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An unusual and often compelling blend of literary, historical and speculative fiction based around a manuscript found in a university library.

In Confessions of the Fox, a fictional academic, Dr. Voth, finds a manuscript in the library where he works, and takes it home to read and edit. The lengthy manuscript purports to be the true story of Jack Sheppard, an eighteenth-century London thief and prison-breaker. Voth comments on the work in a series of footnotes which illuminate his own story as a transgender academic. The result is a dual narrative: a third person manuscript telling Jack's story and a contemporary first person account by Dr. Voth.

The author, Jordy Rosenberg, mostly leans on historical records to paint his version of Jack Sheppard. Unlike the real Jack Sheppard (see 'Beyond the Book') however, the fictional equivalent is a transgender man.

When the story begins, Jack is an eleven-year old girl, handed over by his desperate mother, into an apprenticeship in carpentry with a cruel man called Kneebone. Jack is shackled every night to his bed but several years later, when he learns to pick the lock that holds him, he escapes and falls in love with a young Asian prostitute, Edgeworth Bess. With Bess, Jack is able to be the person he really is and embraces a life of thieving and burglary. When he is caught and imprisoned he makes a spectacular escape that captures the imagination of all London but his celebrity also brings him enemies. And when Jack steals something that belongs to London underworld crime boss Jonathan Wild, it seems that Jack and Bess will be lucky to escape London alive.

Confessions of the Fox is hard to categorize, and at times difficult to read, for several reasons. The prose is exuberant, vivid and highly evocative, but there is strong sexual content and language, and a scene of eighteenth-century surgery that is genuinely stomach-churning. The characters are compelling and interesting, particularly in the manuscript, and readers can invest closely in Jack's emotional and physical journey. But there are times where it feels as if the author has thrown everything he has into the mix: a subplot about the drainage of the Fens (a large marshland in eastern England), a story of pirate elixir created from pig's urine, discussion of chimeras and philosophical debates about the works of Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The footnotes in Dr. Voth's quirky voice are humorous and engaging but they interrupt the narrative drive.

This is a complex novel with layers of meaning and textual questioning that would merit discussion in an academic tutorial and may push away the average reader. That said, Rosenberg's writing is top-notch, his talent is undeniable and his evocation of early eighteenth-century London is a pleasure to read.

This review first ran in the August 1, 2018 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.

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