Publication
Harper Perennial (2008), 512 p.
Original publication date
2003
Collections
Subjects
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — 2005)
Crime Writers' Association Awards (Winner — 2003)
Barry Award (Nominee — 2004)
Theakstons Old Peculier Prize (Longlist — 2005)
Description
Interweaving real and fictional elements, The American Boy is a major new literary historical crime novel in the tradition of An Instance of the Fingerpost and Possession. England 1819: Thomas Shield, a new master at a school just outside London, is tutor to a young American boy and the boy's sensitive best friend, Charles Frant. Drawn to Frant's beautiful, unhappy mother, Thomas becomes caught up in her family's twisted intrigues. Then a brutal crime is committed, with consequences that threaten to destroy Thomas and all that he has come to hold dear. Despite his efforts, Shield is caught up in a deadly tangle of sex, money, murder and lies - a tangle that grips him tighter even as he tries to escape from it. And what of the strange American child, at the heart of these macabre events, yet mysterious - what is the secret of the boy named Edgar Allen Poe?… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member alexdaw
This was my gift from Secret Santa at our Christmas Book Club dinner 16 December at the very swish Montrachet Restaurant in honour of our reading Julie and Julia by Julie Powell last year.
You might not be able to see it in the photo of the cover but it is a very beautiful cover with a kind of
A few disclaimers on my part as a reviewer up front. Firstly I am not a lover of crime fiction. Secondly, I know next to nothing about Edgar Allen Poe - allright - I recognise the name and that's about it!! The American Boy won the CWA Historical Dagger for Fiction. As an Australian who doesn't have a great interest in crime fiction this can be somewhat of a misleading piece of information to have on the back cover. The acronym CWA in Australia probably has a greater profile amongst females as the venerable institution - the Country Women's Association - rather than the Crime Writers Association. I therefore perhaps foolishly spent the first chapter looking for references to scone recipes or needlework or good works. No !! I jest. But this story does sum up my conflicted response to the book.
It was not an entirely difficult read but I didn't fully enjoy it and I'm not quite sure why. Perhaps the lead character, a school teacher/tutor, wasn't quite strong enough for my liking. The novel itself is a marvellous study of a society adhering rigidly to notions of class. It is set well before the Married Women's Property Act where women are at the bottom of the social heap in terms of rights/standing and must marry well to have any form of tolerable existence. Men are valued first and foremost by their property. Servants are not to be trusted - even by each other and it's a slippery and long slope to the bottom of the social scale - ignominy and ruin. There was no-one I really liked or wanted to barrack for. It's a shame because I think the author put stacks of work into researching the time period and reflecting it accurately in so many ways -from language, to accounts of conveyances and the mores of the time. I think he may have had rather more enjoyment constructing it, than I did reading it.
You might not be able to see it in the photo of the cover but it is a very beautiful cover with a kind of
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reflective foil finish on the green bits which makes it even more Christmassy. The cover gives a hint of the story to come. Up til now I have regarded the female figure on the front as somebody from Ancient Rome but now I realise that she is a probably more likely a Regency figure. The novel is set in 1819/1820. The swirling lines indicate the complex plot to follow.A few disclaimers on my part as a reviewer up front. Firstly I am not a lover of crime fiction. Secondly, I know next to nothing about Edgar Allen Poe - allright - I recognise the name and that's about it!! The American Boy won the CWA Historical Dagger for Fiction. As an Australian who doesn't have a great interest in crime fiction this can be somewhat of a misleading piece of information to have on the back cover. The acronym CWA in Australia probably has a greater profile amongst females as the venerable institution - the Country Women's Association - rather than the Crime Writers Association. I therefore perhaps foolishly spent the first chapter looking for references to scone recipes or needlework or good works. No !! I jest. But this story does sum up my conflicted response to the book.
It was not an entirely difficult read but I didn't fully enjoy it and I'm not quite sure why. Perhaps the lead character, a school teacher/tutor, wasn't quite strong enough for my liking. The novel itself is a marvellous study of a society adhering rigidly to notions of class. It is set well before the Married Women's Property Act where women are at the bottom of the social heap in terms of rights/standing and must marry well to have any form of tolerable existence. Men are valued first and foremost by their property. Servants are not to be trusted - even by each other and it's a slippery and long slope to the bottom of the social scale - ignominy and ruin. There was no-one I really liked or wanted to barrack for. It's a shame because I think the author put stacks of work into researching the time period and reflecting it accurately in so many ways -from language, to accounts of conveyances and the mores of the time. I think he may have had rather more enjoyment constructing it, than I did reading it.
