The Joy of Novels Set in Victorian England
When I began to write fiction as well as nonfiction, I knew I wanted to write in the mystery-supernatural-thriller space. And I liked the idea of setting a mystery series in an interesting historical period. And what about my readers? Yes, of course—I wanted a time and place that would be fun and interesting for them, too!
The Victorian Detectives
The answer for me was London in the late Victorian period: say, the 1880s to the turn of the century. This was really England’s second Golden Age (the first was the Elizabethan period). Just a bit earlier than that were the decades when the detective was born. Poe was first in 1841 with “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and his great sleuth C. Auguste Dupin. Then came Charles Dickens’s Inspector Bucket in Bleak House, and Wilkie Collins’s Sergeant Cuff in The Moonstone. And then, in 1887, Arthur Conan Doyle’s A Study In Scarlet gave us the most famous detective of them all: Sherlock Holmes.
The Interesting Victorian Period
An intoxicating mix of crimes, deductions, and thrilling investigations, this Victorian England! The Victorians also offered an endlessly interesting (if stratified) society, with a wide range of personalities, characters, and motives. The period was also a lively one in terms of inventions and advances in medicine. This last point was of great interest to me since my central character, William Scarlet, was to be a surgeon and detective at Scotland Yard.
William Scarlet, Surgeon and Psychic Detective
Add to this the fact that Dr. Scarlet has a psychic ability that aids him in his investigations, and the pieces were all in place. The first of my books would take place in London, in 1887. It would be a glimpse of Victorian London at the height of its Golden Age, and include chilling plot twists, and a portrait of a city gripped by fear. And also, a strong element of the supernatural, due to my main character’s psychic ability . . . which he finds increasingly essential as he tracks down a serial killer.
You can see the results yourself in RED SEASON, Book #1 in the Dr. William Scarlet Mysteries, which will be available on Amazon and this website starting on April 4, 2024:
Next time, I’ll share with you some of the best books for exploring this fascinating period—so important in the history of the United Kingdom, and so rich in fictional interest. Thanks for reading, and see you then. BE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE BELOW!
