A dark and complex tale of Victorian Edinburgh.
This is a complex novel on many different levels – it is first and foremost about the power imbalance between men and women during Victorian times. This is shown by the way Rebecca’s husband uses her as a part of his experiments on the use of heroin for what he sees as a cure for female weaknesses. This inevitably leads to her becoming addicted to heroin and dependent on her husband and his continued good nature to procure her daily fix.
It is also a tale of lost and found love as Rebecca finds her first love Gabriel and learns that he too knows about addiction and also about disempowerment following his time at the Suez Canal.
It is also about the inherent contradictions of Victorian society where the focus on being seen to be acting properly in society hid a growing addiction to opium and other vices such as the use of bawdy houses.
While I enjoyed this book I did find the ending a bit of a let down as having built up the tension over the preceding chapters matters came to a resolution relatively quickly.
It is also a tale of lost and found love as Rebecca finds her first love Gabriel and learns that he too knows about addiction and also about disempowerment following his time at the Suez Canal.
It is also about the inherent contradictions of Victorian society where the focus on being seen to be acting properly in society hid a growing addiction to opium and other vices such as the use of bawdy houses.
While I enjoyed this book I did find the ending a bit of a let down as having built up the tension over the preceding chapters matters came to a resolution relatively quickly.