#antonia hodgson

[diaryoftruequotes]

Bullies are just men who don't know they are cowards, of course.

Antonia Hodgson, The Devil In The Marshalsea

#Antonia Hodgson #The Devil In The Marshalsea #quotes #book quotes

[semper-legens]

54. A Death at Fountains Abbey, by Antonia Hodgson

Owned: No, library Page count: 344 My summary: Fresh off his near-execution, Thomas Hawkins is whisked away to Yorkshire at the behest of the Queen. There’s a certain ledger, you see, one that can implicate the Crown in an old scandal, and the Queen has an interest in seeing it destroyed. Tom doesn’t care, but she threatened Kitty, so he has to do as she says. Turns out there’s a mystery afoot, with strange letters being sent to his host’s house and threats of murder, alongside a mysteriously returned daughter. It’s quite a tangled web - but one that Tom must unweave if he wants his love to live. My rating: 5/5 My commentary:

The last Tom Hawkins book! For me, at least - there's one more after this, but that was the first one I read. It's a direct follow-up to Tom's almost-hanging in the last book, with Tom being sent out to Yorkshire to try and find a ledger for the Queen under the guise of helping the gentleman, John Aislabie, with mysterious threatening letters that have been plaguing his home. I gotta say, after the last book included subjects that I have a morbid fascination with (namely, executions) I kind of expected to like this one less. But nope! As it turns out, I was very much into it the whole way. Looks like this is one I'm going to have to buy.

After Kitty was largely absent in the last book, it's good to see her taking a more active role in this one. I have to say, I was a little worried at the start that this was going to be another whole book with Tom mooning over and being protective over a Kitty who we never really spend time with, but she barrels into the narrative midway through and makes significant contributions to the story. Which is good to see! Poor Tom's a-traumatised from the whole 'near-execution' thing, but he's trying his best to cope and fulfil his mission to the Queen without major traumas. And gets more traumatised, because he is God's chew toy. As a certified enjoyer of Historical Men In Pain, I was very much into it. Sam Fleet is also along for the ride - his story, being caught between a father who is a career thief and a father figure who is, er, Tom, is intriguing enough. He really struggles in this one between his burgeoning morality and instincts towards the ruthless, sticking his neck out for Tom even when it could have cost him everything.

The main story itself is gripping, and full of the twists and turns I've come to expect from these narratives. Aislabie has a daughter returned from the grave to deal with as well as the strange murder threats delivered to his door. I really like how conscious Hodgson is of the period when she's crafting these narratives - this story deals with the fallout of the South Sea Bubble, and class tensions and prejudices run throughout, as a local family of 'poachers' (people who owned the land before Aislabie's family bought it) is suspected for the crimes despite it not being possible they did it. They're illiterate, see. Threatening notes are kind of beyond them. The ever-looming threat of transportation is relevant too, given that one of our antagonists has recently returned from seven years on a prison colony. Conditions there were horrific, and it seems to have stripped the man of any kind of humanity; a chilling reminder of what such harsh punishments can do to a person. It's tragic and compelling, and once again I am pleased with how often Tom and Kitty are wrong about something, or leap to a conclusion that turns out to be false. They're very human in their investigations, not the annoying type who is always right because the narrative demands it, and it's great to see!

Next up, a young woman faces ghosts in a little church in the woods.

#A Death at Fountains Abbey #Antonia Hodgson #bookblr #book blog #book blogger

[kajaono]

And she won an award for THAT?!

A easy to solve mystery, gay subtext that ends in a bury gay trope (yeah the guy wears a wedding ring from the guy he loved, so it is not just in my imagination), and a heterosexual ending?

I wanted a trashy crime novel and instead I got that

😐

#the devil of the marshalsea #antonia hodgson #holla kaja is live blogging books again #bury your gays

[watchingalotofmovies]

All My Friends Hate Me

All My Friends Hate Me    [trailer]

Pete is cautiously excited about reuniting with his college crew for a birthday weekend. But, one by one, his friends slowly turn against him.

I found it a lot less funny than apparently a lot of other people. It felt mainly silly and immature, and the characters annoying. Maybe it helps if you're British.

