A Spectacle Of Corruption (2005) - Plot & Excerpts
What I liked:The main character – nothing changed here. We deal here with a very likeable rouge but if you take into account the times he lived in and his underprivileged position within the English society you might judge him even less harshly. Of course Benjamin is hardly a saint - it makes him as well-rounded a character as I like. Despite tough conditions he always complies with his own set of rules although he is not forced to do it by anyone or anything, apart from his own conscience. Indeed, when you come to think about it he is fairer and more honest than most of high-born politicians-gentlemen who shamelessly sell their votes and political views to the highest bidder. In this part I found Ben really well fleshed-out and from time to time very amusing, still too infatuated with Miriam to behave rationally even if it would be in his best interest. Love is blind but I do hope he will get cured soon. The political background. Once again the period was researched thoroughly and explained in a very entertaining but accurate manner (as far as I know of course). At the beginning of the book we get even a short time line and key political terms included so you don’t have to feel like an idiot and you don’t need to be a history geek to get a grasp of the whole situation very quickly. The author never condescends to his readers and I truly appreciate his approach.Two female characters, Miriam Melbury and Grace Dogmill, featured in this book, were really exceptional although, I must say, not exactly as likeable as the main lead. Both being intelligent, capable and ambitious women, they did their best to find a better postion in a society dominated by men and get away with it. Miriam married an allegedly respectable politician and changed her denomination, practically reinventing herself as an English lady; Grace could be called a political animal - she took an active part in canvassing on behalf of a Whig candidate, supported by her brother, and tried to lead an independent life, even daring to chose her own lovers and not wanting to marry anyone, a very bold move for any woman at that time. Their strategies, although different, had advantages and disadvantages and I loved the fact these were fully exposed during the narration. However I found both ladies terribly selfish that's why my sympathy for them was limited. Still I am glad we met.Finally the baddies (I promise, I will be short now): I simply adore baddies who are as close as possible to real life people - complex characters, with many layers (like onions or Shrek who wasn’t a complete baddie but still, you get my drift) and an interesting personality. You can find such villains in this book - Jonathan Wild and Dennis Dogmill are just two examples. Thank you Mr. Liss for them, it was a treat.What I didn’t like:We are left with a whodunit mystery cliffhanger at the very end and, reading an interview with the author, I found out it was a deliberate move. I do not like cliffhangers although I do understand their uses when it comes to making people buy the next part of a series. Still not fair.Final verdict:A great sequel to the brilliant first part and a great historical fiction you can get addicted to. Yes, I’ve ordered the next book. I know, bad Anachronist. One more thing - this book can be easily read as a stand-alone novel so those of you who like jumping right in the middle of things won't have any difficulties at all (wink at Melissa).
Quite apart from the Olympic Games, which I have been watching on television, I seem to be finding myself in London a good deal this summer. A few days ago I finished---and wrote about--Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel, a historical novel set in 17th century London. Just yesterday, I finished A Spectacle of Corruption, by David Liss, a fine romp through the back alleys and drawing rooms of 18th century London, in the reign of George I. And no sooner done with that, I happened to pick up from my pile of books The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester--and immediately found myself in the darkest corner of 19th century, Victorian London. More of this last one later, when I've had the chance to read it. Meantime, I thoroughly enjoyed the adventure offered by David Liss. I had previously read A Conspiracy of Paper, in which the same hero, Benjamin Weaver, finds himself embroiled in murder and mayhem in the context of the infamous bursting of the South Sea Bubble. Weaver is the ultimate outsider--a prize-fighter, a Jew, a commoner, and a man of conscience and a rough sense of justice--in a society not unlike our own, riddled with greed, ambition, social climbing, and ruthless unconcern for the rest of humanity. He's tough, not unwilling to bend the law when dealing with people willing to exploit it, yet possessed of an essentially generous heart and tender sensibility. A fine character, filled, like most of us, with contradictions.This Spectacle of Corruption finds our hero narrowly escaping the hangman's noose for a murder he did not commit, breaking out of jail, and masquerading as a "gentleman" in his pursuit of justice in the face of rampant skullduggery on all sides. It's election time: the Whigs are battling the Tories. Behind the scenes, the Jacobites are skulking in hopes of restoring the Pretender, the would-be King James III, to the throne, and ousting the German usurper, George. There are few niceties in the election process. With the possible exception of murder, street riots, extortion, and the purchase of votes, there is something eerily familiar about the way in which these politicians use their lies and false promises to trade on the ignorance and self-interest of voters. Some things, it seems, change little over the centuries. Liss handles all this with great zest and humor. The first person narrative, in what passes convincingly for 18th century speech, moves along with all engrossing haste and takes us on a series of often hair-raising adventures. But, as with "Wolf Hall", it is the detail that engages: the somewhat tawdry splendor of the ballrooms and the drawing rooms of the rich, the squalor of the foul-smelling, rat-infested dwellings of the less fortunate, the stink of beer and gin in rowdy taverns, the back streets and alleys whose mud is generously mixed with human waste--these are the settings through which Weaver moves in his pitiless pursuit of the evil-doers who would gladly see him hanged. Woe betide those who cross him, though. This unbowed, irrepressible member of "the Jewish nation"--so universally scorned in my home country at that time--proves one of the few incorruptible in A Spectacle of Corruption. If you haven't yet encountered him, I can promise you a pleasure in making his acquaintance.
