Rose

An oldie (1996) but goodie by Martin Cruz Smith, author of Gorky Park, Red Square and other Arkady Renko thrillers--not sure what compelled me to choose this from my sizable collection of unread paperbacks. It's late Victorian England, 1872, and the big landowners also owned the lives of the people on the land. Set in the mining town of Wigan in the Lancashire coal district, these are hard lives for the miners and their families, crammed 10 to a room, dozens sharing a privy, compensated a few shillings for the "accidental death" of a child at the mines, relieved by even greater acts of brutality like betting on fights between the strongest men trying to kick each other to death with nail studded wooden clogs.  Whereas the moral crusaders, the Temperance workers, and the mine and mill owners cast judgement, live in relative luxury, and stand  apart...with a couple of exceptions. The protagonist Blair, has been recalled in disgrace from his duties as mining engineer (for gold) on the west coast of Africa because he used ("stole") the money from the missionaries' Bible fund to pay his porters. His boss, Lord Hannay, who has owned the Hannay mines for hundreds of years, promises to sponsor his return to Africa if he will find the missing fianc

-->é of his daughter Charlotte Hannay. He was a penniless curate named Reverend John Maypole who seemed to have a passion for the local miners, including the "Pit Girls," the women who roll up their skirts, don men's pants, and sort the coal that is brought out of the mines. One in particular, Rose Molyneux, is apparently at the heart of this mystery. This is a fascinating historical novel on so many levels. The miners are a closed community and are not about to help Blair in his investigation, even though Blair was actually born in Wigan and has worked in a coal mine before becoming an engineer working for Hannay. There are shifting identities and so many secrets people are desperate to keep. The real reason for Blair being brought in is only gradually revealed. Rose is not who she originally appears to be, but finding this out may get Blair killed. Initially, all Blair wants to do is finish the job for Hannay and get back to his beloved Africa; he hates England. But he gradually gets sucked in, wanting to figure out what has happened to the missing man who cared so deeply about these people that it may have cost him his life. Smith compellingly creates the dark, oppressive atmosphere of the mining town, and even, in very brief glimpses, the world of Africa left behind. This author is a master craftsman and you will learn a lot about coal mining and the class system surrounding it and it will keep you guessing until the very end.