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1800s: There’s some dark dealings deep down in Deptford
The Dead Woman of Deptford (Ben Ross 6)
What you need to know before your trail
A Deptford yard is not one of the nicest places at night. Dirty, messy and dangerous during the day and at night. But even darker still when dock worker Harry Parker stumbles upon the body of a dead woman.
Inspector Ben Ross from Scotland Yard heads over to this rather insalubrious part of town. But he’s going to have a task on his hands for there are no witnesses at all to what happened. Even Jeb Fisher, the local rag-and-bone man, swears he’s seen nothing.
At the same time, Ben’s wife Lizzie is trying to suppress a scandal: family friend Edgar Wellings has a gambling addiction which is spinning out of control. She tries to help him by visiting his debt collector but she just happens to be the woman her husband is investigating…
Travel Guide
Deptford, London
With fog rolling up the Thames estuary and the coal smoke missing tother,it forms a dense , bad smelling , yellowish mass that invades every nook and cranny right down to pavement level, and cloaks the buildings with a dirty veil.
Welcome to the London where the city wears its smog and dirt like an invisible cloak. Anything can happen here without people seeing, but the clip clop of hooves and the cries of street vendors and where your ears are assaulted with goodness knows what.
Deptford is the part of London where the docks and the ships dominate all of these sights sounds, smells and more.
The police are at their busiest here too what with a recent increase in drunken brawls and fights among seamen. Many people come by here, many of them from foreign ships, from all over the world, to this small port in London
“Deptford had long had a claim to being the most insalubrious area in London; and that against some stiff competition”
Deptford history
There’s plenty of history about Deptford here too – such as the fact that it was supposedly a Deptford puddle Sir Walter Raleigh put his coat over for the Queen. That and the fact that the shipyards are in a somewhat state of repair due to the heavy industry going elsewhere.
Streetview Maps
A) Deptford Docks and Market
A) Deptford Docks and Creek
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
What I love about Ann Granger is that she really revels in every tiny detila of Victorian London. This is theLondon where the smog and he mist claim everyone in its path, where you get a real insight into the sights and smells of the time. I swear I could hear every noise and the seagulls as I neared Deptford Dock with the policeman. I just immerse myself in this atmospheric writing. There’s nothing quite like it.
There’s something very grim and grimy about a dock area and Deptford is the ideal setting for a crime scene. There’s dirt, bad language and the characters feel real and put upon. There’s always a little history and social context to her novels too which I enjoy.
I do like an old fashioned mystery and this one is right up there with my other Ann Granger favourites.
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: The Dead Woman of Deptford (Ben Ross 6) (Ben Ross 6)
Author/ Guide: Ann Granger Destination: London Departure Time : 1800s
Web: anngranger.net
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