The Shadow of the Rope by E. W. Hornung
Nov. 12th, 2019 07:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
regshoeI haven't been posting much recently because I've been busy working on Yuletide fic (with variable success so far), but the Hornung read-through is still in progress, and this week I read The Shadow of the Rope (1902), another chilling tale of crime and Australia.
Or, as the title suggests, their aftermath. The book opens with the trial and acquittal of Rachel Minchin, an unhappily married Australian woman living in London, for the murder of her husband. No other potential suspect is identified, and after Rachel is set free, she faces the prospect of living in a world where almost everyone around her still thinks she's guilty. But then she meets the mysterious Mr Steel, who offers her a chance to start a new life—but is he all that he seems, and what are his real motivations?
The 'shadow' of the title—the ramifications for Rachel of being widely suspected of murder while knowing herself to be innocent but unable to prove it to the world's satisfaction—is a new and interesting angle from which to approach Hornung's favourite subject of crime. Rachel finds that her past follows her into her new existence—when her real identity is inevitably revealed, her new neighbours almost universally shun her—and, ultimately, that there can be no escape from it until the real murderer is found. It's a grim portrayal of how, even though the law has declared her innocent, society can be just as harsh a judge in its own way.
However, I felt the ending could have been handled better. Hornung's endings often feel a little rushed, and sometimes that works well. But the final twist in this book, coming in the last few pages, is a pretty fundamental change in perspective, and the way it throws a new light on the early events of the book really ought to have been dealt with in more depth—both to do it justice as a plot element, and to make the supposedly-happy ending that follows convincing.
My other favourite thing about this book was the lovely friendship between Rachel and Morna Woodgate, the local vicar's wife (who incidentally happens to be a mathematics graduate, because that's the sort of female character Hornung writes!). Morna immediately stands by Rachel when her secret is revealed, steadfastly believing her innocent, and this and all their lower-stakes scenes together were very sweet.
Or, as the title suggests, their aftermath. The book opens with the trial and acquittal of Rachel Minchin, an unhappily married Australian woman living in London, for the murder of her husband. No other potential suspect is identified, and after Rachel is set free, she faces the prospect of living in a world where almost everyone around her still thinks she's guilty. But then she meets the mysterious Mr Steel, who offers her a chance to start a new life—but is he all that he seems, and what are his real motivations?
The 'shadow' of the title—the ramifications for Rachel of being widely suspected of murder while knowing herself to be innocent but unable to prove it to the world's satisfaction—is a new and interesting angle from which to approach Hornung's favourite subject of crime. Rachel finds that her past follows her into her new existence—when her real identity is inevitably revealed, her new neighbours almost universally shun her—and, ultimately, that there can be no escape from it until the real murderer is found. It's a grim portrayal of how, even though the law has declared her innocent, society can be just as harsh a judge in its own way.
However, I felt the ending could have been handled better. Hornung's endings often feel a little rushed, and sometimes that works well. But the final twist in this book, coming in the last few pages, is a pretty fundamental change in perspective, and the way it throws a new light on the early events of the book really ought to have been dealt with in more depth—both to do it justice as a plot element, and to make the supposedly-happy ending that follows convincing.
My other favourite thing about this book was the lovely friendship between Rachel and Morna Woodgate, the local vicar's wife (who incidentally happens to be a mathematics graduate, because that's the sort of female character Hornung writes!). Morna immediately stands by Rachel when her secret is revealed, steadfastly believing her innocent, and this and all their lower-stakes scenes together were very sweet.
