Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge was a glorious and immersive read that I loved.
It’s set in 1850s England when Maude Horton’s younger sister Constance disappears after boarding a ship bound for the Arctic. With the help of Constance’s diary Maude sets out to discover what happened to her sister.
I absolutely love historical novel set in Victorian England with a strong female heroine and this novel ticked all the boxes for me. Maude is a wonderful creation and the settings are so atmospheric that I felt that I was part of Maude’s journey.
Recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

If you love historical fiction for its ability to transport you to another time & place, then this is the book for you!
The author does such an exquisite job taking you on a gruesome journey through Victorian England & the Arctic you can almost smell the stench & feel the grit whilst reading. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this atmospheric tale of mystery & revenge - 3 & ½ stars

Maude Hortons Glorious Revenge was a wonderful piece of historical fiction and reminds me again why I enjoy that genre soooo much especially as I love a story where the female characters are strong and defiant and well .. this story definitely has that!
Maude is a remarkable character and I was gripped by her journey to uncover the truth of what happened to her sister. Full of atmosphere, I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to be transported back in time to a grislier world full of mystery, emotion and determination.

A gruesome, brutal, thrilling, and compulsive read, this dark romp through London and the Arctic is a testament to the great power of storytelling!

Maud’s sister Constance is on a ship sailing to the Northern Passage, on a mission to find Franklin’s expedition ship. She has always craved adventure and climbed out of her bedroom window, taking the disguise of a cabin boy called Jack Aldridge. Does she really comprehend the dangers that could befall her should the men on board discover a woman on their vessel? On the same voyage is the rather strange and macabre Edison Stowe who has managed to get aboard as a scientific officer - mainly involving the killing and gathering of animals, as bone specimens or in jars. When Constance is lost on the voyage, the rather quiet and timid Maud is determined to find out what has happened to her sister. She devises a plan to get close to and expose Edison Stowe. Telling her grandfather she’s on a trip to the country, she embarks on a rather ghoulish steam train journey. Stowe has a money making scheme to turn various public hangings into a tourist attraction and Maud becomes one of his tourists. The author uses three different narrative voices to tell her story. A diary written by Constance on the voyage was returned to her family and gives us a front row seat for the horrors but also the wonders of the voyage complete with edible arctic creatures, ‘esquimaux’ women and the northern lights playing overhead. Then in the present day there’s Edison Stowe’s narrative of his day to day life, living in Mr Inchbold’s bone shop and dodging debt collectors. His debts being the reason behind his execution tourism. Finally, there’s Maud, whose narrative hangs everything together and provides context with memories of the sister’s lives and her own relentless quest for the truth.

Maud and Constance are fascinating characters, both sisters with the hearts of lions and nerves of steel. It just takes Maud longer to realise she is every bit as adventurous and brave as her sister. Maud has the disarming advantage of beauty and a composed, modest manner that makes her seem the ideal ‘Angel in the House’. Her knowledge of pharmacy and toxicology is honed by years of helping her grandfather in his shop. She is proud of her sister and has never believed the official version of her death, but we never realise the extent of her plotting and planning until the final few chapters. What an opponent she has in the villainous Edison Stowe! Not since Uriah Heep have I felt so uncomfortable while reading about a character. He constantly made me want to wash my hands. He’s a strange contradiction in all sorts of ways: dressed like a gentleman but absolutely penniless; seemingly genteel but capable of moments of extreme violence against those weaker than himself, people or animals. He seems oddly unmoved by inflicting violence, but has strange fits of illness, where he appears to pass out as well as seeing and hearing things, including people long dead.

I was absolutely fascinated by this novel from start to finish. I love books that subvert what we think about the supposedly straight laced Victorians, especially women. She doesn’t downplay the dangers women faced, especially those that try and move outside of their boundaries. It was interesting that it was far more successful for Maud to use her strengths as a woman, than to try and be like a man like Constance. I enjoyed the more macabre and decadent tastes of the Victorians such as Mr Inchbold having a shop full of animal skeletons and a bear welcoming people at the door, the popularity of the gruesome murder room at Madame Tussaud’s and the fascination with collecting such ghoulish souvenirs as Staffordshire figures of the people they’ve just watch hang. Lizzie always creates such a fabulous sense of place and I was feeling the arctic cold and really smelling the crowds, both at the hangings and in the pub at the quay where sailors come unwashed and straight off the boats and monkeys are racing round the tables. These little extra details keep you immersed in her worlds. We even get an unexpected love story that further breaks the image people have of the Victorians. This is such an incredible story and a must for people who love their historical fiction to surprise and compel them.

