Blog Tour - The Canary Keeper
The Canary Keeper
by Clare Carson
On my Blog today I have the pleasure of
Sharing with you.......
The Canary Keeper
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Book Information
A must-read historical epic, weaving suspense, adventure and romance into an
exhilarating thriller. The Canary Keeper is imbued with mythology and storytelling,
as well as an atmospheric and encompassing portrait of 1850s Britain.
In the grey mist of the early morning a body is dumped on the shore of the Thames by a boatman in a metal canoe. The city is soon alive with talk of the savage Esquimaux stalking Victorian London and an eye witness who claims the killer had an accomplice: a tall woman dressed in widow’s weeds.
Branna ‘Birdie’ Quinn had no good reason to be by the river that morning, but she did not kill the man. She’d seen him first the day before, desperate to give her a message she refused to hear. But now the Filth will see her hang for this murder.
To save her life, Birdie must trace the dead man’s footsteps. Back onto the ship that carried him to his death, back to cold isles of Orkney that sheltered him, and up to the far north, a harsh and lawless land which holds more answers than she looks to find.
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My Review
4☆ An Atmospheric Historical Mystery!
The Canary Keeper is a wonderfully captivating and intriguing historical mystery set in the 19th century.
Birdie finds herself involved in a murder mystery when she discovers a body on the bank of the River Thames.
Unfortunately for her in finding the body implicates her as the prime suspect.
In order to clear her good name, Birdie has no other option but to investigate the murder herself. So she sets out to Orkney in Scotland to follow up her only lead.
But can her travels to Orkney help her to clear her name? Can she discover the truth and find out who the murderer is?
This is a book you really need to take your time with, it's not a Pacy read as such but there is many threads to the story that takes time to uncover. But don't let this stop you from picking it up, as taking the extra time and concentration will most definitely pay off!
The Canary Keeper is such an endearing and captivating read, it's full of Intrigue, mystery, rich in history, a dash of romance and a sprinkling of magic.
The settings were superbly written, atmospheric and drew me in perfectly.
I really liked the characters, they were authentic, strong female leads and very well written.
Oh and the book cover is one of my favourite covers this year! It's pretty special!
So if you love books that are rich in historical fiction and mystery then you will absolutely love The Canary Keeper !
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A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
What was Victorian Britain really like? It’s hard to envisage life in the nineteenth century without seeing it through the eyes of Dickens. His descriptions of grimy streets and austere workhouses create our Victorian landscape. His characters shape our view of its inhabitants. But if you trawl through contemporary accounts, you find the people he overlooked, or misrepresented.
Nineteenth century London was the Vast Emporium of All Nations, served by its great port. The docks were teeming with people of many races who arrived on ships from every continent. One report describes flaxen-haired Germans chatting beside black sailors wearing cotton handkerchief turbans. Another, the Esquimaux Indians, who came over with the ships from North America, paddling around the timber ponds of Surrey Commercial Docks in their canoes. Visitors found lodgings in the river’s hinterland, alongside communities of Irish and Jewish immigrants.
These descriptions inspired the opening scene of The Canary Keeper: a young widow trips over a corpse dumped, by a man paddling a canoe, on the muddy banks of the Thames. When she is accused of being involved in the murder – allegedly, the accomplice of a savage Esquimaux - she travels to Orkney to unearth the real culprit and clear her name. Orkney’s history provided inspiration for many characters in The Canary Keeper. Morag, a trouser-wearing crofter, drew on the life of Isabel Gunn, who disguised herself as a man and sailed from Orkney to North America, where she worked in the fur trade. It was only when Isabel became pregnant that her employers realised she was a woman. In nineteenth century Stromness, many women were forced to become the family breadwinner when they were widowed or left alone while their husbands were at sea. Some ran successful businesses; Christian Robertson was one of Stromness’s most notable shipping merchants, and Robina Flett managed the Commercial Hotel. This history of female entrepreneurs is reflected in the novel.
The story of Franklin’s widow is woven through the book as well. In 1845, Sir John Franklin set sail with two ships for the Arctic, in search of the North West passage. The mysterious disappearance of ships and crew in the icy wastes gripped the public’s imagination. His widow’s grief was captured in the popular ballad, Lady Franklin’s Lament. Lady Franklin’s tragic public persona, however, covered a steely determination that the Admiralty should continue searching for her husband, and her fears that when Sir John was discovered to be dead, she would lose her pension.
While Victorian women were often portrayed by Dickens and others as passive victims, the historical record shows that many found a way to carve some independence. Birdie, the heroine of The Canary Keeper, is a young widow who struggles to escape from a tangle of deceit. It is a story of ties between people of different races and places, and women who overcome subjection to form more loving bonds.
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AUTHOR
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