The Darwin Affair: A Novel

Tim Mason

Jun 2019 · Sold by Algonquin Books

About this ebook

Dive into this edge-of-your-seat Victorian-era thriller, as London's Chief Detective Inspector Charles Field investigates a string of unspeakable crimes set off by the controversial publication On the Origin of Species. “Intellectually stimulating and viscerally exciting, The Darwin Affair is breathtaking from start to stop.” —The Wall Street Journal
Now available, too: The Nightingale Affair, a new thriller with Inspector Field

London, June 1860: When an assassination attempt is made on Queen Victoria, and a petty thief is gruesomely murdered moments later—and only a block away—Chief Detective Inspector Charles Field quickly surmises that the crimes are connected. Was Victoria really the assassin’s target? Or were both crimes part of an even more sinister plot?

Field’s investigation soon exposes a shocking conspiracy: the publication of Charles Darwin’s controversial On the Origin of Species has set off a string of terrible crimes—murder, arson, kidnapping. Witnesses describe a shadowy figure with lifeless, coal-black eyes. As the investigation takes Field from the dangerous alleyways of London to the hallowed halls of Oxford, the list of possible conspirators grows, and the body count escalates. And as he edges closer to the dastardly madman called the Chorister, he uncovers dark secrets that were meant to remain forever hidden.

A Barnes & Noble Discover Pick * A Wall Street Journal Best Mystery Book of the Year * A Reader’s Digest Best Summer Book * A Forbes.com Best Historical Novel of the Summer

Ratings and reviews

Immerse Yourself in 1860s Victorian England This is the author's debut novel, and as such, it is a little rough around the edges. The author did a good job of placing us in Victorian England. He used most of the senses to put us there—seeing, hearing, and even smelling that world. Real people inhabit this book, as we see at least a glimpse of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin, and even Karl Marx. In fact, much of the book hinges on the furor caused by Darwin's publishing of his The Origin of the Species. The main character is actually based on a real chief inspector at the time, who was even used to pattern a Dickens character in Bleak House. I felt as though the author didn't quite have a grasp of how to use adjectives and adverbs well. They seemed to stick out like sore thumbs on occasion, not artfully used to enhance description. At the beginning especially, I felt like the author jumped around a bit between certain people and side aspects of the plot, enough to make the book feel disjointed. He started a lot of threads at the beginning, making all of them hard to follow and keep straight. What would the importance of certain characters ultimately be? It wasn't clear. Not a bad attempt for a first novel, but it certainly could have been better. I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

About the author

Tim Mason is a playwright whose work has enjoyed numerous productions in New York City and throughout the world for decades. Among the awards he has received are a Kennedy Center Award, the Hollywood Drama-Logue Award, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a Rockefeller Foundation grant. In addition to his dramatic plays, he wrote the book for Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, which had two seasons on Broadway and tours nationally every year. He is the author of one young adult novel, The Last Synapsid, published in 2009. The Darwin Affair is his first adult novel.