It's 1850 and Constance and Maude Horton are sisters, as unalike as could be. While Maude is happy at home with her apothecary grandfather, Constance craves excitement and runs away to sea disguised as a cabin boy, Jack, to join the hunt for Franklon's ship and crew, lost five years before in the Arctic. Constance never returns - instead Maude is handed her possessions and informed she died in a tragic accident. But then she receives "Jack's" logbook, discovers the truth, and lays plans to avenge her sister.
This was a very atmospheric and exciting read, quite gruesome and grim in places, as Constance's adventures and Maude's subsequent thirst for revenge take us into the world of dark men, murderers and the underbelly of society - both on board ship and back in the UK. There are beatings and hangings and near-murderous accidents.
But there is love, too, in Maude's affection for her sibling, lost to her forever.
A plot-driven narrative on its top level, this story also has multi-layers in its exploration of grief, revenge, justice and redemption, and two really cracking characters in Maude and Constance.
Historical fiction at its best.

This is the first book of Lizzie Pook that I have read. A great premise for the story that unfolds over the length of the book. The tale is set in Victorian England. Our main protagonist, Maude Horton seeks to discover the circumstances surrounding the death of her younger sister Constance. Constance had crept away from the home and pharmacy where she lived with Maude and her grandfather following the death of their parents. Constance wanted adventure and had disguised herself as a boy to sign on for a naval adventure heading for the arctic. We uncover Constance’s story via the diary that comes into Maude’s possession. Maude uncovers the secrets in the diary and sets off to exact revenge on the murderer. I enjoyed peeling back the layers of the story, watching Maude ever closer to uncovering the truth about the death of her sister. There is a sense of menace and melodrama that builds nicely. There were several nice twists at the end. All together a great page turner where I was desperate to find out the ending.

‘She thrusts the paper, marked with an official admiralty stamp, towards the gap. ‘I’m Maude Horton,’ she says. ‘My sister was Constance Horton, and what I need is the truth.’

My thanks to Pan Macmillan Picador for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge’ by Lizzie Pook.

Having enjoyed Lizzie Pook’s debut novel, ‘Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter’, I was delighted to read her second book that again focused on the sea. This is a work of historical fiction inspired by the real life expeditions into the Arctic during the mid-19th Century.

London, 1850. Maude Horton and her grandfather, an apothecary, meet the returning HMS Makepeace following its journey to the Arctic to seek the lost Franklin expedition. Her younger sister, Constance, had tricked her way onto the ship disguised as a cabin boy named Jack Aldridge. They are shocked to learn that ‘Jack’ had met with a tragic accident - a misadventure - and her body left behind. Maude is convinced that something isn’t right.

Francis Heart, a clerk at the Admiralty, requests a meeting with her. He reveals that sinister forces are involved and requests that she discreetly follow Edison Stowe, a man he believes is connected to the coverup/conspiracy. In return for her help, Heart gives her the journal that Constance/Jack had kept recording her experiences. From this Maude learns of her sister’s life on board. Maude’s apothecary skills may well come in useful in her quest to exact revenge for her sister’s death. No further details to avoid spoilers.

The novel moves between Maude’s point of view and Constance’s account as well as that of Edison Stowe, who on return to Britain has started a macabre touring business for the wealthy to attend public hangings across the country. It certainly demonstrates that True Crime has been a fascination for a long time.

I was impressed with the degree of research that clearly went into the creation of this novel. Aside from evoking the streets of Victorian London and the characters’ travels throughout the country, Constance’s journal creates a powerful sense of the trials and tribulations of the Arctic sea voyage. This was very evocative.

I appreciated the author’s closing Historical Notes that provided information about the lost Franklin expedition and the various recovery attempts undertaken (the wreckage of the ships were not actually located until 2014-16). There was also information about the growing popularity of Madame Tussaud’s during this period.

Overall, I found ‘Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge’ an engaging work of historical fiction.

“I’m Maude Horton, my sister was Constance Horton and what I need is the truth. I demand to know the circumstances surrounding my sister’s death on the Makepeace. I demand to know to what exactly this word refers “misadventure””
A twisty gothic tale, full of murder and revenge.
Told through various timelines and in journal format, it tells the tale of Maude, her deceased sister Constance and Edison Stowe (the man Maude believes responsible of Constance’s death)
All the main characters were complex and intriguing, but it’s Maude that makes the novel worth reading.
The lengths one woman will go to, to avenge her sister’s death - she’s bold and independent, the perfect heroine.
A perfect dark, chilling tale for a winter’s evening.
Thanks @lizziepook @panmacmillan & @netgalley for the eARC

Maude Hortons Glorious Revenge is a brilliant historical read ,set in London in 1850,the characters are colourful and interesting .An atmospheric story of sisterhood ,love loss bravery and especially revenge !!! Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed Lizzie Pook's debut, Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter, I was delighted to be given the opportunity to read this new tale.
Yet again the historical tale was well researched and embroiled some factual information in the story. The characters were well portrayed - particularly Maude and Constance (via her diary) - as well as Edison Stowe.
Her descriptions of London and of the Arctic are yet again powerful and evocative.
Another page turner.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Lizzie Pook/Pan Macmillan for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

A superb novel. I picked it up for the beautiful cover and stayed for the content. It was gripping straight from the off and unputdownable. The writing is so descriptive and engaging yet never superfluous. The storyline is one of love, murder and adventure; slightly grisly and dark in parts, but all added nicely to the plot. A fantastic read.

