Mostly Murders

Why did standing up for women’s rights have to be a scandal?

A dark Victorian drama set at Bristol University College. Twenty-year-old Evangeline Moore dreams of becoming an architect. She is grieving the loss of her father, who supported her ambitions of wanting more in life than marriage and children, and estranged from her mother, who wants nothing more than for Evangeline to marry and give up her academic dreams.

When Evangeline is accepted to study at the university, it is a dream come true, and accompanied by Viola, her lady’s maid and companion, Evangeline takes up residence in Bristol, determined to succeed. But she is about to learn that even the dearest of dreams can turn into nightmares, and as time goes by, she may end up losing far more than she has gained.

The Bristol Scholar starts out fairly mild but takes a dark turn later on in the book. It is a story of the value of true friendship, but it is also very much a story of rage, of devastating depression, of unfair social constraints and inequality, of suffering and violence, and of the terrible price women pay for men’s obsessions and desires.

It is tender in some parts and raw and disturbing in others, and it fluctuates between inspiring hope and inviting despair, as Evangeline tries to navigate the world of academia and eventually discovers that the people around her all have their own secrets, sorrows, and dark desires. It is a story of passions, both forbidden, hidden, commendable, and hopeless, and it is a story of love and loss, and of bright new beginnings and bitter endings. Not for the faint of heart, so read at your own risk as there are some quite dark parts about violence and suicidal thoughts by the end of the book that may be disturbing to some readers.

Historical fiction