The Devil in the Marshalsea

London, 1727 – and Tom Hawkins is in trouble. The wayward son of a country parson, his taste for wine, women and cards has led him in irons to the notorious Marshalsea debtors' prison.
The Marshalsea is a dark and dangerous place at the best of times. But when an inmate is brutally murdered, the prison is soon gripped by fear and suspicion. Worst of all, Tom is sharing a cell with the prime suspect…
Now he must risk everything to uncover the truth – or be the next to die.

“A scenic intrigue filled with wastrels and gaols.” —Vogue’s “Buzziest Beach Reads”

"[Hodgson] conjures up scenes of Dickensian squalor and marries them to a crackerjack plot, in her impressive first novel...Hodgson makes the stench, as well as the despair, almost palpable, besides expertly dropping fair clues. Fans of Iain Pears and Charles Palliser will hope for a sequel." --Publishers Weekly (STARRED REVIEW)

"The plot develops almost as many intricate turns as there are passages in the Marshalsea...Hodgson’s plotting is clever...the local color hair-raising." –Kirkus Reviews

"Satisfyingly twisty debut thriller...so well detailed that one can almost smell the corruption, and the irrepressibly roguish Tom makes a winning hero." —Booklist

"Historical fiction just doesn’t get any better than this. A riveting, fast-paced story...Magnificent!" —Jeffery Deaver, author of the bestselling The Kill Room and Edge

"Antonia Hodgson’s London of 1727 offers that rare achievement in historical fiction: a time and place suspensefully different from our own, yet real. The Devil in the Marshalsea reminds us at every turn that we ourselves may not have evolved far from its world of debtors and creditors, crime and generosity, appetite and pathos. A damn’d good read." —Elizabeth Kostova, author of The Historian and The Swan Thieves

"A wonderfully convincing picture of the seamier side of 18th-century life. The narrative whips along. Antonia Hodgson has a real feel for how people thought and spoke at the time—and, God knows, that’s a rare talent." —Andrew Taylor, author of An Unpardonable Crime and The Four Last Things

“A scenic intrigue filled with wastrels and gaols.” —Vogue’s “Buzziest Beach Reads”

"Alive and immediate. The story crackles with anxiety as Tom finally finds purpose for his idle hands, the true meaning of honor and the identity of the real devil in the Marshalsea." —Chicago Tribune

"Historical fiction just doesn’t get any better than this. A riveting, fast-paced story...Magnificent!" —Jeffery Deaver, author of the bestselling The Kill Room and Edge

"Antonia Hodgson’s London of 1727 offers that rare achievement in historical fiction: a time and place suspensefully different from our own, yet real. The Devil in the Marshalsea reminds us at every turn that we ourselves may not have evolved far from its world of debtors and creditors, crime and generosity, appetite and pathos. A damn’d good read." —Elizabeth Kostova, author of The Historian and The Swan Thieves

"A wonderfully convincing picture of the seamier side of 18th-century life. The narrative whips along. Antonia Hodgson has a real feel for how people thought and spoke at the time—and, God knows, that’s a rare talent." —Andrew Taylor, author of An Unpardonable Crime and The Four Last Things "It is the mesh of lies and duplicity that draws you into this brilliant first novel." —The Times (UK) "There are enough plot twists to fill an upturned three-corner hat and a cast of memorable and believable inmates, good and bad. This is a riveting historical thriller that's finely crafted and difficult to put down." —Daily Mail (UK) "Something new in the world of historical crim fiction, with mesmerising detail and atmosphere." —Financial Times (UK) "Splendid...Impeccably researched and astonishingly atmospheric, with time past evoked so strongly that one can almost smell it, this is a truly spellbinding tale." —The Guardian (UK) "Superbly written, historically accurate, always convincing and often quite chilling...A book to savour." —Crime Review (UK) "The plot develops almost as many intricate turns as there are passages in the Marshalsea...Hodgson’s plotting is clever...the local color hair-raising." –Kirkus Reviews

"[Hodgson] conjures up scenes of Dickensian squalor and marries them to a crackerjack plot, in her impressive first novel...Hodgson makes the stench, as well as the despair, almost palpable, besides expertly dropping fair clues. Fans of Iain Pears and Charles Palliser will hope for a sequel." --Publishers Weekly (STARRED REVIEW)

"Satisfyingly twisty debut thriller...so well detailed that one can almost smell the corruption, and the irrepressibly roguish Tom makes a winning hero." —Booklist

"Hodgson...conjures up scenes of Dickensian squalor and marries them to a crackerjack plot, in her impressive first novel...Hodgson makes the stench, as well as the despair, almost palpable, besides expertly dropping fair clues. Fans of Iain Pears and Charles Palliser will hope for a sequel." --Publishers Weekly (STARRED REVIEW)

"The plot develops almost as many intricate turns as there are passages in the Marshalsea...Hodgson’s plotting is clever...the local color hair-raising." –Kirkus Reviews

"Satisfyingly twisty debut thriller...so well detailed that one can almost smell the corruption, and the irrepressibly roguish Tom makes a winning hero." —Booklist

"Historical fiction just doesn’t get any better than this. A riveting, fast-paced story...Magnificent!" —Jeffery Deaver, author of the bestselling The Kill Room and Edge

"Antonia Hodgson’s London of 1727 offers that rare achievement in historical fiction: a time and place suspensefully different from our own, yet real. The Devil in the Marshalsea reminds us at every turn that we ourselves may not have evolved far from its world of debtors and creditors, crime and generosity, appetite and pathos. A damn’d good read." —Elizabeth Kostova, author of The Historian and The Swan Thieves

"A wonderfully convincing picture of the seamier side of 18th-century life. The narrative whips along. Antonia Hodgson has a real feel for how people thought and spoke at the time—and, God knows, that’s a rare talent." —Andrew Taylor, author of An Unpardonable Crime and The Four Last Things

"Historical fiction just doesn’t get any better than this. A riveting, fast-paced story...Magnificent!" —Jeffery Deaver, author of the bestselling The Kill Room and Edge

"Antonia Hodgson’s London of 1727 offers that rare achievement in historical fiction: a time and place suspensefully different from our own, yet real. The Devil in the Marshalsea reminds us at every turn that we ourselves may not have evolved far from its world of debtors and creditors, crime and generosity, appetite and pathos. A damn’d good read." —Elizabeth Kostova, author of The Historian and The Swan Thieves

"A wonderfully convincing picture of the seamier side of 18th-century life. The narrative whips along. Antonia Hodgson has a real feel for how people thought and spoke at the time—and, God knows, that’s a rare talent." —Andrew Taylor, author of An Unpardonable Crime and The Four Last Things

"Satisfyingly twisty debut thriller...so well detailed that one can almost smell the corruption, and the irrepressibly roguish Tom makes a winning hero." —Booklist

"Historical fiction just doesn’t get any better than this. A riveting, fast-paced story...Magnificent!" —Jeffery Deaver, author of the bestselling The Kill Room and Edge

"Antonia Hodgson’s London of 1727 offers that rare achievement in historical fiction: a time and place suspensefully different from our own, yet real. The Devil in the Marshalsea reminds us at every turn that we ourselves may not have evolved far from its world of debtors and creditors, crime and generosity, appetite and pathos. A damn’d good read." —Elizabeth Kostova, author of The Historian and The Swan Thieves

"A wonderfully convincing picture of the seamier side of 18th-century life. The narrative whips along. Antonia Hodgson has a real feel for how people thought and spoke at the time—and, God knows, that’s a rare talent." —Andrew Taylor, author of An Unpardonable Crime and The Four Last Things