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LibraryThing member eleanor_eader
If anything, the words 'Short-listed by Richard & Judy's Book Club 2005' almost made me return the paperback to the shelf. I have talk-show (even refined and revered talk-show) snobbery. But I glanced at the back cover and spotted the tail end of the Telegraph review '...quiet corner to continue
I'm so very grateful that I was persuaded to read it. I might have to start paying attention to Richard & Judy's other book selections on the strength of this. It's one of the best things I have turned my attention to in a long time, all the better for being just a shade different from everything else. It's an historical fiction, a murder-mystery, loosely based around events surrounding Edgar Allan Poe's childhood, but not quite aspiring to 'based on a true story'hood. If anything, the vast scope of fiction works in the book's favour. It is a story, and the presence of a handful of historically genuine figures a mere curiosity that improves the flavour of the novel.
It is a nice coincidence that I have been slating Tess of the d'Urbervilles recently... the ordinary hero of this story, the tutor of young Edgar Allan and his friend Charlie, one Thomas Shield, is as much a victim of circumstance, malign intent and passivity as the vacant Tess, yet more richly drawn and enlivened with an education, mindfulness, nicety and simple likability. He is aware that his feelings for two women of the same household is inappropriate and likely to embroil him deeper than he cares to go in the entanglements of their lives, yet makes no excuses nor apologises for his desires. His absent affection for his charges is enough to secure our view of him as a worthy narrator, and his humbling changes of fortune find us sympathetic rather than impatient.
Nor is he the only worthwhile character. The ladies are treated with the tyrannous oversight and objectifying of the time, yet retain character and dignity. The villains are human and the narrator's friendly refuges few enough to make them prized even to the reader.
There is an element of humour that freshens the book delightfully, without obstructing the mannerly narration, and an occasional gem of a phrase that simply made me smile. 'We moved apart and re-arranged our limbs and our feelings' I particularly remember, but I also enjoyed his interaction with the various children he encountered. It's an elegant and fitting read, despite the distinct advancing of a plot.
The slightest flaw lies with the ending ... not the narrator's ending, which would have been wholly satisfying, but what seems to be a tying up of loose-ends. The problem with this being that there really aren't any and the last few pages are more or less redundant, and at worst unnecessarily undermining of our trust in the narrator that got us there. This conclusion is at least brief, and not jarring in style, but slightly disappointing for all that.
I'm giving this book 9.5/10, a score that means nothing to anyone. If you enjoy du Maurier, the Brontes, Dickens, (yes, alright, Hardy) and perhaps Poe himself, this is certainly for you. If you haven't delved into the world of historical fiction, on the basis that it's nothing but nancing gits and ball gowns, this would be an excellent opportunity to dispel these illusions. It's fantastically readable, the romance at all times overshadowed by murder, money, deceit and duty, and Edgar Allan Poe is in it. And Edgar Allan Poe is so, like, OMGgoth.
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your acquaintance with it.' A book you can have an acquaintanceship with? That, I thought, doesn't come along often.I'm so very grateful that I was persuaded to read it. I might have to start paying attention to Richard & Judy's other book selections on the strength of this. It's one of the best things I have turned my attention to in a long time, all the better for being just a shade different from everything else. It's an historical fiction, a murder-mystery, loosely based around events surrounding Edgar Allan Poe's childhood, but not quite aspiring to 'based on a true story'hood. If anything, the vast scope of fiction works in the book's favour. It is a story, and the presence of a handful of historically genuine figures a mere curiosity that improves the flavour of the novel.
It is a nice coincidence that I have been slating Tess of the d'Urbervilles recently... the ordinary hero of this story, the tutor of young Edgar Allan and his friend Charlie, one Thomas Shield, is as much a victim of circumstance, malign intent and passivity as the vacant Tess, yet more richly drawn and enlivened with an education, mindfulness, nicety and simple likability. He is aware that his feelings for two women of the same household is inappropriate and likely to embroil him deeper than he cares to go in the entanglements of their lives, yet makes no excuses nor apologises for his desires. His absent affection for his charges is enough to secure our view of him as a worthy narrator, and his humbling changes of fortune find us sympathetic rather than impatient.
