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jmatkinson1's review against another edition
5.0
In Victorian England the Epsom Derby was the race that the entire country looked forward to each year. Assiduously following the form and reports about the horses and their owners, fortunes were won or lost on the result and the the best horse didn't always win the race. One of the favourites for the race is Tiberius, owned by an impoverished Lincolnshire gentleman called Davenant. However Mr Davenant's debts mean that Tiberius falls into the hands of Mr Happerton, recently married to the only daughter of an eminent barrister but both he and his wife have their own plans.
This is a wonderful book populated by a cast of expertly drawn characters from all walks of society. The plot links an audacious burglary at a jewellers, a police inspector, a governess and her charge, an aged but honest jockey, fraudsters and con men, their wives and mistresses. It is complex but incredibly readable and very cleverly put together. The race itself barely features but the colour and atmosphere of the Epsom Downs is vividly realised and the machinations of finance in the Victorian era are explored. In a world without credit cards, people borrowed money by way of promissory notes ('paper') and these debts could be bought and sold at will. Vulnerable individuals were prey to hangers-on and every had their own plans and schemes. Taylor has used the best of Victorian literature to draw on but has produced a modern take on the genre which more than holds its own.
This is a wonderful book populated by a cast of expertly drawn characters from all walks of society. The plot links an audacious burglary at a jewellers, a police inspector, a governess and her charge, an aged but honest jockey, fraudsters and con men, their wives and mistresses. It is complex but incredibly readable and very cleverly put together. The race itself barely features but the colour and atmosphere of the Epsom Downs is vividly realised and the machinations of finance in the Victorian era are explored. In a world without credit cards, people borrowed money by way of promissory notes ('paper') and these debts could be bought and sold at will. Vulnerable individuals were prey to hangers-on and every had their own plans and schemes. Taylor has used the best of Victorian literature to draw on but has produced a modern take on the genre which more than holds its own.
jaclynday's review against another edition
3.0
A few years ago I made a pact with myself that if I wasn’t enjoying a book, I’d stop reading it and move on to the next. Before that I’d had a hard time stopping a book midway through, even when I hated what I was reading. I figured that I owed it to someone (the author? myself?) to see it through to completion.
Well, I almost gave up Derby Day. I read it faithfully every night and each time, I’d tell Brandon, “I don’t know how much more of this I can read.” Yet, despite my silly pact giving me license to set it down and move on, I kept at it.
It wasn’t always clear to me through the first half of the book, but Derby Day is actually quite a masterful crime caper set against the backdrop of England’s most popular horse race. D. J. Taylor has written Derby Day in a fantastic and successful approximation of a Victorian-era novel (I felt like I was reading Dickens more than once!), but it is this same thing that made it seem slow or painstakingly methodical at times. Yet, as all the loose ends begin to come together near the end of the book, it really pays off with a suspenseful, genius ending that I definitely didn’t see coming.
This isn’t a book I’d recommend without a few caveats: First, know that it’s a slow read. Second, the structure, language and writing style mimic that of Victorian novels—which can be quite dense. Third, if you want to try something outside your comfort zone, this might be a good book to try. As I said before, there’s a great payoff when the various plot lines start to come together.
Well, I almost gave up Derby Day. I read it faithfully every night and each time, I’d tell Brandon, “I don’t know how much more of this I can read.” Yet, despite my silly pact giving me license to set it down and move on, I kept at it.
It wasn’t always clear to me through the first half of the book, but Derby Day is actually quite a masterful crime caper set against the backdrop of England’s most popular horse race. D. J. Taylor has written Derby Day in a fantastic and successful approximation of a Victorian-era novel (I felt like I was reading Dickens more than once!), but it is this same thing that made it seem slow or painstakingly methodical at times. Yet, as all the loose ends begin to come together near the end of the book, it really pays off with a suspenseful, genius ending that I definitely didn’t see coming.
This isn’t a book I’d recommend without a few caveats: First, know that it’s a slow read. Second, the structure, language and writing style mimic that of Victorian novels—which can be quite dense. Third, if you want to try something outside your comfort zone, this might be a good book to try. As I said before, there’s a great payoff when the various plot lines start to come together.
nocto's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed reading this but am not quite sure what to make of it. It's billed as a "Victorian mystery" but didn't really seem to contain many elements of a mystery to me as it's a fairly straightforward story of misdoings in the horse racing world. It's written in some kind of Victorian style which I don't know enough about to talk about - I don't know whether it's a pastiche or satire or something else like that. It's an entertaining enough story on the surface but I suspect I am missing the depths. In short I think the author is probably quite clever but rather than showing me that I feel like he's made me feel quite stupid, which isn't really how I like to feel as a reader! Although I liked the book on the whole I wouldn't be inclined to recommend it to others really.
bookmarkhoarder's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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