The Dark Lantern

December 17, 2007
Brightwell’s debut, an uncanny thriller, brings late Victorian London to vivid life. Devon-born housemaid Jane Wilbred has snared her new post with the Bentley family with a letter of reference she forged, omitting any mention of the possibly pertinent fact that her late mother was a notorious murderer. That, however, is trifling compared to the shady games being played both upstairs and downstairs at 32 Cursitor Road while the family matriarch lingers on her deathbed, especially the struggle between mysterious beauty Mina Bentley, wife of younger son Robert, and the wan stranger who claims to be the widow of older brother Henry (drowned recently while sailing home after years in India). Meanwhile, Robert is focused on a battle closer to his heart: winning official recognition for anthropometry, the science of identifying criminals by body measurements. Far from being an arcane digression, Robert’s passion eventually figures into the intricate and surprising plot. The action will keep the reader as intrigued as a parlor maid eavesdropping outside her mistress’s boudoir.

May 1, 2008
Adult/High School-This novel transports readers to dark, damp, gritty Victorian London as surely (but less bloodily) as Johnny Depp's movie "Sweeney Todd". Secret pasts, hidden identities, class divisions, romance, criminal behavior, police procedures"Lantern" has it all. The suspenseful tale features well-drawn characters whose secrets are slowly revealed, leaving readers unsure of who can be believed or trusted. Brightwell's detailed descriptions of the grueling work of a Victorian housemaid offer many reasons to sympathize with Jane Wilbred, an orphan who has accepted a position in the Bentley home. As she struggles to figure out the politics of the household and keep up with her endless chores, she worries about who may know (or find out) about her mother's shameful past. Jane's employers and fellow servants are hiding secrets too, and they continually regard one another with suspicion. The author's use of dialogue and action to advance the story is highly effective. An omniscient narrator allows the tale to unfold from multiple points of view, with Jane as the main protagonist. Brightwell manages to reveal the secrets and interconnections among her characters without creating confusion for her audience, and the story remains suspenseful through the final pages. The ending is satisfying but open to discussion."Lantern" will appeal to readers of historical fiction, suspense, and coming-of-age stories."Sondra VanderPloeg, Tracy Memorial Library, New London, NH"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2008
Theres no better backdrop for mystery, melodrama, and class warfare than Victorian England, and this agreeable novel provides it all. The orphaned daughter of a criminal, Jane considers herself lucky to get a job as a maid in the house of a London family, the Bentleys. Meanwhile, the Bentley home is undergoing significant turmoil, the elderly matron is dying, one brother is in India, andthe other hasrecently returned from France, where he became an expert in anthropometry, the practice of identifying criminals by physical features. Ironically, his own wife has criminal secrets and an assumed identity. Although the central mystery of Mrs. Bentleys identity is a little too slowly revealed, the novels exploration of the hypocrisy and contradictions of the Victorian class system keeps the reader involved. The strong, multifaceted female characters make up for the less-than-intriguing male characters, and like any good Victorian melodrama, by the end of the book, the righteous are rewarded and the wicked punished.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)