Nor is he the only worthwhile character. The ladies are treated with the tyrannous oversight and objectifying of the time, yet retain character and dignity. The villains are human and the narrator's friendly refuges few enough to make them prized even to the reader.
There is an element of humour that freshens the book delightfully, without obstructing the mannerly narration, and an occasional gem of a phrase that simply made me smile. 'We moved apart and re-arranged our limbs and our feelings' I particularly remember, but I also enjoyed his interaction with the various children he encountered. It's an elegant and fitting read, despite the distinct advancing of a plot.
The slightest flaw lies with the ending ... not the narrator's ending, which would have been wholly satisfying, but what seems to be a tying up of loose-ends. The problem with this being that there really aren't any and the last few pages are more or less redundant, and at worst unnecessarily undermining of our trust in the narrator that got us there. This conclusion is at least brief, and not jarring in style, but slightly disappointing for all that.
I'm giving this book 9.5/10, a score that means nothing to anyone. If you enjoy du Maurier, the Brontes, Dickens, (yes, alright, Hardy) and perhaps Poe himself, this is certainly for you. If you haven't delved into the world of historical fiction, on the basis that it's nothing but nancing gits and ball gowns, this would be an excellent opportunity to dispel these illusions. It's fantastically readable, the romance at all times overshadowed by murder, money, deceit and duty, and Edgar Allan Poe is in it. And Edgar Allan Poe is so, like, OMGgoth.
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LibraryThing member AlisonY
Set in Regency London and the Home Counties, The American Boy does an admirable job of recreating an authentic period novel. Tom Shields, the protagonist, suffers a breakdown and gets into trouble after being injured at Waterloo and suffering the heartache of being romantically jilted. Helped by
This is a novel I've gone past on my TBR shelf for many years now, and I'm really glad I settled myself to read it at last. The American boy of the title refers to a young Edgar Allen Poe, friend of the schoolboy Frant. Although he appears very little in the novel, it is circumstances directly connected to him which contrive to bring about the dark events of the rest of the novel. Taylor was inspired by the real life mystery leading up to Edgar Allen Poe's death, when he was found delirious in the street wearing clothes that were not his own and shouting for an unknown 'Reynolds' on his deathbed. As Poe, unusual for that period, had spent much of his childhood in London before returning to America, Taylor sought to create a historical novel based around a fictional mystery from the early years of his life.
Poe is weaved into the fabric of 'The American Boy' by a fairly tenuous link, but needed or not Taylor has doubtlessly created a very enjoyable historical crime / fiction novel. Some references at the back of the book cite it as a modern day Wilkie Collins, and although that sets the bar very high I think it's fair praise on many levels. Taylor clearly researched the period setting meticulously, such that it feels entirely authentic to the early 1800s, and throughout he builds a great tale of tension and suspense. My one criticism is that it feels 100+ pages too long; despite really enjoying it my enthusiasm waned a little in the middle as the plot felt like it treaded water. By the end it became apparent why Taylor had wanted to build in a number of plot elements which seemed incidental in this section, but still - a shortening of these would have helped keep the tension tighter.
Overall, an enjoyable read, and certainly one to look out for if you enjoy historical fiction.
4 stars - high quality period drama.
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his aunt to get a position after his fall from grace, he takes an opening as a master at a boys' boarding school and his life begins to return to an even keel. But when a new boy Frant joins the school, Shields becomes embroiled in the treacherous world of his rich banking family as the dark underworld of their wealth emerges.This is a novel I've gone past on my TBR shelf for many years now, and I'm really glad I settled myself to read it at last. The American boy of the title refers to a young Edgar Allen Poe, friend of the schoolboy Frant. Although he appears very little in the novel, it is circumstances directly connected to him which contrive to bring about the dark events of the rest of the novel. Taylor was inspired by the real life mystery leading up to Edgar Allen Poe's death, when he was found delirious in the street wearing clothes that were not his own and shouting for an unknown 'Reynolds' on his deathbed. As Poe, unusual for that period, had spent much of his childhood in London before returning to America, Taylor sought to create a historical novel based around a fictional mystery from the early years of his life.
