The Great Stink by Clare Clark
The Victorian era sewer system in London was a dangerous place of crumbling brick tunnels, tides of raw sewage mixed with noxious wastes from tanners and butchers, populated by rats, flushers who cleared the tunnels, toshers who made their living from the gleanings, and criminals. All the waste flowed into the Thames, turning the river into a huge cesspool. For years, reformers tried to have a modern hygienic system put in place but the government was unwilling to fund it until the Great Stink. In the summer of 1855 the city of London experienced a long hot spell. The unbearable heat persisted for weeks heating the putrid rivers of excrement under the city, and in the Thames, until the odor was horrific. Even parliament had to flee fearing the noxious air would kill them. Funds were finally forthcoming and the huge public works endeavor began.

The rebuilding of the sewer system is seen from the perspective of two characters. William May is a civil engineer recently returned from the Crimean War. His sanity is tenuous and the sewers provide a safe dark respite for him. He learns the miles and miles of underground tunnels better than any other official. Long Arm Tom also knows the sewers better than most men. He made his living from them for years as a tosher. Now he traps the large aggressive tunnel rats for dog fighting matches. Tom is a touching character, an old man who fears losing his livelihood as the sewers are closed off to civilians, a man whose only friend is a devoted dog who is an unparalleled rat killer. Both Tom and Will run afoul of an unscrupulous man who will stop at nothing to get what he desires.

Who would ever think that a book about sewers would be fascinating? The atmosphere of Victorian era London is lovingly created by its historian author. Fogs the color of chocolate smother the streets while underground rivers of foul substances sweep through miles of fungus covered tunnels. A mystery ratchets up tension; who was the brutally stabbed man floating in the tunnel, and did May murder him? Yet through it all, love endures- between the shattered May and his gentle wife, between Tom and his Lady. This book will be a rare treat for those who enjoy historical novels.