I know, social anxiety and all. But why stay at such a "party" where everyone just wants to make you feel - real or imagined - unwelcome and uncomfortable.

#All My Friends Hate Me #Andrew Gaynord #Tom Stourton #Joshua McGuire #Georgina Campbell #Graham Dickson #Antonia Clarke #Charly Clive #Dustin Demri Burns #Christopher Fairbank #Kieran Hodgson

[just-sat-reading]

Hi! This is a little intro to me :)

This blog is for my book reviews mainly, my other is for shitposting

If you have any book recs for me I’d love to hear them! Even if I might not get around to reading them straight away, I’ll definitely check them out!

(My main genres are crime, historical fiction and non-fiction.)

I also write a little , so let me know if you want to read some of my short works!

Top 5 books (as of September 2023)

- Maurice by E. M Forster

- Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

- Death at Fountains Abbey by Antonia Hodgson

- The Escape Artist by Jonathan Freedland

- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

ao3 - whenthemotherstalk

instagram - just_sat_reading

(slight edit on 21/4/24 as I've changed my user on ao3 and realised I'm not actually a fan of fantasy lol)

#silence of the lambs #reading #books #picture of dorian gray #maurice #archive of our own #reading recommendations

[biblioquotables]

The sun was rising above the trees. The sky was a pale blue, with no clouds in view. A light breeze riffled through the grass. A day for lifted spirits and gentle strolls. It was hard to believe that we were in danger here. Harder yet to recognise an enemy in such polite company.

— Antonia Hodgson, A Death at Fountains Abbey (2016)

#book quotes #booklr #mystery #antonia hodgson #a death at fountains abbey #2016 #2010s #just my type (tm) #morning #day #daytime #sun #outdoors #nature #spring #weather #moods #society #danger #risk

[majorandmarquis]

If anyone is looking for a brilliant historical fandom to get into, this is one of them. The Thomas Hawkins series is set in the early part of the 18th century and is currently a four book series. My friend wrote this fic based around the main trio. They’re brilliant, well rounded characters and I recommended checking out the series by the brilliant Antonia Hodgson.

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Thomas Hawkins Series - Antonia Hodgson Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Thomas Hawkins/Kitty Sparks, Thomas Hawkins & Sam Fleet Characters: Sam Fleet, Thomas Hawkins, Kitty Sparks Additional Tags: One Shot, Short One Shot, Short & Sweet, Brothers, Reconciliation Summary:

Set at the end of A Death at Fountains Abbey. Pre The Silver Collar.

One Shot: Tom and Sam have a heart to heart on the return journey to London.

#18thcentury #fiction #thomas Hawkins #kitty sparks #Sam fleet #book series #book blog #book recommendation #book four #Antonia Hodgson #18th century #history #historical fiction #crime fiction #fanfiction #fanfic #fandom #Marshalsea #book shelf #18th century fashion #York #england #York England #North Yorkshire #fountains abbey #Studley Royal

[rockislandadultreads]

Victorian Era: Historical Fiction Recs

The Savage Instinct by Marjorie DeLuca, M.M. DeLuca

England, 1873. Clara Blackstone has just been released after one year in a private asylum for the insane. Clara has two goals: to reunite with her husband, Henry, and to never—ever—return to the asylum. As she enters Durham, Clara finds her carriage surrounded by a mob gathered to witness the imprisonment of Mary Ann Cotton—England’s first female serial killer—accused of poisoning nearly twenty people, including her husbands and children. Clara soon finds the oppressive confinement of her marriage no less terrifying than the white-tiled walls of Hoxton. And as she grows increasingly suspicious of Henry’s intentions, her fascination with Cotton grows. Soon, Cotton is not just a notorious figure from the headlines, but an unlikely confidante, mentor—and perhaps accomplice—in Clara’s struggle to protect her money, her freedom and her life. In the lineage of Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace, The Savage Instinct is the chilling story of one woman's struggle for her sanity, set against the backdrop of the arrest and trial of Mary Ann Cotton, England’s first female serial killer.

