The Corset by Laura Purcell

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Raven Books (20 Sept. 2018)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1408889617
• ISBN-13: 978-1408889619

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

Is prisoner Ruth Butterham mad or a murderer? Victim or villain?

Dorothea and Ruth.

Prison visitor and prisoner. Powerful and powerless.

Dorothea Truelove is young, wealthy and beautiful. Ruth Butterham is young, poor and awaiting trial for murder.

When Dorothea’s charitable work leads her to Oakgate Prison, she is delighted to have the chance to explore her fascination with phrenology and test her hypothesis that the shape of a person’s skull can cast a light on their darkest crimes. But when she meets teenage seamstress Ruth, she is faced with another theory: that it is possible to kill with a needle and thread. For Ruth attributes her crimes to a supernatural power inherent in her stitches.

The story Ruth has to tell of her deadly creations – of bitterness and betrayal, of death and dresses – will shake Dorothea’s belief in rationality, and the power of redemption.

Can Ruth be trusted? Is she mad, or a murderer?

 

Review

After the huge success of her first novel The Silent Companions, Lara Purcell is back with her second novel The Corset.  Set in the Victorian period, with a touch of the gothic and supernatural to it, The Corset tells the story of two very different women, who are victims of their own circumstances yet at different ends of the social scale.  Dorothea, is twenty five, unmarried, living with her father but  has the luxury of being financially independent due to money left for her by her mother.  Ruth is sixteen and in prison waiting trial for murder.  She has no money, no family, and has had a terrible existence so far, working as a seamstress and suffering terrible abuse . Dorothea, as part of her charity work, visits Ruth who slowly reveals her story. These women are the narrators of the book and we see the disparity of their lives, the social systems of Victorian Britain, the treatment of women, the treatment of the poor, and the prison system.

Dorothea wants to be a modern woman, break away from convention, have some independence and choose her own path in life and marriage.  She has an interest in phrenology; the belief that the brain is an organ of the mind and that certain areas of the brain have specific functions that could be measured on the skull.  Dorothea visits female prisoners and measures their heads to see if they has a propensity towards crime, and if through repentance these areas of the brain can reduce.  This is how she meets Ruth, and is drawn into her story of how she believes has committed murder simply by sewing stitches of hate into clothing.

The Corset paints an opposing picture of nineteenth century England.  Money gives Dorothea all the opportunities available, yet she wants to walk away from that and marry a man her father would not approve of.  Ruth has no money, has seen what poverty can reduce people to and how the poor work in terrible conditions and are victims of physical and verbal abuse at the hands of their employers.  Some of the acts described really are horrific and make you question if Ruth is a victim rather than the villain, and that her situation has maybe sent her mad.

Laura Purcell captures the atmosphere of the period perfectly, both in the more beautiful settings like the Botanical Gardens, and in the cellar at Mrs Meynard’s which has no light, no heat and only straw to sleep on.  The use of Victorian terminology, and language adds to the authenticity of the book and gives a real sense of place, and time.  It is a beautifully written book, with both dark and light; murder, and love, poverty and privilege.  This also applies to her characterisation, where the characters are brought to life with detailed backgrounds and descriptions, but not all are likeable. Laura Purcell’s prose draws you into this plot, and you remain almost hypnotised by the story of Ruth and Dorothea, and their strange friendship.

The Corset is a deliciously dark and disturbing tale of nineteenth century England.  There is an undercurrent  of menace  that is always lurking at the edges of the  story, that adds tension and fear.   This book is about a lot more than Ruth’s innocence or guilt, it is about belief, a touch of the supernatural and  society failing those in need.  A memorising, gripping and tense read, right until the last shocking page; simply superb.

 

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