Deryn Lake
Death On the Romney Marsh
pbk 16 Apr 98
Death in the Dark Walk
Death at the Devil's Tavern
Death at the Beggar's Opera
About the Author
Bibliography
More Bibliographical Details
The Story Behind the Rawlings and Fielding Mysteries
Writing as Dinah Lampitt
Death On the Romney Marsh
John Rawlings, the brilliant young 18th century apothecary and occasional sleuth, teams up again with London magistrate John Fielding, to investigate a new murder case which will stretch their combined talents to the limits...
Summoned to attend a patient in a house near the lonely Romney Marsh, Rawlings does not suspect that he is walking into a web of conspiracy, intrigue and mystery. Until he discovers a body near a deserted church, bearing a coded document.
Back in London, Rawlings and the Blind Beak identify the victim as a French spy master, come to awaken two sleeping spies, described only as The Frog and The Moth. John returns to the marshes to investigate the murder - and to unmask the secret agents.
A motley bunch of characters emerges: from Sir Ambrose Ffoulkes, a hearty local baronet, his longsuffering wife, the Rector of Winchelsea and his two beautiful daughters to the enigmatic Marquis of Rye; from the unlikely head of the British secret service to the French spy dwelling in London under an assumed identity. But do any of them also go by the names of The Frog and The Moth?
An engrossing and atmospheric new adventure for London's most colourful apothecary
Inspired by real-life detective work for Canada Dry, Lake discovered that John Rawlings, an apothecary, invented carbonated water in England. Lake decided he'd make a wonderful character for a series of Georgian mysteries also featuring John Fielding, the blind half-brother of Henry Fielding (creator of Tom Jones), and his assistant Joe Jago. John, who was referred to as the Blind Beak by the mob, not only founded the Runners London's metropolitan police, later to become the Bow Street Runners - but also the Sweeney, the Flying Squad, a pair of Brave Fellows constantly on stand-by with a coach ready to take them anywhere in the kingdom at a quarter of an hour's notice.
'Lake recreates Georgian London with an acute eye and an impressive knowledge, telling her story with compassion and a refreshing wit' Lindsey Davis
'Splendidly evokes the atmosphere of the capital with all its elegance and intrigue' Kent and Sussex Courier
'A real pleasure ...Lake writes wonderfully about Georgian London. The atmosphere she evokes is so real, you can virtually smell it ...this is developing into a first-rate series' Shropshire Star
Death in the Dark Walk
A richly atmospheric Georgian mystery featuring John Fielding, the 'Blind Beak: co-founder of the celebrated Bow Street Runners London's effective police force - and a young apothecary who becomes one of his assistants.
Having just finished his indentures, John Rawlings is celebrating in Vaux Hall Pleasure Gardens when he literally trips over the body of a beautiful girl in the Dark Walk. Intent on reviving her, he only catches a glimpse of blue coat fleeing from the scene. A piece of which is clasped tightly in the corpse's hand.
Rawlings is summoned to the Magistrate's Office where the Blind Beak not only exempts him from suspicion but asks him to investigate the crime. And when he identifies the young beauty, it becomes clear that she has had quite a past.
Rawlings wheedles his way into the fashionable houses of those at the scene of the crime on the pretext of administering his new-found cures and potions. Only to discover the victim had a variety of lustful liaisons and a wealth of secret admirers - not to mention enemies - who want to keep their identities hidden.
Peppered with a cast of colourful characters, Death in the Dark Walk is a tale of suspense steeped in Georgian wit and vigour.
