Fifth in the Charlotte & Thomas Pitt historical mystery series set in late Victorian London and revolving around Detective Inspector Pitt and his busybody of a wife.My TakeThis particular story provides an in-depth look at how the mere accident of losing a trinket can have a profound effect on everyone in one's circle. Followed with that step up to true scandal whether it's murder or stepping out on one's spouse.For all the desperation Caroline feels about recovering her locket, I don't see why she doesn't come right out and explain what she fears. Instead she just keeps dancing and dancing about. And considering how reluctant she is to explain, you'd think she'd realize what she was doing was wrong. Grandmama could do with a few smacks, oy, whine, bitch, complain, moan, and groan. "Nothing's been the same since Prince Albert died in '61. He was a man with standards! No wonder the poor Queen is in perpetual mourning—"Ambrosine is too funny. She prefers to hire cooks with a nice hand with cakes and pastries. The current cook can't cook soup and...it's just what her husband loves. Oh well.It is a nice peek into "current events" as all this taking tea requires chit-chat about the latest books, Society news, dancehall songs, and the interactions between men and women. Thank you for today's attitudes! The telephone is just coming into use---not at the station of course.I am curious as to why Mr. Charrington was so anxious for Pitt to believe that Mina Spencer-Brown was unhappy, neurotic, and unstable. The only neighbor while all the rest thought just the opposite. The sisters' exchanges with Alaric are really very vague.The segue into discovering just where and how Ottilie Charrington died was certainly fun! And very unexpected.The StoryThe potential for disaster is horrendous and Caroline Ellison finally writes Charlotte for help. After all, Charlotte has worked on cases for her husband, this is no different except they will avoid the scandal of a policeman on the doorstep.Obviously one mustn't mention what one has lost, so Caroline and Charlotte make the rounds of the neighbors calling on them and dropping hints, looking for any sign of guilt or information. Giving us an inside look at the relationships between each of Mrs. Ellison's neighbors. Quite a useful start when one of them is murdered. Quite dismaying as Charlotte realizes how far much her mother has fallen emotionally. At which point, she engages Emily's aid. Good heavens, if her father should find out! A divorce! It would reverberate onto everyone in the family...!And Mrs. Spencer-Brown's murder is not the only tragedy to strike in Rutland Place. A tragic carriage accident has laid out Tormod Lagarde and his sister is just beside herself. Naturally the hideous Amaryllis doesn't hold back. The CharactersCharlotte has married down---to a policeman of all things! Thomas Pitt has the manners and speech of Charlotte's class, but certainly not the appearance. Dudley Athelstan is Pitt's superior and most anxious that this death be a suicide.Gracie is the maid the Pitts have hired to help with 18-month-old Jemima with plans for her to help when the coming babe is born. Caroline and Edward Ellison are Charlotte's parents. Emily, Lady Ashworth, is her younger sister. Grandmama Ellison is a major pain and lives with Caroline and Edward. Maddock is the Ellison family butler who has been through quite a bit with the family.Of the neighbors in Rutland Place, there is Ambrosine (very eccentric) and Lovell Charrington (very uptight) with their remaining son Inigo who takes after Mama (their beloved daughter Ottilie died); the very critical and poking Mina and Alston Spencer-Brown; Eloise and Tormod Lagarde, an orphaned brother and sister; the spiteful Mrs. Amaryllis Denbigh is quite up in her own worth and dismisses anyone she feels is beneath her; and, Theodora von Schenck (Amaryllis' sister) is a widow with a great deal more money than previously.Monsieur Paul Alaric who lives in Paragon Walk near Lady Ashworth. Dr. Mulgrew seems to tend to most of the people in Rutland Place with a special affection for the late Ottilie. Ada Church is a famous music hall performer.The TitleThe title is abrupt and to the point for all the action takes place in Rutland Place.