What do You think about A Spectacle Of Corruption (2005)?
A Spectacle of Corruption is a historical fiction set around the time of the 1722 General Election; it is a mystery novel built on the backdrop of Whigs and Tories jockeying for position, on Jonathan Wild, on Jacobites and the royal succession. This background is a really exciting place for David Liss to construct his story of Benjamin Weaver, the Jewish, former boxer, private invesigator. Liss takes the trappings of the typical hard-boiled noir story, the flashback structures, the outsider narrator, and puts it within an intriguing historical construct. It does not break any new ground, but it is an entertaining and engaging read throughout.
—Wilson
Benjamin Weaver is a thief catcher who plies his trade in eighteenth century London. As this story begins, he has been despondent and self-destructive for months since the woman he loves married another man. Eventually he decides to try to move on and regain a more normal life. He accepts a job from Mr. Ufford, a minister of the Church of England. Weaver’s task is to discover the author of a crudely written threatening note sent to Mr. Ufford. His investigation quickly leads him into a tangled web of political intrigue. It is election season and the Whigs and Tories will do whatever it takes, legal or not, to gain votes and some of the Tories may not be Tories at all, but Jacobite supporters of the exiled heir of James II. He has only scratched the surface of what is going on when he is arrested for a murder he did not commit. His trial is a travesty and he is quickly convicted, but on the way out of the court a lock pick and file are pressed into his hands. Weaver manages to escape, but must now discover the truth without being recaptured by the authorities.Liss has written an exciting mystery that is filled with danger at every turn for his protagonist, Benjamin Weaver. The plot moves quickly and keeps the reader involved in the story. This book is the sequel to A CONSPIRACY OF PAPER, but can be read on its’ own without creating significant difficulties for the reader. A SPECTACLE OF CORRUPTION is chocked full of all sorts of interesting historical nuggets and is worthwhile for that alone, but the author has combined these historical aspects with a stirring mystery and the result is very good indeed. This is a novel of value on many levels that successfully weaves a rousing fictional element into historical events. I found it to be an entertaining tale that yet again confirmed my belief in Liss’s talent.
—Jim
Rating: 4* of fiveThe Publisher Says: Moments after his conviction for a murder he did not commit, at a trial presided over by a judge determined to find him guilty, Benjamin Weaver is accosted by a stranger who cunningly slips a lockpick and a file into his hands. In an instant he understands two things: Someone had gone to a great deal of trouble to see him condemned to hang--and another equally mysterious agent is determined to see him free. So begins A Spectacle of Corruption, which heralds the return of Benjamin Weaver, the hero of A Conspiracy of Paper. After a daring escape from eighteenth-century London's most notorious prison, Weaver must face another challenge: how to prove himself innocent of a crime when the corrupt courts have already shown they want only to see him hang. To discover the truth and clear his name, he will have to understand the motivations behind a secret scheme to extort a priest, uncover double-dealings in the unrest among London's dockworkers, and expose the conspiracy that links the plot against him to the looming national election--an election with the potential to spark a revolution and topple the monarchy.Unable to show his face in public, Weaver pursues his inquiry in the guise of a wealthy merchant who seeks to involve himself in the political scene. But he soon finds that the world of polite society and politics is filled with schemers and plotters, men who pursue riches and power--and those who seek to return the son of the deposed king to the throne. Desperately navigating a labyrinth of politicians, crime lords, assassins, and spies, Weaver learns that, in an election year, little is what it seems and the truth comes at a staggeringly high cost. Once again, acclaimed author David Liss combines historical erudition with mystery, complex characterization, and a captivating sense of humor. A Spectacle of Corruption offers insight into our own world of political scheming, and it firmly establishes David Liss as one of the best writers of intellectual suspense at work today.My Review: Last time we saw the Lion of Judah, aka Benjamin Weaver (né Lienzo), he had brought a species of justice to some victims of the South Sea Bubble. Now he's standing in the dock, convicted of a murder he didn't commit and facing the death penalty. Well, there's nothing like making the stakes obvious from the get-go: Fail to solve the crime you've been convicted of and die; solve the crime and bring the political system of your homeland to its knees. Drama for *days*!And well-done drama, if a bit crowded. Inevitably, setting stakes this high means that some smaller areas of interest (eg, the "romance") don't come to satisfying fruition. But there is more than enough good stuff here to make the less successful moments less important than the overall tale's pleasures. It's very satisfying to see a man of honor operating in that cesspit of dishonor that has always been, and seems as if it will always be, political action.What I enjoy most about Liss's historical fiction is that it is obvious to me that he roots the action in fact while still making a cracking good yarn. He sees history as "his story," as the college-freshman joke went. And that's how I got interested in history, and it's why I find satisfaction in reading David Liss's books. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
—Richard Reviles Censorship Always in All Ways
