(4 / 5) The Murder of Harriet Monckton – Elizabeth Haynes
This book combined several of my favorite things, murder mystery, history, and an English setting! Elizabeth Haynes did an amazing job of telling the real story of the murder of Harriet Monckton while engaging the reader with her prose and artistic narrative.
Harriet Monckton was a young woman who found herself pregnant with no husband at a time when such a situation oftentimes ruined a woman’s future prospects and unfortunately, sometimes her entire life. Haynes tells the story through the narratives of the people around Harriet, her closest friend, her lover, the local priest, and a young man who is clearly in love with Harriet (although it is unclear if Harriet returns the feelings). Towards the end of the book, we even hear from Harriet herself with the discovery of her personal diary. This was a unique way for Haynes to incorporate the historical information into a motives-driven narrative and it was certainly effective!
This book is an interesting and intense mix of historical information and author speculation re-creating an unforgettable tragedy that intrigued a nation at the time. If you enjoy murder mystery literature, historical fiction, or history in general, I would highly recommend this book.
Read on my friends!
-Haddi
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