Blind Justice (Sir John Fielding)

I don't consider myself a mystery fan per se, I read them strictly as novels. (If I know whodunnit, it was pretty darn obvious). This was excellent, just what I like - a convincing look at another time and place and characters that I enjoy being with. I was intrigued by the negative comments from the New Zealander (August 27, 2002). I wouldn't consider those to be "terrible" or "horrendous" blunders, but I did a little research. The curator of an exhibit of 18th - 19th century costumes told me that at this time, the term "muslin" was reserved for finely woven sheer fabrics. I wouldn't liken it to cheesecloth, which I think of as very loosely woven, but perhaps it's different in New Zealand. It was not until the 19th century that the term began expanding to cover heavier weights of fabric. Apparently, what we would now call muslin sheeting existed, it just wasn't called muslin. In the British edition of the novel, "cotton" is substituted for "muslin". Rereading the first 30 pages, I found a reference to a thruppenny coin, not a tuppenny, but in either case, both coins were minted throughout the 18th century. The Standard Catalog of World Coins, Eighteenth Century, 1701-1800, 2d. ed., by Chester L. Krause and Clifford Mishler shows pictures of both minted during the reigns of Queen Anne and Kings George I thru III on page 567. According to several reference books, chiefly Daily Life in 18th-Century England (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series) by Kirstin Olsen, people of "the middling sort" used both wax and tallow candles. Tallow was notorious for its smell, but wax candles were much more expensive, especially after the tax imposed on them in the early part of the century. Therefore, especially since the Fieldings, although comfortable, are not portrayed as wealthy, I think it very likely that wax candles would be reserved for special occasions and that the servants would use tallow candles. Those who couldn't afford even tallow candles used the lighting described by the reviewer; Mrs. Gredge may have been grateful that she wasn't expected to use rush lights. I did not find any information about spermacetti candles, although they did exist according to the Oxford English Dictionary, but I believe that they were very much more expensive than wax. The reader might be more distressed to look in the Dictionary of National Biography and find that it claims that John Fielding was blind from birth. According to the websites of the National Federation for the Blind and the Central Missouri State University, Alexander is correct that he was blinded while serving in the Navy.

Bruce Alexander's Blind Justice is an ingenious mystery. At the center is Sir John Fielding--the blind magistrate who actually lived in 18th-century London and started the Bow Street Runners, brother to Henry Fielding--and his youthful sidekick Jeremy. Because Sir John was actually blind, it gives Alexander a marvelous opportunity to convey rich descriptions, record off-handed observations, and puzzle over inconsistencies of evidence in a remarkable way: all through the conversations Fielding had in the course of his investigations with his young protege.Now, as far as I know the case of Sir Richard Goodhope's murder--or was it suicide?--is not a real case plucked from the 17th century courts. However, it is a case that could well have happened. Alexander steeps his story in period details like the Drury Lane theater, shopping for groceries in Convent Garden, and slipping through the filthy corridors of Newgate. Throughout the story Fielding and Jeremy are in hot pursuit through the streets of London as they close in on Goodhope's murderer.The plot had lots of twists and turns, and it kept me engaged all the way until the end. Alexander's mysteries are thick with sub-plots but he managed to tie each one to the larger story. As an avid reader of Anne Perry, I encourage you to give these stories set in an earlier--and possibly even grimier--London a try!