I think I’m beginning to understand the attraction to Anne Perry. I think she writes for slow readers, so that is the pace I set for this novel. I took care to absorb every word, and I very nearly escaped re-reading of any lines or passages. I was able to follow the story line and even the implied meanings of conversation, although I’m unsure how anyone of this time period ever knew what they were talking about. They most definitely were never certain of another person’s intention, even when plain words were used. I felt validated by some of the characters’ apparent confusion by the teatime topic.Tangential observations aside, Miss Perry has captured a vision of the entire culture of this time, as if she had access to ladies’ diaries from the 1800’s. She doesn’t seem inclined to impose her own view upon history, and there is little I find to object to her portrayal of this time period. In fact, it’s like peering through a window into a whole other world. We’re presented with the best, worst, and everything in between pertaining to Victorian-era England. I find I long for its nobility and disdain its lack of freedom. (Are those two concepts intertwined?) Most amazing is how her hero and heroine find the answer without forensic science and with very little evidence. Sheer persistence and novelty in thought seems to bring about the solution.I thought this book was interesting, but my opinion of Anne Perry as an author is still undecided. Rarely does it take me so long to form an opinion on an author, but here I am after completing my third book, still not sure. Honestly, her writing is so stylized that it has taken me several novels to become accustomed to it. I might have taken me this long to understand her prose. Now that I know the best way to understand her, I think I’ll need to read even more to decide if I like her work or not.I am beginning to get the feeling that these novels might be formulaic. Anne Perry likes the manic murderer, especially those who are secretly or recently insane. It seems to be the answer to the unanswerable question. I remember a particular few weeks where I was obsessed with crime dramas on television. I began to ask myself if anyone sane person commits murder, or if no sane person ever would. Does any person who willingly slays another of their kind have to be touched with madness? After carefully considering it, I decided it must be nearly irrefutably true. Those who kill others in the most noble of causes, such as war or the defense of the innocent, are often times driven to the edge of sanity. It stands to reason that those who commit murder for the most wicked of causes may also be the most prone to madness. The admiration or affection of our main character(s) also seems to be essential to the formula. Miss Perry knows that we least suspect those we love and attempts to deflect suspicion with trust. In the past two novels I’ve read, we end of with the deepest of sympathy for the murderer, realizing that desperate times really did drive them to desperate measures. Justice is diverted from the oppressed, and we see that the murderer’s individual circumstances and particular disposition led them to their inevitable acts. No question is raised about whether the murder was justified. Surely not everyone based in reality that has experienced all or part of the same circumstance committed murder. Yet we do not question this character who did.Our final part of the formula is dramatic or even comedic side stories. Our other suspects must eventually come out with their alibis or reasonable explanations. At times these characters are wildly outrageous, and that gives us our entertainment and break from the drama of the murder. One by one we eliminate our potential murderers until only the guilty party remains to confess their awful secrets and justification for murder.I’ll read Anne Perry again, and probably soon. I’ve referred to her before as a weaver, and she has proven once again her particular talent for merging many characters and their individual worlds into one complete story.
What do You think about Rutland Place (1984)?
Another fabulous Pitt bookAnother fabulous Pitt bookI never put spoilers in my reviews.Anne Perry is a master of the written word. Every word, phrase, paragraph is placed for maximum effect. There is no filler or waste. She has obviously researched the era exhaustively. Her insight into the human condition is uncanny.There are always many layers to her tales. The main storyline is Pitt and Charlotte, his police work and the mystery of the case he's working on in the particular book in this series, set in Victorian London. Then there is the social commentary almost as background. Ms. Perry shines a spotlight on the disparity between the classes, much of which is relatable to the disparity in income and the economic situation in the U.S. at this time. There is no preaching, it's presented simply as the setting of the scene. Her description of the physical aspect of the city and it environs paints as clear a picture as a movie.You will come away from every book in this series changed a little bit. Entertained, enlightened, with a much clearer picture of Victorian London at that time frame. Be prepared, it's almost impossible to put down any of her books mid-read.You will find yourself thinking of them long after you've come to the final word of her glorious works
—Katy M
This is the fifth Victorian era mystery featuring Inspector Thomas Pitt and his former-society wife Charlotte. The title of each story represents a neighborhood in London.Charlotte’s beautiful and beloved mother, Caroline, now lives in fashionable Rutland Place, with her Charlotte’s father, Edward. They have since moved from Cater Street after the murder of their eldest daughter, Sarah, in the first book of the series. Caroline summons Charlotte’s assistance in retrieving a lost locket with a photograph of a man who is decidedly not her husband.For my full review on my historical romance and history blog: http://bit.ly/1DYfDbH
—Maria
Thomas Pitt1. The Cater Street Hangman (1979)2. Callander Square (1980)3. Paragon Walk (1981)4. Resurrection Row (1981)5. Rutland Place (1983)6. Bluegate Fields (1984)7. Death in the Devil's Acre (1985)8. Cardington Crescent (1987)9. Silence in Hanover Close (1988)10. Bethlehem Road (1990)11. Highgate Rise (1991)12. Belgrave Square (1992)13. Farriers' Lane (1993)14. The Hyde Park Headsman (1994)15. Traitors' Gate (1995)16. Pentecost Alley (1996)17. Ashworth Hall (1997)18. Brunswick Gardens (1998)19. Bedford Square (1998)20. Half Moon Street (1998)21. The Whitechapel Conspiracy (2001)22. Southampton Row (2002)23. Seven Dials (2003)24. Long Spoon Lane (2005)25. Buckingham Palace Gardens (2008)26. Betrayal at Lisson Grove (2010) aka Treason at Lisson Grove27. Dorchester Terrace (2011)28. Midnight at Marble Arch (2012)29. Death on Blackheath (2013)
—Jennifer Bagby
