Waterstones The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock
1779 ratings
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Price: £9.99
Brand: Waterstones
Description: One September evening in 1785, the merchant Jonah Hancock finds one of his captains waiting eagerly on his doorstep. He has sold Jonah's ship for what appears to be a mermaid. As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlours and brothels, everyone wants to see Mr Hancock's marvel. Its arrival spins him out of his ordinary existence and through the doors of high society, where he meets Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes on. and a courtesan of great accomplishment. This meeting will steer both their lives onto a dangerous new course. What will be the cost of their ambitions? And will they be able to escape the legendary destructive power a mermaid is said to possess?. Waterstones The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk
Category: Books
Merchant: Waterstones
Product ID: 9781784705992
Delivery cost: 2.99
ISBN: 9781784705992
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Author: BenetB
Rating: 5
Review: Set in 1785-86, this is a beautifully-written and exceptionally empathetic account of the unpredictable relationship between Jonah Hancock a solid Deptford Merchant and Angelica Neal a St James' courtesan. Mr Hancock is widower, Angelica needs another protector after the unfortunate decease of her last one. Characters as the 'Abbess' or Madam, the Merchant's young niece, the other courtesans, sea captains etc. are portrayed with immense skill, as the dialogue is both very revealing of character and correct for the period. The mermaid of the title is a novelty displayed to the paying public, though later we discover another mermaid which appears to be alive... This is probably the best 18th century -set novel of modern times. It has much of the authenticity of Haywood, Fielding, Richardson or Burney, but with modern pacing (and indeed a very modern description of a 'party' in the high-class brothel.) My only criticism, hardly worth making, is that the title rather lets the cat out of the bag. But really very, very good and I am sorry I discovered it rather late.
Author: Violets
Rating: 2
Review: I had just finished reading the fantastic Circe when I bought Mermaid and can rarely remember ever before being so disappointed in a book. From the start there are an abundance of “withins” often rather than using the word inside. But much much worse is the repeated (I have counted twenty) instances where for dramatic effect the opposite of within is taken as being without rather than outwith, so a knocking sound is thought by the main character to have come from “within” (i.e. inside the room in which he stands) and he discovers that it is actually from “without” (i.e. outwith, in plain English someone knocking on his door). Every single “within” has a spell checked inserted erroneous “outwith” partnering it in the next sentence. Miss Gowar and her editor repeat these (and many other) childish affectations and errors throughout I would assume in an attempt to portray an educated, period appropriate, learned style of writing. However, I found that the whole book read like an enthusiastic sixth form essay, worse still when thrown into relief by Miss Miller, who has no difficulty in displaying an easy representation of her natural skill, subject knowledge, education and sensitivity with her glorious use of language, transporting the reader back through the centuries to the world(s) of the Ancients. I have been totally captivated by Circe over past weeks. Luckily I have The Song of Achilles waiting for me but for anyone looking for an excellent novel set just slightly later than Mermaid but with a Dickensian like telling of the credible relationship of a Victorian prostitute named Sugar and a wealthy widower named William I would absolutely recommend the huge and engrossing The Crimson Petal and The Red by Faber, meanwhile Mermaid should in my opinion be categorised as Young Adult and marketed as such. However, I feel cheated by national newspapers and award givers alike.
