AT THE SEVEN STARS

The London of 1752-- the year of the Elibank Plan to overthrow the Hanoverian King, George III-- was crowded, unsanitary, crime-ridden, but at the same time was a lively place, boasting many a bawdy tavern (like the Seven Stars in Fleet Street, of this book) frequented by political conspirators, literary figures and temperamental painters. Richard Larkin from Pennsylvania (a lad of about sixteen years, who is realistically delineated by the authors), chances to witness a murder, and subsequently finds himself in the middle of the Jacobite intrigue, a bloody plot. In his adventures, Richard associates with some of England's greats (Hogarth and Samuel Johnson, mainly). The authors have etched a convincing picture of eighteenth century London, while narrating a fine suspense story and they maintain a close focus on Richard, so that the reader never becomes lost in the milling crowd. The minor characters are sketched in effectively with a few important lines, in this historical novel, which will hopefully receive the attention it warrants.