Poe is weaved into the fabric of 'The American Boy' by a fairly tenuous link, but needed or not Taylor has doubtlessly created a very enjoyable historical crime / fiction novel. Some references at the back of the book cite it as a modern day Wilkie Collins, and although that sets the bar very high I think it's fair praise on many levels. Taylor clearly researched the period setting meticulously, such that it feels entirely authentic to the early 1800s, and throughout he builds a great tale of tension and suspense. My one criticism is that it feels 100+ pages too long; despite really enjoying it my enthusiasm waned a little in the middle as the plot felt like it treaded water. By the end it became apparent why Taylor had wanted to build in a number of plot elements which seemed incidental in this section, but still - a shortening of these would have helped keep the tension tighter.
Overall, an enjoyable read, and certainly one to look out for if you enjoy historical fiction.
4 stars - high quality period drama.
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LibraryThing member speedwriter
A murder mystery set in early 19th century England in which the young Edgar Allen Poe appears as a minor character. An engrossing read.
LibraryThing member LadyN
I chose this one based on it's back cover blurb... sometimes that is a mistake, but it's all one has to go on. I found it instantly forgettable - a shame since the potential was there for an exciting period piece.
LibraryThing member picardyrose
Edgar Allen Poe's father is a criminal. Very entertaining. I'd like to see it as a movie.
LibraryThing member bookenthusiast100
A wonderfully melodramatic Dickensian novel with a very complicated plot. With murder and romance.
LibraryThing member LukeS
This is a long and interesting mystery set in late Regency London and Gloucester. Our schoolmaster protaganist stumbles into a labyrinth of murder, embezzlement, bankruptcy, and deathbed treachery. He uses his considerable wits to solve the various mysteries and help a beautiful and charismatic
All this occurs with a large and diverting cast of characters. We have old Carswall, the story's chief villain; there's the lovely and bereft Sophie Frant, desired by both Carswall and our hero, Tom Shield. And at the eye of this storm is young Edgar Allan Poe, visiting in England (in Shield's care for much of the story) and oblivious as to who his father is and also to the role his father plays in the events of the tale.
The book moves slowly and is somewhat overlong. We never lose focus on the real issues, but sometimes we revolve around them at a considerable distance.
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widow in need. All this occurs with a large and diverting cast of characters. We have old Carswall, the story's chief villain; there's the lovely and bereft Sophie Frant, desired by both Carswall and our hero, Tom Shield. And at the eye of this storm is young Edgar Allan Poe, visiting in England (in Shield's care for much of the story) and oblivious as to who his father is and also to the role his father plays in the events of the tale.
The book moves slowly and is somewhat overlong. We never lose focus on the real issues, but sometimes we revolve around them at a considerable distance.
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LibraryThing member hotchk155
A gripping page-turner of a thriller with a superbly exceuted period feel.
LibraryThing member delphica
(#6 in the 2006 Book Challenge)
It's a fun mystery story -- hmmmm, you know that term "speculative fiction" that I think is supposed to make science fiction sound less nerdy? I always want to call books like this speculative fiction, as one of the characters is Edgar Allen Poe as a child, so it's
Grade: B+
Recommended: Solid mystery, somewhat creepy but not graphic, especially if you like this particular time period.
It's a fun mystery story -- hmmmm, you know that term "speculative fiction" that I think is supposed to make science fiction sound less nerdy? I always want to call books like this speculative fiction, as one of the characters is Edgar Allen Poe as a child, so it's
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like the author is speculating about what twisted sort of crime EAP might have been witness to as a youngun that might have influenced the adult he would become. But yeah, I realize no one else uses "speculative fiction" in that sense. For the most part, I enjoyed the early 19th century tone of the whole thing, and there were a few nice nods to Poeishness.Grade: B+
Recommended: Solid mystery, somewhat creepy but not graphic, especially if you like this particular time period.
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LibraryThing member sumariotter
Interesting and well paced. I had some trouble getting a fix on the narrator, what sort of man he is, and I didn't really find him that appealing. But the plot was interesting enough and kept me engaged.
