Skip to main content

Review: The Serpent in the Garden, by Janet Gleeson

The author of The Serpent in the Garden, Janet Gleeson was trained in art, and has worked at Sotheby's in London-so it should come as no surprise that the protagonist of this book is an artist who pays attention to the small details. Although Janet Gleeson does indeed pay attention to detail, she tends to skimp on the plot, especially the mystery itself. However, this is a highly original book, and it was fun to read.

Joshua Pope is a fictional artist living in 18th- century London. Commissioned to paint a wedding portrait of Sir Herbert Bentnick and his bride Sabine Mercier at their estate Astley, Pope immediately encounters a mystery of a singular kind: the death of a man purported to be a Mr. Cobb, in a greenhouse on the estate. Sabine Mercier, originally hailing from Barbados, is an avid cultivator of pineapples, a fruit that was in vogue in the mid-18th century in Europe. The death allegedly was by poison; since poison is thought to be the weapon of choice by women, could Sabine or her daughter Violet be the murderer? Its a tangled, twisted mystery that Joshua gets involved in, especially when no one in the family seems concerned over the death of a stranger on their property.

Coinciding with the death is the mysterious disappearance of a necklace that belongs to Mrs. Mercier--in the curious shape of a serpent, with the head clasping the tail. What amazed me (and not in a good way), in following Pope's investigation, is how he trusts every untrustworthy person in the book, and mistrusts everyone who he should trust. For someone who claims to be an observer of human character, this feature of the book seemed out of character. While The serpent in the Garden is neither the best historical fiction nor the best mystery I have ever read, it is certainly well crafted.

Comments

Anonymous said…
So women are suspected in poisoning deaths? That seems kind of strange to me. If that was the case, I'd be sure to use poison if I was a man. I like murder mysteries, but that seems kind of flimsy.
Sarah said…
I just stumbled on your blog, and I love your taste in books! (Probably because there are very much like my own :) I've added you to my reader and will keep reading your great reviews - thanks.
Danielle said…
I have a couple of her books on my TBR pile and am looking forward to reading them. They sound entertaining if nothing else.

Popular posts from this blog

Another giveaway

This time, the publicist at WW Norton sent me two copies of The Glass of Time , by Michael Cox--so I'm giving away the second copy. Cox is the author of The Meaning of Night, and this book is the follow-up to that. Leave a comment here to enter to win it! The deadline is next Sunday, 10/5/08.

A giveaway winner, and another giveaway

The winner of the Girl in a Blue Dress contest is... Anna, of Diary of An Eccentric ! My new contest is for a copy of The Shape of Mercy , by Susan Meissner. According to Publisher's Weekly : Meissner's newest novel is potentially life-changing, the kind of inspirational fiction that prompts readers to call up old friends, lost loves or fallen-away family members to tell them that all is forgiven and that life is too short for holding grudges. Achingly romantic, the novel features the legacy of Mercy Hayworth—a young woman convicted during the Salem witch trials—whose words reach out from the past to forever transform the lives of two present-day women. These book lovers—Abigail Boyles, elderly, bitter and frail, and Lauren Lars Durough, wealthy, earnest and young—become unlikely friends, drawn together over the untimely death of Mercy, whose precious diary is all that remains of her too short life. And what a diary! Mercy's words not only beguile but help Abigail and Lars

Six Degrees of Barbara Pym's Novels

This year seems to be The Year of Barbara Pym; I know some of you out there are involved in some kind of a readalong in honor of the 100th year of her birth. I’ve read most of her canon, with only The Sweet Dove Died, Civil to Strangers, An Academic Question, and Crampton Hodnet left to go (sadly). Barbara Pym’s novels feature very similar casts of characters: spinsters, clergymen, retirees, clerks, and anthropologists, with which she had direct experience. So it stands to reason that there would be overlaps in characters between the novels. You can trace that though the publication history of her books and therefore see how Pym onionizes her stories and characters. She adds layers onto layers, adding more details as her books progress. Some Tame Gazelle (1950): Archdeacon Hoccleve makes his first appearance. Excellent Women (1952): Archdeacon Hoccleve gives a sermon that is almost incomprehensible to Mildred Lathbury; Everard Bone understands it, however, and laughs