. It was lots of things really – I love old Roald Dahl short stories and this reminded me of him. A lodger, the sparse cover, the London fog, someone strange living in your home – well this is a crime novel.

Oh and Gaslight crime. There’s something seriously fascinating about this. The Golden age of crime you might say. Well that and the days of ornate lampposts, police whistles alerting you to the latest tragedy. There’s an introduction about Gaslight crime in particular, the days of Sherlock Holmes the birth of the great detective story and the sheer diversity of crime fiction which grew out of the 1890s and early 1900s.

Marie Belloc Lowdnes…

…is quite frankly a genius. She released The Lodger in 1913 and it’s a stark simple tale of an elderly couple who take in a lodger and who then suspect him of being a serial killer. He keeps old hours, seems to have few possessions and is very particular about when and what he eats. He also likes to do experiments in the house and at one point almost sets the kitchen on fire.

The stark prose chills in its simplicity:

“But particularly true of average English life is the time worn English proverb as to appearances being deceiving.”

This book really does ramp up the chills and I was reading this in silence, with one lamp on and the main light off for maximum effect. I know I can be quite ‘method’ in my reading – ha I’m no actor! but it just adds to the overall chill.

The Bunging are in despair for they are old and poor and could lose even their home. They’ve had to sell everything else and now there is someone they call The Avenger stalking the streets and killing innocent people. This being not long after the infamous Jack the Ripper case had terrorised the city.

The dramatic effects of this book had my holding my breath!

“And then, as Mrs Bunting sat there thinking these painful thoughts, there suddenly came to the front door the sound of a loud, tremulous,uncertain double knock”

I tell you something this is the kind of book that really does suck you right in. I was immediately transported back to Victorian times and the detail of the rooms and the house described was so vividly evoked! This was clever – no DNA, no police work really for all the action is between one couple in one house. Hardly a booktrail in that sense but it had me going around in circles thinking what would happen next.

Don’t get me wrong, I love modern day police procedural and gritty thrillers as much as the next person but this little gem just shone out and I feel as if I’ve discovered a gem of crime fiction that has been around for years. That’s the sign of a great book that is – still being around so many years later.

If you love gaslight crime and crime fiction to make your heart thump and immerse you in London’s foggy streets with a potential serial killer lodging up stairs….Open the door to the lodger!