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May 30, 2013bibliofinn rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Brilliant Victorian pastiche, with intriguing characters, effortless style, and faultless historical accuracy. Taylor starts slowly, then ratchets up the tension with a sure, unrelenting hand. The set-piece recounting of the Epsom Derby pulses with life and colour. Although there are characters from every walk of life joined together by circumstance, it's not a Dickensian novel. Taylor seems more like Thackeray, observing with a cold eye and never letting much sentiment seep into his telling of the story. The atmosphere can feel pretty chilly, but he does have some feel for the pathos of his second-rate crooks and connivers. And Rebecca is a wonderful, sphinx-like creation who mystifies us right up to the last page.