Every now and then a debut novel comes
along that stands out from the crowd. The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola is one.
Sarah Gale is a seamstress, prostitute and
single mother, incarcerated in Newgate Prison, sentenced to hang for her role
in the murder of Hannah Brown. Young, ambitious lawyer, Edmund Fleetwood, is
appointed to investigate Sarah’s petition for mercy, yet she refuses to help
him. Convinced that Sarah is hiding something, and unable to understand why she
won’t act to save her own life, Edmund must discover what really happened on
the night of the murder. In the process, he discovers some unsetting truths.
The exact details of the Edgeware Road
Murder – a real murder case that became a press sensation in 1837 – remain
shady to this day. Sarah, convicted of aiding and abetting James Greenacre in
the gristly crime, refused to defend herself, stating only that she knew
nothing of it.
Sarah Gale’s silence during her trial and
incarceration is fertile ground for a novelist and Mazzola, a criminal justice
lawyer, has clearly relished both the research and the possibilities. Real
testimony and newspaper clippings are weaved throughout. Sometimes such
embellishments can detract from a story but here they add depth to it.
Mazzola’s legal background shines through too, especially in the character of
Fleetwood, whose pragmatic approach to finding the facts is soon challenged.
It’s hard to believe this is a debut novel.
Mazzola’s prose is wonderful and the characters are complex and convincing. The
cleverly woven plot is revealed gradually with tension maintained right up to
the closing lines. Sarah is particularly well drawn; fascinating, frustrating
and sympathetic by turns, echoing Fleetwood’s experience of her as she refuses
to help him prove her innocence.
I particularly enjoyed the gritty
depictions of poverty stricken 19th century London and its injustices
(reminding me a little of, among others, Michel Faber’s The Crimson Petal and
the White or Sarah Waters’ Affinity). The depiction of Newgate prison, with its
harsh conditions and reprehensible inmates, is particularly visceral. But for
me, the book's message about the position of women at the time stood out
as one of the strongest themes. Without legal or financial rights, many women’s
lives were determined by men. As such, Sarah could come across as a
victim, but Mazzola avoids this, ensuring that Sarah finds a way to choose her
own fate, even if it’s a shocking one, as she offers up a plausible and
satisfying solution to the mystery.
This is a novel that raises questions about
the nature of truth, secrets and manipulation, the lies we tell ourselves and
what we choose to believe. And it’s a gripping read. If you like your
historical crime beautifully written, intelligent and genuinely moving, this is
one for you.
Anna kindly agreed to answer a few questions about the
book:
Where and when
did you first come across the story of Sarah Gale and what was it that
fascinated you about her story?
I first heard about James Greenacre and the
murder of Hannah Brown in the Suspicions of Mr Whicher. The crime is mentioned
only briefly, but seized my attention as it took place in Camberwell, not far
from where I live. However, when I read the Old Bailey transcript, I realized
this was Sarah Gale’s story. She was accused of helping Greenacre to conceal
the horrific murder of another woman and yet she said virtually nothing
throughout the entire trial. Her barrister gave a short statement on her behalf
saying that she was not in Camberwell at the time of the murder and knew
nothing of it afterwards. Very little is said to combat the various claims that
are made against Sarah or to deal with the different pieces of evidence that
are offered up. Given she was facing the death sentence, I thought that was
very strange. What was really going on?
You must
have done quite a bit of research into the case. Did you make any surprising
discoveries or have any 'aha!' moments?
I did a huge amount of research – that’s
always the most fun part, isn’t it? – and had quite a few ‘AHA’ and ‘OMG’
moments, but I’m afraid I can’t tell you about most of them without spoiling
the plot. I was unnerved to learn that James Greenacre had left Sarah his
spectacles. I suppose glasses at that time were valuable, and it was perhaps an
act of kindness, but he doesn’t seem to have been a kind man. Far from it. I
wondered if it could have been a message: a warning that he was still watching.
Sarah could
be considered a victim – due to her treatment by men, the courts and the press
– but she doesn't come across like that at all. Was the issue of women's rights
or legal position at the time in your mind when creating her?
Yes, because I think it’s an important part
of Sarah’s story and what ultimately happened to her. This was an era in which
married women had no legal personality of their own, and when wives who had
committed crimes under the influence of their husband were judged to have a
defence due to apparently having no mind of their own. At the same time, women
who committed crimes were judged to be particularly abhorrent as they were
subverting the feminine norm. They were angels or demons – there doesn’t seem
to have been much in between – and the other characters in The Unseeing have
pronounced views on which they think Sarah is. Sarah of course knows that, and
works with what she has.
Without giving away any spoilers, do you
think your background as a lawyer helped or hindered you in creating a
fictional solution to the crime?
It was definitely a hindrance. It took me a
long time, and several beatings from my agent, before I was able to move away
from the ‘facts’ and produce a narrative that anyone would actually want to
read. I’m of course used to working with real cases where facts are
all-important, so it was difficult for me to accept that I had to let go of
factual accuracy in order to achieve a different kind of narrative truth.
It’s part of the reason that one of the key themes of The Unseeing is truth and
deception.
What's
next? Can you tell us what you're working on now?
I’m currently writing my second historical
crime novel, which is set on the Isle of Skye in 1857. It’s about a young woman
who goes to work for a collector of folklore and discovers that a young girl
has gone missing, supposedly taken by spirits, although of course that’s not
what she believes. Again, the idea was sparked by a real case, but given my
difficulty with leaving ‘the facts’ I haven’t tried to base it on the case in
the same way that I did with The Unseeing. I may, however, return to that
format for book three. Just to make things difficult for myself.
The Unseeing is out on 14th July and Anna will be our History Girls guest this month. Look out for her post on 29th July!
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