Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Mar 2022
240 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
When an exhibition featuring London's top engineers results in sudden, violent death, Victorian writer-sleuths Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens investigate.
March, 1859. After the 'Great Stink' of the previous summer when Parliament was overwhelmed by the stench of sewage from the River Thames, and with cholera running rife throughout the city, Charles Dickens has a new enthusiasm. Having formed a firm friendship with Joseph Bazalgette, he is assisting the ambitious young engineer in his efforts to find a solution to London's pollution problem.
Dickens' friend and fellow writer Wilkie Collins meanwhile is distracted by thoughts of his pretty new housekeeper and her charming daughter. But what does he really know of his new employee's past - and just who - or what - is making her so frightened?
During an exhibition to showcase London's top engineers' plans to solve the sewage issue, proceedings are disrupted by a high-pitched, agonised scream - and the discovery of a blood-soaked body; the result - it would appear - of a terrible accident. Dickens however is convinced of foul play, and once again he and Wilkie Collins set about uncovering the shocking truth.
"[S]uperior...Amid clever plot twists, Harrison maintains suspense as the action builds up to the fatal explosion, leaving readers in suspense as to who is killed and why. Collins and Dickens subsequently investigate. Victorian whodunits don't get much better than this." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Another case for those eminent Victorian sleuths Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens...A period mystery bolstered by an exciting mix of imagination and historical truth." - Kirkus Reviews
This information about Spring of Hope was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Cora Harrison was born in Cobh, County Cork, Ireland, but lived in Cork city until she was twenty-one.
When she was about seven years old, Harrison became very ill, and between the ages of seven and thirteen she hardly went to school.
Harrison used have to stay in bed at home, or in hospital, for weeks at a time. She used to pass the time making up stories.
When she was about fourteen, Harrison recovered and began to attend school normally. She went to University College Cork, and after she graduated she went to England.
She got married and had two children: William and Ruth.
Now Harrison has one grandson, Shane.
While her children were growing up, she became a primary school teacher and loved teaching history to children.
She now has published twenty-six books for children, mainly...
This Strange Eventful History
by Claire Messud
An immersive, masterful story of a family born on the wrong side of history.
The Stolen Child
by Ann Hood
An unlikely duo ventures through France and Italy to solve the mystery of a child’s fate.
Only the Brave by Danielle Steel
A powerful, sweeping historical novel about a courageous woman in World War II Germany.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
