Thomas Shield, veterano de Waterloo, acepta un empleo como profesor en una escuela privada en la que tendrá como alumnos a Charles Fant y Edgar Allan Poe, pero cuando el padre de Charles, Henry, aparece asesinado junto a su amante Sophia Marpool, Shield se revela como un investigador aficionado, lo que paradójicamente lo convierte en sospechoso y objeto de desprecio. En un Londres espléndidamente recreado, Andrew Taylor crea una perfecta trama de misterio que aporta claves sobre la infancia de Edgar Allan Poe e invita al lector a especular sobre el entramado de relaciones económicas y sociales en la alta burguesía londinense.

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 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. ( )

Den amerikanske pojken är en stort upplagd, underhållande och välskriven roman i en berättarstil som påminner om både Charles Dickens och Edgar Allan Poes. Persongalleriet är stort och det är en fördel om man inte behöver lägga boken ifrån sig alltför länge. Risken finns då att man tappar bort sig. För övrigt är det svårt att släppa boken, man är ivrig att få reda vad som ligger bakom de märkliga händelser som drabbar berättarpersonen Thomas Shield. En mycket läsvärd bok!

Well written and interesting though things seemed to just unfold through no real effort of the MC. ( )

Well written and interesting though things seemed to just unfold through no real effort of the MC. ( )