Praise for Deryn Lake's previous John Rawlings Mysteries:
'John Rawlings and the Blind Beak are developing into my favourite historical mystery heroes - tenacious in their search for villains, daring as they outwit them, yet always ready to pause for a moment of delightful domestic life. I really enjoyed the first two in the series, and I'm eager for the next!' LINDSEY DAVIS
'An effervescent tale ... the author organises her large cast and colourful background with skill and gusto through a racily readable drama' FELICIA LAMB in the Mail on Sunday's Night & Day Magazine
'A wealth of marvellous characters parade across the pages, their dialogue is lively and John Rawlings is proving to be a real charmer' Eastbourne Herald
'Intrigue, suspicions and humour ... a really entertaining read' Sussex Life
Death at the Devil's Tavern
See Review by
Phyllis Davis
Death at the Beggar's Opera
See Review by
Phyllis Davis
John Rawlings, the engaging apothecary with a talent for detective work, and the phenomenal blind magistrate, John Fielding, make a welcome return in this absorbing, evocative Georgian mystery.
Rawlings and society's celebrated Masked Lady are among the beau monde attending a performance of The Beggars Opera in Drury Lane...
At the crucial point when Macheath is hanged, the planking beneath his feet gives way. And when the actor is lowered from the noose, his neck is found to be broken.... When the body of a theatre boy, a key witness, is found hanging from the same noose, the search takes on a new intensity. John Rawlings and the Runners soon find themselves on an intriguing trail of jealousy which leads to the dark heart of a cold-blooded murderer.
About The Author
Deryn Lake is the pseudonym of a popular historical novelist who lives near Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
Deryn Lake started to write when she was five but, without regret, made a bonfire of all her early work and watched with relief as it was consigned to the flames. It was only after working in Fleet Street and getting several short stories published in the London Evening News now sadly defunct, that she felt confident enough to consider writing a novel for possible publication. It was just at this time that fate took a hand in her life and as a result of a strange series of events her first novel, SUTTON PLACE was born and published under the author name Dinah Lampitt. Two more books about the mansion ensued - at the publisher's request - and her career as a full-time writer had begun. TO SLEEP NO MORE, POUR THE DARK WINE and THE KING'S WOMEN followed, this last being particularly successful and selling world-wide, including to the United States. AS SHADOWS HAUNTING, a book suggested to Dinah by Prince Charles, dealing as it does with the love affair of his ancestor George III as observed by a woman who is able to go back in time, came next, and also sold to the States. 1994 saw the publication in hardback of BANISHMENT. This novel has an equally strange theme, namely that of a modern female, a hard-bitten actress, who is hypnotically regressed and gets marooned in the period of the English Civil war. Indeed, all Lampitt's novels have a gothic feel to them and an element of the supernatural is never far away. Using the name Deryn Lake, her first crime novel DEATH IN THE DARK WALK, featuring the real life characters, John Rawlings, an eighteenth century apothecary and John Fielding the legendary Blind Beak, was published by Hodder and Stoughton in November, 1994. Her second John Rawlings mystery, DEATH AT THE BEGGAR'S OPERA, was published in December, 1995. Two more in the series have been commissioned, the first of which, DEATH AT THE DEVIL'S TAVERN, was published in December, 1996. The second, DEATH ON THE ROMNEY MARSH, was published in January, 1998. The rights in John Rawlings have been bought by leading publishing houses in Germany and France and all Lampitt's works have sold to Russia. Deryn/Dinah has proved a popular panellist at such conferences as HISTORICON II held in Colorado, MAGNA CUM MURDER in Indiana, and SHOTS ON THE PAGE in Nottingham.
Bibliography
N.B. dates and publishers in dark red indicate British First Editions. Dates and publishers in black indicate recent reprints.
Death On the Romney Marsh
(Hodder & Stoughton,
1998)
NEL Pbk Apr 98
(John Rawlings & Fielding)
Death in the Dark Walk
(Hodder & Stoughton,
1998)
(John Rawlings & Fielding)
Death at the Devil's Tavern
(Hodder & Stoughton,
1996)
(John Rawlings & Fielding)
Death at the Beggar's Opera
(Hodder & Stoughton,
1995)
Large Print Edition F.A.Thorpe 1998 (John Rawlings & Fielding)
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