Murder as a Fine Art

Written by David Morrell, author of several dozen books, this book is a take-off from  an essay written by Thomas De Quincey called "On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts" (1854). In that multi-installment essay, a vivid narrative of actual historical events, De Quincey presages Freud in his attention to motivations of which we are not consciously aware, and also offers up some of the very first writing that became a popular Victorian genre--sensation novels. De Quincey is probably best known for his Confessions of an English Opium Eater (1821), in which he details his nearly lifelong addiction to opium and the many dreams, reflections, and fantasies that the drug catalyzed for him. De Quincy was also an acquaintance of Wordsworth and lived for a time in Dove Cottage after the Wordsworths moved to a larger house.
The Ratcliffe Highway murders described by De Quincy in his essay serve as both background and pattern for this current  novel by Morrell. De Quincey and his youngest daughter, Emily, are both main characters, having come to London from their home in Edinburgh to promote De Quincey's books. De Quincey is addicted to the opium mixture called laudanum, which was still commonly available as "medicine." His daughter tries to keep him functioning and meeting his commitments so that De Quincey can, in turn, pay his debts. His daughter is a feisty early feminist, and regularly rattles the people around her by wearing bloomers when hoop skirts were still the fashion expectation for the gentile classes, and through her outspoken opinions, and her take-charge attitude. She was by far the most entertaining character. De Quincey himself, who is not only addicted to the laudanum but relies on it for insights into the motivations of the serial killer, is the one who actually solves the mystery. Irish born Inspector Ryan, one of London's first detectives, and his engaging supporter and wanna-be detective, Constable Becker, round out the main cast of characters--along with the killer of course.
Morrell immersed himself not only in reading thousands of pages of De Quincey's works, but also in learning about Victorian (mid-nineteenth century) London, and this terrific amount of research is on display in the excerpts of De Quincey's own prose dispersed throughout the narrative and in the small historical asides often provided at the beginnings of chapters. It is a grisly tale well-told and the suspense level is high throughout. Characters are well-developed and the sense of place is vividly rendered. Fans of historical fiction as well as murder mysteries will find this worthwhile.