Wynfield’s Kingdom is a brilliant novel which will draw you into the Victorian London underworld.
The story centres around Dr Grant, a disgraced surgeon who takes up residence in Bermondsey, Wynfield a young man adopted by Dr Grant and Wynfield’s girlfriend Diana. I don’t like giving plot details away, so I won’t tell you anymore about that.. There are so many levels to this novel, it could be re-read several times and you’d still discover more. The characters are rounded and though all fundamentally flawed and at times grotesque, you find yourself caring what happens to them but hating what they do to themselves and other people. The most interesting aspect of the book was the relationship between Wynfield and Diana. Both young, and drawn together they cross boundaries that they shouldn’t.They both love and hate each other. Dr Grant, the disgraced doctor is the thin thread that stops them both from falling into even more depravity. He is a surprisingly sedate character, yet interesting and who gives us a few surprises. There are many other secondary characters (like Kip for example) who pull together a facinting tale of Victorian London underworld. What is most astonishing, is that the author is not English.
The research is faultless, but you do not feel as though you are reading a factual book - very important to me when reading a historical novel. I really enjoyed reading this book, and would recommend it to anyone. It’s very much setting a new era of Victorian novels. One that draws away from the cliched Dickens and Sherlock Holmes and has a gritty reality I’ve not seen before and would like to see again. It would make a great film!
