jmatkinson1's review against another edition
4.0
The big news story of early 1837 is the 'Edgware Road Murder' in which a dismembered body was found in pieces all over London. Found guilty and sentenced to death are James Greenacre and his common-law wife Sarah Gale. Whilst Grenacre admits disposing of the the body, the evidence against Gale is scanty and idealistic young lawyer Edmund Fleetwood is tasked with reviewing the case and making a recommendation as to whether the death penalty is appropriate.
Whilst this book is based on a true-life case, Mazola has chosen to weave a fiction around the few facts in evidence. The circumstances of the finding of the body, the trial and the sentences are fact but the motivation and many of the characters are fiction. Therefore this story fits somewhere between fact and fiction, I chose to read it as purely fiction - a novel inspired by a true event rather than a historical novel. When viewed in this way the book is actually a great read, the facts are horrible but the fiction creates a more romanticised view of motivations than was probably the truth. The book is well-researched, showing an understanding of life in late-Georgian London and the difficulties faced by women who are without the support of a man. This includes wives frustrated by the lack of household income, abandoned after an affair, the wife left alone after being deserted, and the family driven to poverty after the death of the father. Ultimately a sad but beautifully written novel.
Whilst this book is based on a true-life case, Mazola has chosen to weave a fiction around the few facts in evidence. The circumstances of the finding of the body, the trial and the sentences are fact but the motivation and many of the characters are fiction. Therefore this story fits somewhere between fact and fiction, I chose to read it as purely fiction - a novel inspired by a true event rather than a historical novel. When viewed in this way the book is actually a great read, the facts are horrible but the fiction creates a more romanticised view of motivations than was probably the truth. The book is well-researched, showing an understanding of life in late-Georgian London and the difficulties faced by women who are without the support of a man. This includes wives frustrated by the lack of household income, abandoned after an affair, the wife left alone after being deserted, and the family driven to poverty after the death of the father. Ultimately a sad but beautifully written novel.
anasaurus's review against another edition
2.0
This is just a less compelling more poorly written Alias Grace. I don't know, two stars is probably too low, but this book just ruffled my feathers. I literally spent the entire thing wishing I was reading Atwood instead
19oranges98's review against another edition
4.0
Thoroughly enjoyed, however the ending seemed to drag on for a moment too long.
I managed to predict the true killer about 2 thirds of the way in but still made for a satisfying read, will definitely continue to read Mazzola's writing!
I managed to predict the true killer about 2 thirds of the way in but still made for a satisfying read, will definitely continue to read Mazzola's writing!
jodiehanley's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
erica_lynn_huberty's review against another edition
5.0
For my full review of this book, read: http://berrilynn.kinja.com/murder-manipulation-and-fallen-women-in-the-unseeing-1783751145
Well-documented, unsettling, and impressively written, The Unseen tells an embellished true story of a seamstress named Sarah Gale who is cast as a whore and accused of murdering Hannah Brown, her lover James Greenacre's fiancé. Mazzola has meticulously organized a myriad of factual details into this tightly mapped story of deception and violence, as well as providing a scathing portrayal of the treatment of working-class women in the bridge year between Georgian and Victorian London. It is a lonely, chilling tale, made increasingly problematic by Sarah's inability to implicate anyone other than herself.
Like Charlotte Rogan’s Grace Winter in The Lifeboat, Hilary Mantel’s Anne Boleyn in Bring Up the Bodies, and Hannah Kent’s Agnes Magnusdottir in Burial Rites, Sarah Gale is brought to life through her strange choices and actions, and the author’s vividly-imagined worlds. Grace, Anne, Agnes, Sarah—three of whom have actually lived outside of fiction—are embroiled in dilemmas as powerful and terrifying as any man in their era faced. Yet because they are women, they are forced to employ a uniquely intricate strategy to survive the calamities that beset them—disasters involving men, caused in large part by men—because they are without the same support systems and assistance that men enjoy.
As Claire Ableton, the female protagonist in my novel The Crewel Wing notes, “The truth is not always what people think they want to hear.” In The Unseeing, Sarah's solicitor Edmund sets out to garner the truth of what happened to Hannah Brown. But he begins to realize, the more he hears that truth, that he was actually hoping for a different version of it. This is the centerpiece of manipulation: it is based on truth, but it is an adaptation of it, a version that the deliverer imparts on the listener in a way that will be acceptable to them in order to shift their response to that truth. The response Sarah so desperately tries to draw out of everyone around her will lead to her exoneration or her execution… or perhaps something in between.
Well-documented, unsettling, and impressively written, The Unseen tells an embellished true story of a seamstress named Sarah Gale who is cast as a whore and accused of murdering Hannah Brown, her lover James Greenacre's fiancé. Mazzola has meticulously organized a myriad of factual details into this tightly mapped story of deception and violence, as well as providing a scathing portrayal of the treatment of working-class women in the bridge year between Georgian and Victorian London. It is a lonely, chilling tale, made increasingly problematic by Sarah's inability to implicate anyone other than herself.
Like Charlotte Rogan’s Grace Winter in The Lifeboat, Hilary Mantel’s Anne Boleyn in Bring Up the Bodies, and Hannah Kent’s Agnes Magnusdottir in Burial Rites, Sarah Gale is brought to life through her strange choices and actions, and the author’s vividly-imagined worlds. Grace, Anne, Agnes, Sarah—three of whom have actually lived outside of fiction—are embroiled in dilemmas as powerful and terrifying as any man in their era faced. Yet because they are women, they are forced to employ a uniquely intricate strategy to survive the calamities that beset them—disasters involving men, caused in large part by men—because they are without the same support systems and assistance that men enjoy.
As Claire Ableton, the female protagonist in my novel The Crewel Wing notes, “The truth is not always what people think they want to hear.” In The Unseeing, Sarah's solicitor Edmund sets out to garner the truth of what happened to Hannah Brown. But he begins to realize, the more he hears that truth, that he was actually hoping for a different version of it. This is the centerpiece of manipulation: it is based on truth, but it is an adaptation of it, a version that the deliverer imparts on the listener in a way that will be acceptable to them in order to shift their response to that truth. The response Sarah so desperately tries to draw out of everyone around her will lead to her exoneration or her execution… or perhaps something in between.
always_need_more_books's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed my latest book club read. Set in London in 1837, The Unseeing tells the story of Sarah Gale, a single mother who is sentenced to death for her part in the murder and dismemberment of Hannah Brown, who was found in several pieces around London. Told from the POV of Sarah and Edmund Fleetwood, the lawyer who is tasked with handling her appeal against hanging and trying to sort out the truth. Based on the true story of the Edgware Road murders, this is a good imagining of the details not known about the case and includes good descriptions of what life was like in London at that time and the conditions in Newgate prison where Sarah was kept.
nexerix's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kmac2022's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
leah76's review against another edition
3.0
Solid historical mystery fiction. Listened to audio @ 2x. Good detail to period, very descriptive. Seemed stretched out at times, but enjoyed overall.