Victorian’s fascination with the macabre continues to both intrigue and slightly repel me in this new novel by author Lizzie Pook. Set in the mid-1800s, we follow Maude Horton, a steady, reliable young woman who helps her grandfather in his pharmacy. Maude has an olfactory gift that aids her tremendously when working with chemical compounds in the pharmacy.

Maude is heartbroken and frustrated in her attempt to get answers from an unhelpful British admiralty about her beloved younger sister Constance's death. Constance had been to the Arctic on the Makepeace, whose crew were tasked with finding the missing Franklin expedition. Constance, obviously, had disguised herself, as a woman alone on a ship would have been in danger otherwise. Keen on adventure, Constance had cut her hair, dressed as a boy, and called herself Jack Aldridge to get employed on the Makepeace.

Maude is dismissed by naval command, but a clerk decides to help her for his own reasons, and surreptitiously gives Maude Constance's diary. Maude learns much about her sister, including a secret romance from before she ran away, from the diary entries. Constance comes alive in each new day's recounting as she writes about the cramped, smelly conditions, her worries about discovery, and the fears Constance began to have for her safety after learning of criminal activity aboard. Maude learns that a seemingly wealthy man named Edmund Stowe who was also aboard who made Constance worried and fearful because of his violent behaviour and lack of concern for anyone. The more Maude reads, the more convinced she is she needs to make the acquaintance of both Stowe, and the one person on the ship who befriended her sister, the surgeon Mr. Sedgewick.

Meanwhile, we begin to get a fuller picture of the financially strapped Edmund Stowe back from the Arctic, and his awful childhood and early psychopathic tendencies,. Stowe, noticing the interest in hangings, sets up a business that takes wealthy people by train to the location of an execution.

Maude joins one of these expeditions, and meets him, while befriending Charlotte Hollis, the wife of a man working at Madame Tussaud’s, which becomes the site of the story’s climax.

The author gives us three point of view characters: Maude, Constance (through her diary entries) and Edmund Stowe.

The two sisters are such a contrast to one another: Maude happy to stay safely in London and work in the pharmacy, Constance eager for adventure. Both are clever, courageous and determined, and it's these qualities that keeps Constance going on the ship, and Maude intent on finding answers.

Stowe is thoroughly awful, but it is impossible not to feel a tiny bit of sympathy for him when we discover what his parents were like. Otherwise, he's unlikeable, and lacking in empathy for others.

I loved the way Constance's journal entries really brought life aboard the Makepeace to life, with its cramped quarters, bad food, and surly crew.

I also enjoyed learning about the public's fascination for executions during the 1800s, to the extent that people would fashion and sell collectibles for the crowds attending the events.

The resolution to the story worked for me, and the novel as a whole was interesting and kept me reading.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge was gloriously unpredictable. With many researched, historic details, Lizzie Pook takes the reader on an adventure. The adventure is dangerous, cold, and yet, thrilling. If you're looking for an unexpected look into the past - one with hangings, murderers and the love of a sister - this is definitely the book for you.

This was a very good book, I had read the previous book by this author and did not hesitate to request this one and I was not disappointed. Constance and Maude are sisters, they live with their grandfather who runs an apothecary in 1850's London England. Constance is the younger of the two and she wants adventure in life she's bored or working with her sister and grandfather and decides to disguise herself as a young boy and become a ship's boy on a huge ship sailing for the Northwest Passage to search for Sir John Franklin and the two ships that were exploring a new passage and have not been heard from in a few years. Maude eventually receives a letter from the Admiralty that Constance (known as Jack Aldridge on the ship) has died after an accident on the ship. After confronting the Admiral, one of the staff members gives her the diary that Constance had been keeping while on board. The book alternates between the diary entries and Maude's search for answers. The diary leads her to Edison Stowe who had also been on the ship and returned to London. Maude trails him around London to discover that he is not a pleasant individual, owes lots of money to a lender who is also looking for him. This book was incredibly well written, the characters came to life for me, my only issue would that some words were missing letters, for example 'flap' would show as 'ap', usually it was the fl characters that seemed to be missing. Otherwise I would highly recommend and I look forward to her next book. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Simon and Schuster for the ARC.

First of all, I appreciate how much research went into the writing of this historical mystery. I learned quite a bit, especially regarding "Murder Mania". While I've enjoyed many books set in Victorian England, I somehow never knew about society's fascination with public executions.

Maude Horton is a quietly brave and gutsy young woman, determined to find out what really happened to her sister, Constance, who snuck aboard a ship bound for the Arctic. I think Maude's character evolution was great, especially to see her come into her own and find her own identity. However, I found her self-deprecation and self-doubt off-putting at times.

The end was a bit hurried for me, after a rather slow beginning. I feel as though too much happened off the page and the details were glossed over. Maude's revenge plan came together too well without enough explanation as to how, or perhaps it was just me. It felt like there were too much details at times and not enough elsewhere.

