A bit hard to get into, but once in, it was even more difficult to get out and put it down. A very interesting look into the deeper parts of Victorian London, the great stinking sewers and from here to the traumatic Crimea War. It is a wonder that anyone survived at all during this period. Left me wanting to know more about William and his family and their later trials and tribulations.

I chanced upon this book in my local library where I typically take out two to three books per week mostly non-fiction and historical fiction.I found this book to rank close to the top of all the historical fiction I have read over the years.The characters were rich and alive and described as good if not better than in Dickens or Victor Hugo.The underground sewers were described so vividly with the smells,the muck and the never ending rat population put the reader right in the middle of this nightmarish situation.The individual relationships between William and his wife and Long Arm Tom and his dog were both poignant and disturbing.All of this and a murder mystery to boot makes this book a must read.I hope Clare Clark is working on her next book!