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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
I wanted to love this so much more, I adore Edinburgh so so much and loved the little landmarks that I could relate to my own travels there. However the heavy handed feminist rants are just so exhausting. Exactly like lessons in chemistry where the main character is just so smart and so pretty and different and she can be a doctor because women are equal despite societal expectations and restrictions!
I’ve always been fascinated by the time period and subject of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed The Wages of Sin, despite the difficult and often grisly content. It was a hard book to read at times because of the injustices the main character faced. Yet it also felt very timely because of current debates regarding women’s rights, particularly reproductive rights. I really liked the main characters and am hopeful for a sequel! If you want a well-researched murder mystery set in Victorian Edinburgh, I highly recommend this.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5/5
Intelligent heroine with a dark past, stoic doctor/investigator with troubled history, a landscape full of poverty, violence and political change.
Your standard historical fiction mystery with a female lead, I stan
Intelligent heroine with a dark past, stoic doctor/investigator with troubled history, a landscape full of poverty, violence and political change.
Your standard historical fiction mystery with a female lead, I stan
This book is incredibly readable & the ending was a complete surprise to me. I picked this book up during a week in Edinburgh, & being familiar with the city & its history made the read even more enjoyable. I look forward to reading the sequel.
Sarah Gilchrist has been banished from her home and sent to live with her mother's sister and brother in law essentially because she was raped and no one stood up for her. Her parents allowed her to follow her dream of going to medical school in Edinburgh. She volunteers for a clinic serving inhabitants of the worst neighborhoods, including whores. She navigates the hostility of the male students to the new class of women admitted that year. She is distraught when one of her patients appears in the morgue for students to dissect. The patient shows evidence of having been murdered. In the course of her studies, Sarah has some professors who note her skills and others who are less willing to look past her being a woman. She runs across one of them repeatedly and realizes, as she investigates her patient's death, that he might have a connection to the murder.
Meanwhile, Sarah's aunt is hoping to marry her off, despite her ruination. She hopes word has not traveled to Edinburgh, although it has in many quarters thanks to a few other London classmates. The best thing about this novel is the graphic impressions drawn of both medical schools in the 1890s and the lives in and atmosphere of the seedier side of Edinburgh. It is unabashedly feminist, following the early experiences of women in the medical profession who may just not be able to earn a living in their field. The story is fast paced, consistently engaging and interesting. definitely recommend.
Meanwhile, Sarah's aunt is hoping to marry her off, despite her ruination. She hopes word has not traveled to Edinburgh, although it has in many quarters thanks to a few other London classmates. The best thing about this novel is the graphic impressions drawn of both medical schools in the 1890s and the lives in and atmosphere of the seedier side of Edinburgh. It is unabashedly feminist, following the early experiences of women in the medical profession who may just not be able to earn a living in their field. The story is fast paced, consistently engaging and interesting. definitely recommend.
Really enjoyed this one. Interesting, good plot points, good protagonist and antagonist.