LibraryThing member karensaville
Set in England in 1819, it is the story of a teacher called Thomas Shield who becomes the tutor to a young American boy called Edgar Allan Poe and his best friend Charles Frant. the tutor is drawn to the boys mother and becomes entangled in the mysteries of the family. A brutal crime is committed
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that threatens to destroy Thomas Shield. I did enjoy the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member wbwilburn5
Andrew Taylor is a first class author, I re-read all his works, his writing never gets boring.
LibraryThing member jwhenderson
The American Boy is a pre-Victorian murder mystery set in 1819-20 but, amazingly, was written in the twenty-first century. It was inspired by the author's interest in the brief period that Edgar Allan Poe spent in England while still a young boy. Building on this real event and some of the real
I was unfamiliar with Andrew Taylor when I discovered this book, intrigued by the connection with Poe. What I found was a master of mystery whose ability to create a believable labyrinthine plot keeps the reader guessing almost until the last page.
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characters, such as Edgar's foster father John Allan and his natural father David Poe, Andrew Taylor spins a mystery out of this moment in the famous author's life. The result is a very satisfying mystery with a central character, Thomas Shields, who is a school teacher but becomes quite by accident an amateur sleuth as the mystery of several intertwined families, two murders, a banking scandal, and the identity of the victim of one of the crimes draws Shields gradually deeper into its depths. As a school teacher in a small school he has two students, Edgar Allan and Charles Frant, who become mutual friends and in whom he takes an interest as they are bullied by some bigger boys. Shields is somewhat impoverished and thus dependent on his "betters" with certain consequences for the story. He inhabits a sort of never-land somewhere in between the Parents of his students and their servants. Since he is living in their households for much of the story as tutor to Edgar and his friend Charles Frant this existence becomes somewhat oppressive for Shields. It is further complicated by his attraction to the mother of Charles. Murder, unacceptable love, questions of identity and missing money -- just the stuff of great mysteries. The best part of this novel is the pre-Victorian setting as Andrew Taylor effectively recreates the world of England in the last days of the reign of King George III. Told in the first person by Thomas Shield through his journal the story covers only nine months time but there is what becomes a tidal wave of events and plot twists before Shields' narrative is complete.I was unfamiliar with Andrew Taylor when I discovered this book, intrigued by the connection with Poe. What I found was a master of mystery whose ability to create a believable labyrinthine plot keeps the reader guessing almost until the last page.
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LibraryThing member Carolinejyoung
A really long book but I really enjoyed it. The story was set in 1890 and I love the descriptiveness and politeness of the language used in that era. I would have given it 4/5 but, I think the last few pages were unnecessary and spoilt it somewhat.
LibraryThing member literaryrunner
1819 England: young Edgar Allen Poe is a minor character in this mystery set among the dark corners of London and the lonely English countryside. Red herrings enough to fill Lake Michian abound. Strange incidents which eventually tie together as the reader figures out just what the crime really is:
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murder, fraud or treason? Well strung together but the ending just did not have enough surprise for all the secrecy which built it up. Show Less
LibraryThing member wbwilburn5
Great story.
LibraryThing member Dorritt
Nice period mystery with a Austinesque romance thrown in to add depth. Yes - some bits strain credulity, but I was willing to set aside my usual cynicism because of the author's skill at pacing his tale. Get so tired of the condescension of mystery writers, throwing out obvious clues and then
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expecting us to be surprised at the end. Like magicians hoping that when they pull the handkerchief from the hat we'll forget that we saw him slip it in there at the beginning of the trick. Taylor's gift is to acknowledge each clue along the way and STILL keep you wondering, which requires actual narrative skill - not just trickery and manipulation. A couple of tips, however: young Edgar Allen Poe is a minor, minor character, so if your sole interest in the book is as a Poephile, don't bother. Also don't bother with the appendixes, which are unnecessary and strain credulity - I have to think a better editor would have forced Taylor to leave them out entirely. Show Less
LibraryThing member Clurb
A bit of light historical thriller fiction. Pretty good for a rainy day.
LibraryThing member vidalia11
The author created a great period atmosphere, but the plot held little suspense or even interest. Ultimately nothing happened and the story was explained in a long epilogue. I don't recommend it.
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
9780007266739
Physical description
512 p.; 5.08 inches
Other editions
The American Boy by Andrew Taylor (CD audiobook)
Pages
512