Black Wreath follows the Victorian gentleman Arthur Endswell who has fallen upon hard times. In order to keep up appearances, Arthur turns to the most lucrative job available: corpse-robbing for a surgeon keen to practice dissection. Through this morbid occupation, Arthur hopes to gain the hand of his beloved—but his carefully arranged plans are thrown into disarray when bodies start turning up filled with poison, and a murderer is on the loose. . . . 

This is a compelling and intriguing tale of murder, money-grubbing, and deceit, where nothing is as it seems and the world is full of shades of grey.

Arthur is an unusual protagonist. He’s not a hero nor a villain; while he does steal bodies and lie extensively, he nonetheless abides by a certain code of honour, as if his unwholesome actions are born more by necessity than greed. He is also a very charming narrator, with an engaging wit to his observations (although, amusingly enough, he is perhaps not as clever as he thinks he is).

The supporting cast are equally well-developed and distinct. Characters include Fanny, a business-savvy and independent medium who takes photographs of the dead; Amelia, Arthur’s wan and pale beloved; and Amelia’ dreaded aunt, the kind of small-minded woman who always has a complaint ready.

In addition, M. Jones has put considerable thought into the setting: the Victorian London of Black Wreath is as colourful as it is filthy, and even the language used throughout the story is consistent with the time period.

My only nitpicks are on the design side. While the website is simple and easy on the eyes, and there is a table of contents on the right sidebar, the website lacks a ‘next chapter’ link at the bottom of each entry (or even a ‘jump to the top’ link), meaning you have to scroll back up to select the next chapter. This can be a little tedious.

Overall, recommended for lovers of history and murder-mysteries. The cast and setting are engaging, and the plot is delightfully unexpected. This is one whodunit you might not be able to figure out.

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The first chapter is well-written in a Victorian style.  The poor Gentlemen, having fallen on hard times, has been forced to secretly Work in order to maintain his lifestyle and court his beloved.  As his Work is digging up corpses for dissection, he must be doubly discrete.

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Unlike steampunk tales, where the grave-diggers are henchmen for the mad scientists, this story focuses on the grave-digger himself.  Arthur is a gentleman whose meager inheritance forces him to secretly get a job, so of course he takes up the lucrative and very secretive trade of stealing corpses. 

I enjoyed the Victorian language and point-of-view, especially coming from a very proper Victorian gentleman.  A lot of the humor in this story comes from the contrast between Arthur’s interpretation of what’s going on and the reality described in the details.  This shows up particularly well towards the end of chapter 3 when Arthur is visiting the young woman that he’s courting. 

The writing is correct and easy to read.  My only technical complaint is the lack of a "next chapter" type link at the bottom of each entry.  Instead, you have to select the next chapter from the drop down menu on the right.  With only a few chapters online, it isn’t a problem, but once there’s more like 20-30 chapters up, I can see it becoming frustrating. 

For now, though, I found it to be an easy and entertaining read.  Give it a try, especially if you like your stories a bit dark or British.

ETA: grammar

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