Book Review: Black as She’s Painted, An Ashmole Foxe Georgian Mystery, William Savage
Historical Fiction/Mystery: Black as She’s Painted, An Ashmole Foxe Georgian Mystery, William Savage
Blog Tour February 10, 2023
Black as She’s Painted is an absolutely delightful mystery set in the Norwich, England of many long years ago. Part of a series described as “Georgian Mysteries” featuring Ashmole Foxe, a bookseller, a dandy, a man about town, and an amateur sleuth.
In this book, Foxe is asked to look into the murder of the wife of a wealthy artisan. A woman described by some as having been unable to see her toes since puberty (they were evaluating her somewhat north of her waist in this comment), she was well known not only for the effect her assets had on men, but also for her willingness, indeed eagerness, to share the bounty with numerous lovers who were not her husband. Brutally strangled after a rather vigorous sexual encounter, the leaders of the city want Foxe to look into the murder.
Their concern is not entirely focused on the deceased woman, though. Her husband was also a bank manager, and he had gone missing a few days prior to his wife’s murder. His absence likely removed him as a suspect in her death, but why did he leave? Where did he go? Why did he shut down his business before he left? And why did he sign a number of bank documents prior to leaving, documents which he was authorized to sign but usually would not have done?
Along the way, Foxe collects numerous things. A beautiful serving girl. A timorous (and not beautiful) serving girl. A carriage. A horse. And various other things that come to him during the course of the book. He also gets help from his friends, including the herbalist “Miss Tabby,” the manager of his bookstore, and her assistant Charlie.
Although the manners and the styles may reflect the era, the attitudes are refreshingly modern. The women are hardly wilting flowers waiting for their men to act. Take that in any way (and maybe every way) that you will. Foxe tends to treat his servants, the street urchins, the servants of other homes, indeed everyone, as people with rights and dignity and deserving of respect. And although the deceased may have been a woman of poor character (because of her unfaithfulness rather than her sexuality), Foxe believes she deserves justice.
All in all, this is a delightful read. Clever in its approach, respectful of its characters, true-ish to its era but not grating on modern sensibilities, William Savage has made me a fan of the Foxe.
Our thanks to Kelly Lacey of Love Books for our copy of Black as She’s Painted, provided so we could review it as part of this blog tour. The opinions here are solely those of Scintilla. For other perspectives, check out the other bloggers on this tour. And look for further reviews of other books in this series coming up.
Book Review: Black as She’s Painted, An Ashmole Foxe Georgian Mystery, William Savage