The North Water by Ian McGuire

A ship sets sail with a killer on board . . . 1859. A man joins a whaling ship bound for the Arctic Circle. Having left the British Army with his reputation in tatters, Patrick Sumner has little option but to accept the position of ship's surgeon on this ill-fated voyage. But when, deep into the journey, a cabin boy is discovered brutally killed, Sumner finds himself forced to act. Soon he will face an evil even greater than he had encountered at the siege of Delhi, in the shape of Henry Drax: harpooner, murderer, monster . . . 'A tour de force' Hilary Mantel 'Riveting and darkly brilliant' Colm Tóibín

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

Sarah Perry's award-winning novel, set at the end of the nineteenth century and inspired by true events. Moving between Essex and London, myth and modernity, Cora Seaborne's spirited search for the Essex Serpent encourages all around her to test their allegiance to faith or reason in an age of rapid scientific advancement. At the same time, the novel explores the boundaries of love and friendship and the allegiances that we have to one another. The depth of feeling that the inhabitants of Aldwinter share are matched by their city counterparts as they strive to find the courage to express and understand their deepest desires, and strongest fears.

The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola

Set in London in 1837, Anna Mazzola's THE UNSEEING is the story of Sarah Gale, a seamstress and mother, sentenced to hang for her role in the murder of Hannah Brown on the eve of her wedding. Perfect for any reader of Sarah Waters or Antonia Hodgson. 'With this intricately woven tale of trust, self-trust and deceit, Anna Mazzola brings a gritty realism to Victorian London. Beautifully written and cleverly plotted, this is a stunning debut, ranked amongst the best' MANDA SCOTT After Sarah petitions for mercy, Edmund Fleetwood is appointed to investigate and consider whether justice has been done. Idealistic, but struggling with his own demons, Edmund is determined to seek out the truth. Yet Sarah refuses to help him, neither lying nor adding anything to the evidence gathered in court. Edmund knows she's hiding something, but needs to discover just why she's maintaining her silence. For how can it be that someone would willingly go to their own death?

#historical fiction #literary fiction #adult fiction #to read #tbr #victorian #victorian era #historical #Book Recommendations #reading recommendations #book recs #booklr #Library Books #book tumblr #highly recommend

[fearsmagazine]

ALL MY FRIENDS HATE ME | Official Trailer, Images & Poster

It's Pete's birthday and the old gang from college are throwing him a party out in the country. During what’s meant to be a joyful weekend reunion, Pete finds himself increasingly unnerved by his friends’ inside jokes and snarky comments.

As the atmosphere goes from awkward to terrifying to downright surreal, Pete is pushed to the breaking point. Is he being paranoid or is he the butt of some elaborate joke?

From director Andrew Gaynord (The Characters) and co-writers Tom Stourton & Tom Palmer comes All My Friends Hate Me, a dark comedy- horror mash up for anyone who’s ever experienced social anxiety and lived to tell about it.

ALL MY FRIENDS HATE ME stars Tom Stourton, Charly Clive, Georgina Campbell, Dustin Demri-Burns, Antonia Clarke, Graham Dickson, Joshua McGuire, Christopher Fairbank, and Kieran Hodgson.

SUPER will release ALL MY FRIENDS HATE ME in theaters Mar 11th & digitally Mar 25th, 2022.

#film news #movie news #all my friends hate me #allmyfriendshatememovie #super #andrew gaynord #Tom Stourton #tom palmer #horror #comedy #paranoia #trailer #poster #images

[fleetsgang]

Check out my first fic for the TH fandom. 