Maude's sister Constance has run away on a ship to the Arctic disguised as a boy. She doesn't return and the book is the story of what happened and Maude seeking revenge.
The first part of the book switches between Constances diary and Maudes planning. It's a pretty dark read but in a good way. It's not particularly gory but more macabre.
The two sisters are great characters, clever and brave.
I couldn't put it down.

It's a fine line between an overload of descriptive scene setting that overwhelms the reader and an evocative novel that engaged the reader but this read is definitely in the latter. I was rooting for Maude throughout, as her grief was so eloquently depicted, she really could get away with anything in my eyes, as she pushes boundaries of her comfort zone and Victorian society's etiquette to find closure. I unexpectedly really enjoyed this read.

A glorious, totally immersive, wonderfully gripping story. The era, the locations, the characters come to life as if you were right there. I absolutely loved every page of it.

I hesitated to read this because normally revenge stories do not appeal to me in the least, but first the gorgeous cover captured my eye, and once I began reading I was hooked. It's dark Victorian, but with an added rawness and undercurrent of violence that raises the horror level up a notch. Edison Stowe is a nasty piece of work, and indeed deserves Maude's revenge.

Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge is not without flaws; the plotting and pace are somewhat uneven. But it was overall a solid 4-star read for me in terms of enjoyment. However, it loses another star because I didn't like the ending.

The story of Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge does exactly what it says on the tin. It is told through her own perspective, as well as piecing together extracts from her sister’s diary kept whilst acting as ships boy Jack Aldridge. We also hear Edwin Stowe’s thoughts in his role aboard a ship tasked with finding missing Captain Franklin, as well as what happens when he gets back to London.
I loved the setting and time period in which this story unfolds and was really intrigued by the ‘pleasure tours’ which many seemed to have had a deep fascination with. The authors concluding notes giving us context into something which really seems quite bizarre nowadays.
I felt there was just enough character development to gain a good understanding of what the author wanted us to know. I also loved how Maude brought her story to a satisfying conclusion!
Overall I would recommend this fabulous novel to all

"Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge" by Lizzie Pook, is a story about loss and revenge and sisterhood.

The story is told from three different perspectives. Maude's, her sister's and the man that is responsible for her sister's death. It is told in the presence but we get glimpses of the past through a diary.
The story takes place a couple hundred years ago and it feels very historically accurate.
The two female main characters are fleshed out and well rounded.

It is at times quite suspenseful and it kept me interested. Even though one already knows the fate of Maude's sister, her PoV never gets boring and keeps you wanting to know more.
The villain of the story is also a very interesting but scary character.

A great book for anyone who likes historical fiction, a good female MC and a revenge plot.

I just finished reading “Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge” by Lizzie Pook and it was an absolute historical treat!

I knew what to expect from the writing because I really enjoyed Lizzie’s previous book “Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter” so I was very excited to pick up this book.

Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge is set in London 1850 and Maude’s sister Constance is missing- as the story unfolds we learn that Constance disguised as a boy snuck on to a ship destined for Arctic not to be seen again the victim of "A Tragic Accident."

However, when Maude acquires Constance’s journal she knows something is being covered up and takes on the task of finding the truth of what really happened on the Makepeace?

This was such a great story - packed with mystery amongst the dangerous underbelly of London but as the title suggests it’s a story of revenge. This isn’t linear and we hear other voices and side stories that all come together in the end.

The characterisation was fantastic I thought they were so well crafted I really enjoyed Maude as a character she was vivid in my mind. The villain in this book is so good and as their story unfolds you just loathe them and their cruel & greedy ways.

What really spoke to me in the book was Lizzie Pook’s exploration of society in Victorian times the treatment of women and their place but then we have Maude a woman who is absolutely not to be trifled with.

Alongside this we are taken on a dark journey of Victorian’s obsession with true crime, public executions and even a glimpse in to Madame Tussaud’s infamous Chamber of Horrors - this was just so fascinating and well researched.

I’m giving this a four star for 95% of the book….really was loving it…was really excited to see the glorious revenge of Maude……

What? Really disappointing…really?

I’ve not been this disappointed in a long long time.

My thanks as ever to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

What happened to Constance who boarded a ship as a cabin boy and disappeared. Her sister Maude wants answers when the ship returned without her, and is convinced there is more to what happened than she is being told.
I enjoyed this story and would recommend it.