Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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“The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what Fiction means.”- Oscar Wilde

The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime by Judith Flanders

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Pleasant it is, no doubt, to drink tea with your sweetheart, but most disagreeable to find her bubbling in the tea-urn- Thomas de Quincey     Judith Flanders spans the crime of the period, from the body snatching/murdering days of Burke and Hare to the joys of Harriet Lowe and “Sweet Fanny Addams” (two dismemberment victims whose names were used to sell of all things, canned meat), to of course, seeing as this is a book about Victorian crime, the entire chapter on Jack the […]

“Yes, I suppose this will teach us all not to prioritize murder before drunkenness,” said I.

The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison

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This is not the story you think it is. These are not the characters you think they are. This is not the book you are expecting. (ain’t that the truth?) In an alternate 1880s London, angels inhabit every public building, and vampires and werewolves walk the streets with human beings in a well-regulated truce. And those human beings remain all too human, with all their kindness and greed and passions and murderous intent. Murderers still stalk the streets of this London too. But this London has […]

We’re all mad here

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito

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I never would have picked this on my own – it was a book club choice. On the other hand, it definitely wasn’t boring and it was short. Hungerstone was the other horror novel set in 19th century England I read in October, and I will say as bonkers as Victorian Psycho, I also preferred it because it just kept me engaged – like a train wreck(Hungerstone was just kind of boring). As much as the narrator’s actions might make you cringe, there’s also just […]

This game is not as fun as the original

The Game is Murder by Hazell Ward

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Bingo 5: G square (first noun of the title is “Game”) Clue the concept and experience is best executed first by the movie (all hail Tim Curry), second by the board game, and very distant thirdly by the novel The Game is Murder. The story takes a family tragedy in 1920s England (the age of the Great Detective) that the family feels is not satisfactorily solved. Lord John Verreman is accused of murdering the nanny having mistaken her for his wife (they had a rocky […]

“I want to lead the Victorian life, surrounded by exquisite clutter.”-Freddie Mercury

How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life by Ruth Goodman

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Ruth Goodman, British freelance historian, gives an in-depth look at what you could expect out of the daily life in Victorian England. A really in-depth look at the life, well researched, and in some cases hands-on. As the title says, she takes you from the moment you would wake up in the morning to the moment you’d close your eyes at night. From morning toilette to evening delight, she covers what you’d wear, what you’d eat, how you’d earn a living, what chores would entail. […]

“I hope you’ll stay here a long time” — Heartwarming Victorian Historical Manga

Shirley by Kaoru Mori

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This is a sweet collection of manga short stories about maids during the Victorian era. Kaoru Mori’s art is so beautiful and fine that this is a delight to read. I love her eye for detail and emotion — I’m always a sucker for someone who can convey deep emotion in just a few lines, and she has that ability. I also appreciate her focus on historical details, as this era is in my zone of interest. This is fiction and has a gentle tone […]



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