#thomas hawkins #antonia hodson #sam fleet #kitty sparks #18th century #london #st.giles #fanfiction #ao3

[semper-legens]

50. The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins, by Antonia Hodgson

Owned: No, library Page count: 371 My summary: Thomas Hawkins is in trouble. He’s in a cart, on his way to Tyburn to hang for murder. As he’s paraded through the streets to the jeering of the crowd, he’s hoping for a royal pardon. Days earlier, he was summoned to the chambers of the Queen to perform a job for her. A job that became so much more complicated when his hated neighbour was murdered - and the prime suspect was Tom himself. But with only moments remaining before that noose tightens around his neck, Tom begins to suspect that he’s not going to get out of this one... My rating: 5/5 My commentary:

Back to this series! And I'm still loving it. There's just something about the Georgian setting that I absolutely adore. I know the 18th and the 19th century are not actually that far removed, but after the slew of historical novels set in the late Victorian period, seeing literally anything else feels like a breath of fresh air. Which is helped by how well-researched the setting was! I didn't come across anything that jibed with my historical knowledge (though 18th century England is not my forte) and it's clear that the author is a huge nerd for the 18th century. She includes a bibliography and some historical notes detailing the real people who show up in this novel, and the real inspirations she was drawing from in order to create this narrative. And it's very welcome, because I am enamoured with this series.

Oh, Thomas Hawkins. You really are the fucked up little man of my heart. After his release from the notorious Marshalsea, Tom moved with Kitty to Sam Fleet's old shop, selling certain literature to interested (and discreet) gentlemen. But he's bored. He longs for adventure, and gets it when he accepts a deal from James Fleet to do some work for him. Which leads him to an audience with the Queen. Yeah, Tom's in over his head, and it's worse news yet - his neighbour, who he was seen very publicly threatening, has been murdered. And he's the most likely suspect. Tom has to work fast to both find a solution to the Queen's problems and his own before he's charged with murder. This is a character at his best when he's most desperate, and we definitely see him pushed to the edge here. I like that Tom has realistic reactions to things - he's not Superman, when he gets chained to a wall by his wrists he's in pain, he makes bad choices and bad judgement calls, he gets himself into more trouble than he can talk his way out of. He's a very full, very flawed person, and that's interesting! I do have to criticise, though, that Kitty feels more of an accessory for Tom than a character in her own right, though Tom's attempts to shield her from trouble and his paternalistic attitude are shown as flaws of his character, so the narrative is at least addressing it.

The actual plot here takes two strands - one, court intrigue as the King's mistress is having some problems with her husband demanding money, and two, the aforementioned murder. Tom has to find a solution to the first and solve the second before too long, because it's only the Queen's favour that's keeping him alive. Obviously, the stakes are high, and Tom gets increasingly frantic as time goes on. His enemies keep piling up, and his friends are few. And the mystery itself is intriguing. The house was locked, so who could have killed the neighbour? There were four people in the house - a maid, his son, his daughter, and his apprentice, all of whom had good motivation. But there's also a hidden passage between Tom's home and the neighbour's, which Tom is desperate not to let anyone find out. Everyone is a suspect, but there are more twists and turns than meets the eye in this mystery. I won't spoil it, but it kept me guessing straight up to the end. By contrast, the courtly plot is a lot simpler, and mostly consists of Tom being put in Situations by fate itself, almost. Not that this isn't just as fun to read. Poor guy.

Look, I'm just going to admit it. I have a morbid fascination with the history of executions - I'm English, my country hasn't had the death penalty for as long as I've been alive, and I am deeply interested both with how such a thing worked historically and attitudes around it today. This book revolves around Tom being hanged for murder. He's on his way to the gallows in the book's opening, and each part begins with a new stage of his journey, as he begins to panic that he won't be reprieved after all. And he isn't. Only through Kitty bribing the hangman was he saved - he was hanged until unconscious, but cut down before he could die. The slow march to the gallows, and Tom's changing mood throughout, makes for grippingly tense reading. It's a foregone conclusion that he will be convicted of murder, but will he live to tell the tale? Adding to that is the fact that the account we are reading was written by Tom in the condemned cell just before his execution, which then picks up after he survives. It's a clever narrative device that really adds to the experience. The stages in bringing Tom to the gallows, apparently authentic, are interesting - the pageantry on display as Tom is paraded through the streets, chained in a cart, and ritualistically offered wine before finally arriving at Tyburn, really shows that the point of such a penalty was to display those convicted of crimes moreso than actual punishment. It's interesting, if terrible.

Next up, still in the realm of history, and the story of a reviled king.

