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Belgrave Square
by Anne Perry
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Fawcett (1993-04-24)
ISBN: 0449222276
EAN: 9780449222270
Dewy Decimal #: 813
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Release Date: 1993-04-24
SKU: 01540
Condition: Collectible: Very Go
Comments: First Mass Market edition June 1993. Book in great condition.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
"The author has the eyes of a hawk for character nuance and her claws out for signs of the criminal injustices rampant among the privileged classes during this gilded historical perilousness."
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
When low-life moneylender William Weems is found murdered, there are few to mourn his passing. But when Inspector Pitt finds a list containing the names of some of London's most distinguished gentlemen in the murdered man's office, he recognizes the smell of blackmail. Fortunately, Pitt's clever, well-born wife, Charlotte has entree into London's best society. And at glittering balls and over gossipy teas, she observes a world of passion, power, and greed, that is closed to police inspection...
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Customer Reviews
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One of the better offereings in this series
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-03-25
It's 1889 and Inspector Thomas Pitt of the London police, who has become something of a specialist in politically sensitive cases, has been called in on the case of a murdered loan shark -- not his usual sort of case. The man was also a blackmailer, however, with several society gentlemen among his victims -- and also two ranking members of the police force, which makes matters even more touchy. Pitt gradually works through the possibilities, making this one of the better efforts in the series, even though a secret political conspiracy turns out to be responsible. The characterizations are well done, too. Emily's new husband, Jack Radley, is attempting to get himself selected as a candidate for Parliament and because she's pregnant, Charlotte (Emily's sister and Pitt's wife) has to step in for her as political hostess. This allows several parallel sociological and romantic plots, but they're less intrusive than usual. (Secret societies and usury are less controversial than women's rights, I guess.) The author also manages not to telegraph the entirely believable ending this time -- a weakness of which she is sometimes guilty.
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A Victorian feast
Rating (4)
Date: 2006-08-21
I would not typically pick up a mystery novel like this, but needing something to read on the plane returning from a visit to my mother, I decided to borrow this from her. It was quite an enjoyable read. The details of Victorian life, well-developed plot line and believable, sympathetic characters show that Ms. Perry is quite a skilled story teller. Men will find the descriptions of ball gowns and hair-do's a bit tedious, and the ending is overly abrupt, but all-in-all this book is well worth the time invested.
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My least favourite Pitt book.
Rating  (2)
Date: 2005-05-23
1 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Out of the ten Pitt books I have read so far this is the one I like the least! My main objection is the long tedious sections involving charlotte's social outings. Nothing happens for page after page. This can happen in other Pitt books as well I find, but this one is the worst. Anything in this series from The Whitechapel Conspiracy onwards is very good though, as is Traitor's Gate, Bedford Square and Farrier's Lane. (Everyone else here seemed to like this book except me).
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The best in the series!
Rating  (5)
Date: 2004-07-25
I've read all 23 of the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt books, and this entry has more than any other of what we love Anne Perry for -- the beautifully drawn descriptions of high and low Victorian life; the interweaving of Charlotte's family's goings-on with the main plot; wonderfully realized secondary characters; etc. In Belgrave Square, we learn for the first time of the deadly secret society known as the Inner Circle, which will return to haunt Charlotte, Thomas, and their families in future books. The main police business at issue -- who blew the head off nasty userer William Weems -- is slightly over-the-top, if undeniably dramatic; but it has several rivals for the reader's attention, including the compelling romance of Micah Drummond and Eleanor Byam (very touching and believable) and the love triangle of Fanny Hilliard, Fitz Fitzpatrick, and Odelia Morden. Thomas and Charlotte themselves continue to grow in interesting ways; here, Charlotte is forced out of her happy-married-woman complacency, learning a new sympathy for the travails of others even when they are not particularly likeable people. There's even a fascinating lesson in colonial economics tucked away in all the plotting and subplotting! But the capper of the book for me is the delicious encounter between Lady Vespasia and Lily Langry at an upper-crust garden party. Every time I reread it, I'm impressed anew by Perry's ability to set a vivid scene and draw her readers into the absurd but deadly serious etiquette games of another time and place.
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it's my favorite book of the Pitt series so far
Rating (5)
Date: 2003-09-27
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I've read the 11 "Pitt" books prior to this, but I enjoyed this the most.
Some thoughts:
-It's not necessary to have read previous books in the series to find one's way around the characters and setting.
-The book is populated with interesting characters.
-Our friend Micah Drummond also plays a noteworthy expanded role.
-Most important for a mystery like this, the ending needs to be satisfying. And did I love this ending! (No peeking!)
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