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MUSIC OF THE SPHERES
by Elizabeth Redfern
G. P.Putnam's Sons, July 2001
420 pages
$24.95
ISBN: 0399147632


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES takes place in London from June 8 until July 28, 1795. Auguste de Montpellier and her brother, Guy, French royalist refugees, live in a mansion in suburban London (in 1795 it was a rather isolated area, but today it is known as the place where Royal Albert Hall stands.) Every time Guy goes to London, a red-haired whore, with whom he has just had relations, and paid with gold, is found strangled. His sister, whose constant companion is a beautiful, but mute, Englishman, is concerned about him.

Jonathan Absey, of the Home Office, is trying to find out if there are French Republican spies spreading sedition in London, when he finds out that a red-haired barmaid has been strangled. His 15 year old, red haired daughter had been found strangled three years earlier. Absey discovers that the murder of Priss, barmaid at the Blue Bell Tavern near The Strand, is similar to that of his daughter. He also finds that there have been several other similar murders during the last 3 years, but since all the girls sold themselves to supplement their income, the authorities were not very interested in looking for the murderer.

During this period, astronomers were busily searching for a planet they postulated to be past Mars. Guy de Montpellier is one. of the stargazers and he equates the missing planet with his lost love, Selene, who was killed by the Revolutionaries. Alexander Wilmot, Jonathan's half brother, a musician and also an astronomer is another. Wilmot is an homosexual, an offense punishable by hanging. Absey persuades Wilmot to find a way to meet the de Montpellier's and to spy on them.

Actually the main character in this book is London in 1795, with the intrigue of the civil servants and the extremes in living conditions. The mystery is a rehash of the Ripper murders which were to take place about 100 years later and a couple of miles to the East. (Jack the Bodice Ripper?) The story line is often acts as a thread on which to hang a portrait of a time and place. It's more a traditional historical novel than an historical mystery. It appears to be mostly historically accurate, but, for those who know London, the distances seem to be somewhat haphazard. From Soho to Kensington Gore is only about 2 miles, yet there is a coaching inn halfway between, and Absey's horse gets tired on it's way from the stables in the Mall to the mansion.

This is a very ambitious work, and at over 400 pages, a bit overlong. It could have used a bit of editing. The astronomical thread is interesting, but the characters are not well rounded, and the story line is a bit obvious, but the book does give a somewhat different view of the French Revolution than we are used to. It's not quite a Regency romance, nor a mystery, but it is worth looking at for it's view of London in the late 18th century.

Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, May 2001

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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