#The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins #Antonia Hodgson #bookblr #book blog #book blogging #5

[kajaono]

Side character asking the main character if he was ever in love. And then telling a big ass story how he lost his dearest friend and how he griefed him for five years. And then return to find his dearest friend wife and daughter and pay his debts

Main character: „so whom you were in love with? The daughter“

Me and also the side character:

#at least one is gay here 🙌🏳️‍🌈 I really thought it would be completely straight #gay representation #lgbtq #holla kaja is live blogging books again #the devil of the marshalsea #antonia hodgson

[monsterintheballroom]

Rules: tag 9 people you’d like to get to know better.

I was tagged by @verypersonalscreencaps & @waitafeministfuckinminute :-)

Top 3 ships:

Isobel Crawley/Elsie Hughes (Downton Abbey):  It´s more of a little rubber boat with me as its only passenger

Grace & Frankie: *duh*

Michael & Cathy (Mum)

Lipstick or Chapstick: neither

Last Song: The Rocky Horror Picture Show OST

Last Movie: Edie

Reading: Antonia Hodgson “A Death at Fountains Abbey”

I tag @bryllis @matrakcsi @mistressdickens @wisteria44 @dellianarose @ericajanebarry

#me

[just-sat-reading]

Thomas Hawkins series - Antonia Hodgson

I feel the need to promote this amazing book series. It's so under-appreciated and I think it needs to be spoken about more. It's the Thomas Hawkins series by the amazing Antonia Hodgson, and it's just wonderful. It's set in Georgian London, in about 1720 and deals with class structure, mild law and gender. For someone who isn't all that interested in this period, I absolutely adored this series, and in a weird way you kind of don't notice the setting, because the crime and drama takes the forefront of the plot.

Basically, we follow Thomas Hawkins as he goes to debtor's prison and then gets convicted of murder and sentenced to be hanged. It's a historical fiction (and a crime/thriller I suppose) but the research she put into it is just stunning, and the history behind her plots is fascinating to read (Tom didn't exist as he is in the book, but other characters that make a cameo were pretty much all real people), and I just think it needs to be more spoken about. It's not a difficult read either, quite easy, but still enrapturing; I finished the first one in a week which is saying something because I tend to be a slow reader.

Also, (the reason I made this post) Kitty, Tom's girlfriend, is such an amazing character, she's so independent and strong, but she clearly loves him, and him her. Their love is so refreshing and pure. (it's kind of difficult to explain)

Anyways I need some people who have read this, or who will be willing to read it

#thomashawkins #antoniahodgson

[biblioquotables]

He never spoke if he could avoid it, kept his words deep in his chest like a miser clutching his coins. And what poor, counterfeit coins they were when he did spend them — a grunt for yes, a strangled sigh for no.

— Antonia Hodgson, A Death at Fountains Abbey (2016)

#book quotes #booklr #mystery #antonia hodgson #a death at fountains abbey #2016 #2010s #just my type (tm) #character #personality #communication #social awkwardness #introversion #conversation #metaphor

[blablubook-blog]

Thomas Hawkins, jeune gentilhomme, aux mœurs légères, est en route pour la potence en 1728. Accusé de meurtre alors qu’il clame son innocence. Retour en arrière, chapitre par chapitre on apprend sa mésaventure où de nombreux personnages apparaissent. Des lieux de Londres aussi, pas si longtemps après son grand incendie. Ça serait tellement appréciable que les éditeurs soient plus précis quand il s’agit d’une série de livres avec personnages récurrents parce qu’on passe le livre à avoir des références à un tome précédent. Cela doit être agaçant pour ceux qui ont lu le précédent car c’est surement répétitif et pour ceux qui ne l’ont pas lu, c’est juste purement insupportable. Ne cherchez pas la trahison de la reine, parce que vous chercherez longtemps. En fait, on a juste l’impression que ce livre est le tome qui constitue un chaînon dans une série, chaînon pour amener le personnage principal dans une situation qui permettra la suite de la série. Ce qui, pour le lecteur, est très inconfortable et cela vide l'histoire de tout intérêt quand on le ressent.

#la trahison de la reine #antonia hodgson #Editions 10/18