There is quite a bit of animal cruelty discussed or alluded to in this book, so please keep that in mind. Also, get ready for a truly heinous character, Edison Stowe.

When her sister goes missing while on a expedition looking for Franklin's ship in the Artic, Maude Horton wants answers. When she get them, she wants revenge. It is not a mystery, as you know right away what happened to her sister, but more of journey about how it is all going to play out. If you like The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle or a heist novel, this might work for you.

Descriptions of the Arctic were well done as well as life in the Victorian period in London. The Horton sisters were brought up in an interesting environment which proved to be beneficial to them. They certainly were not afraid of being curious and seeking adventure and in Maude ‘s case revenge. An interesting read that has is share of despicable characters and cruelty to humans and animals.

This is a dark and fascinating historical fiction set in 1950 England. It features an Arctic adventure as told by Constance, who was disguised as a boy on a ship trying to find the Franklin Expedition, and Maude, her sister who seeks revenge for Constance's death. The title led me to expect some humour in the story, but this was a more serious tale with a slight twist and a satisfying ending. 4/5 stars

Beautifully consuming. Her attention to subtle detail that puts you right in the scene and era was amazing; coupled with the characters so fantastically crafted, and the riveting dual storyline, this is a book to remember. I highly recommend!

I think this book deserves at least a 4-star rating, but first, I must discuss the problems with the ARC I received. I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the early electronic copy of the book and for introducing me to Lizzie Pook, an author new to me and whose books I am anxious to read. The format of my ARC made the reading difficult and tedious. I became interested in the descriptions of the characters, immersed in the locations, and determined to push through to the end.

Words with FL or FI had those letters deleted. When they were at the beginning of a word, it was relatively easy to figure out. However, when these letters were omitted within a longer word, it became a puzzle to determine where to place them so that the word made sense along with the sentence containing it. I love a well-researched historical novel and puzzles, but not in this combination.

This is a grim, dark mystery based on historical research, and with vivid troubled and troubling characters, some disturbing and disturbed. It places many of the characters in London in the first half of the 1800s. There was a morbid and bizarre fascination with well-publicized murders through newspapers, bulletins and flyers. Public hangings were events that drew enthusiastic crowds, sometimes in the tens of thousands. Hotels, pubs and eating places sprang up near the gallows to cater to viewers, souvenirs were sold, and even sightseeing tours were arranged for these grisly events. Such a fictional tour is described in the story. There is even a shop displaying and selling the bones of rare and slaughtered animals that will play a part in the story.

Maud is a beautiful young woman who is shy, introverted, and unwilling to take chances. She envisions her future as staying at home with her grandfather and sister and working in her grandfather's apothecary shop. She has no interest in venturing out to make a life for herself. Her sister, Constance, loves adventure and excitement. She is bold, daring, and outgoing. She disguises herself as a male and takes a job on the ship, The Makepeace, as a cabin boy, Jack Aldridge. The ship is bound for Arctic waters, one of the many searching for the lost Franklyn expedition. Some onboard have other goals, making them dangerous.

Jack (Constance) keeps a hidden diary with descriptions of the turbulent seas, the ice floes, the freezing cold, and observations of what she witnesses onboard that makes her uneasy. After two years at sea, a letter from the British Admiralty informs Maud that her sister has died. Maud is given Jack's diary, and she firmly believes her sister's death was not caused by accident but that she was murdered. Maud is determined to push out of her comfort zone to learn what really happened to Constance (Jack). She is driven to avenge her sister's death, and suspicion falls on Edison Stowe, a cruel science officer who has now returned to hard times in London. He is being threatened by a gangster trying to collect on loans he made to Edison.

There are many twists and turns I didn't anticipate, and I recommend the book to readers who love to immerse themself in a well-written, dark, absorbing historical mystery. It will be published on January 16th.

Im always looking for new mysteries written in Victorian times. Lizzie Pook's book "Maude Horton's Glorious

Revenge" was indeed one of those mysteries. A young woman Maude wants answers as to why and who

was responsible for her sister Constance's death.

Lizzie Pook knows how to keep her audience wanting to know more. I will definitely be recommending her

book to my friends.

What can I say? I couldn’t put the book down.

From the title the reader already thinks they know how this book will end, but titles can be deceiving, as can the storyline of the book.

Maude is endeavoring to exact revenge on her sister’s murderer. This story is told from multiple POV and the different points of view work together to reveal what really happened to Maude’s sister. It works to show the reader how history as reported isn’t always what it seems. The book is full of fiction wrapped in well researched truth.

Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge is a great story full of conspiracy, blood, and gore. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to @simonshcusterca and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. @lizziepook, thank you for writing a glorious story vengeance.