Cremorne Gardens

MUSEUM OF LONDON
Friday, April 9, 2010, 13:00 - 13:45
FREE but please book in advance: 020 7001 9844

I've been asked to speak on the subject of Cremorne Pleasure Gardens at the Museum of London next week - the background setting to my fourth book The Last Pleasure Garden (pub. 2006). Part of the revamped Victorian section of the museum (opening in May) will feature a recreation of a pleasure garden - hence the renewed interest.

    Pleasure gardens were - for the most part - built on the borders of London in the 17th/18th century (Marylebone and Islington were popular areas) to provide a range of outdoor amusements. The astonishingly long-lived Vauxhall Gardens (1661-1859) is the most famous - but it had a rival in Cremorne Gardens (1836-77) across the river in Chelsea.
     Cremorne had something of a split personality. By day, it was a respectable park / theme-park, with fun-fair shows and amusements (American-style bowling alleys, a maze, a fortune-telling 'hermit' ... I'll spare you the full list). By night, however, it was (so moralists claimed) a notorious den of vice. A typical Cremorne bill of fare can be seen on the right of this blog. If you would like to know more, then come to my talk, where we will discuss, in passing, the Beckwith Frogs; the Italian Salamander; De Groot, the Flying Man (& his terrible demise) and the unfortunate end of Cremorne itself.

Mesmerising Book News

MESMERISING BOOK NEWS

Regular readers will know my next novel is The Mesmerist's Apprentice, the second adventure for Sarah Tanner. It starts with a 'horse-meat riot' and - needless to say, via a complicated series of twists and turns - leads our determined heroine into the clutches of a dubious physician, who allegedly achieves his success through the practice of mesmerism. Throw in the re-appearance of her erstwhile lover, Arthur DeSalle, now married, and she's in for a difficult time ... bet you won't guess the ending, either ...

The book is pre-order-able at Amazon and you can read the first chapter here.

No appearances planned as yet, with the exception of the Paris Book Fair, where you'll find me with my French publisher, Editions 10/18, promoting Le Jardins des Derniers Plaisirs ...

Bookshops of Note

BOOKSHOPS OF NOTE

Just back from signing a few copies of A Most Dangerous Woman, second signing of the week, and it occurs to me that I should really give a big vote of thanks to two bookshops who've supported my work over the last few years. First is Heffers in Cambridge, whose Richard Reynolds organises the annual "Bodies in the Bookshop" get-together and sundry other "criminal" events, and the second is the signed first-edition specialists Goldsboro Books, run by Dave and Daniel, situated in the bookselling alley that is Cecil Court (which coincidentally, honestly, is the location for a seedy book-selling racket in the my first novel, London Dust ... !). Both shops are marvellous and visitors in Cambridge and London respectively should seek them out.

A Most Dangerous Woman

Publication week for my fifth novel ... The book is called "A Most Dangerous Woman", and introduces Sarah Tanner, a "lady detective" (of sorts) who will appear in an ongoing series, set in 1850s London. For more about the book, see here.

The Last Pleasure Garden

THE LAST PLEASURE GARDEN

Readers of my books (there are a couple out there, I believe) should be aware that the paperback of The Last Pleasure Garden is now available. Another murder mystery, but this time set against the strange background of Cremorne Gardens in Chelsea. Pleasure-gardens were common in the London suburbs until the mid-Victorian period, when they gained a rather risqué reputation for their nocturnal activities - not least al fresco dancing - which were said to encourage prostitution and vice. (This is probably true, but not much more than the average theatre or music hall.) The decline of Cremorne involved religious protestors, antagonistic licensing authorities, nimby neighbours, and several libel actions. In my book, of course, there are a couple of murders as well ...

Audio Versions

Audio Versions

Just a quick note to say that the audio cassette version of The Last Pleasure Garden is now available. You can order the cassettes or listen to a snippet online. I'm told that digital audio/mp3 versions of my books (and others by the same publisher) will be released in due course but, until then, if you want to hear me on the bus, drop your Ipod and retrieve your 1980s Walkman from the cupboard. [well, I still have mine ...]

Heffers Bookshop

Heffers Bookshop, Cambridge - 22nd February

A quick note to say that I will be 'appearing' at Heffers Bookshop, Cambridge (UK) as part of their Crime through Time evening on February 22nd 2007. It's an annual event (there is a parallel general crime night 'Bodies in the Bookshop' in the summer) where 'historical crime' writers gather, chat and mingle with anyone who turns up. There's normally two dozen writers there, often overwhelming the public, signing books and talking shop. I fear, in fact, that the authors enjoy it more than anyone else ... but do come along!