Looking for Some Good Historical Fiction?

Look no farther than Grace Hammer: A Novel of the Victorian Underworld by Sara Stockbridge. I swept away by the story of Grace, a skillful thief, who is supporting her four young children quite nicely by thieving in the Whitechapel area of London. This novel has frequently been compared to Charles Dickens' books. There are similarities; a large cast of quirky characters with unusual names, and the squalor of London is vivid. "She is a sly piece of work, Mrs. Mirabel Trotter, like a great flabby toad lurking under a dank rock, staring out from the gloom at her dinner."

Grace's easy life is threatened by the hulking, violent Mr. Blunt, from whom she had stolen a large ruby necklace at the beginning of her career. Will she be betrayed or saved by her vast circle of friends and acquaintances amongst the prostitutes, thieves, fences, and drunkards that inhabit the squalor of London in 1888. The many twists and turns through atmospheric 19th century England make it a very interesting journey to find the answer.