What is it about this particular time period that appeals to you?
I wanted to set my books in a period of history that was rich with new discoveries (chloroform, theories of disease causation, the birth of photography), but which had yet to realise the potential these discoveries might have. The late 1840s and 1850s were perfect for this: surgical procedures might take place under anaesthetic in 1850 which would have been impossible to attempt two years earlier. It was also a time of rapidly changing attitudes – towards the mentally ill, towards cleanliness, towards how we understand human anatomy and the interconnectedness of the body. And diseases of the mind as well as the body were endemic. Medicine is at the intersection between life and death; those who practise it are prey to rivalry, ambition and arrogance. It seemed the perfect mixture for trouble.
The wider urban environment, which I believe would be truly shocking to us today, was also a source of fascination and horror. Massive population growth, a general lack of sanitation and the development of dirty industries and the pollution they created meant that mid-nineteenth century cities were, quite literally, sinking under their own waste. I picked London because it was so huge and its problems seemed so insurmountable, though any large city would have been just as bad. These were dirty and difficult times. Using the sights, smells and textures of the metropolis as an essential part of the books was something that came easily. To miss them out, or make little attempt to capture their impact on daily life, would be to paint the wrong picture.
What are you working on next?
I’m working on Jem and Will’s next adventure. It’s set in the docks, on a floating seaman’s hospital that occupies a rotting hulk – a decommissioned man o’ war. There was such a hospital moored at Greenwich during this period. I’ve dragged it up-river for my story and filled it with menace and terrible deeds.
Also by E. S. Thomson
Beloved Poison
DARK ASYLUM
Pegasus Books, Ltd.
148 West 37th Street, 13th Floor
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2017 by E. S. Thompson
First Pegasus Books hardcover edition November 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or
in part without written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers who
may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review in a newspaper, magazine,
or electronic publication; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other,
without written permission from the publisher.
ISBN: 978-1-68177-539-5
ISBN: 978-1-68177-595-1 (e-book)
Distributed by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Dark Asylum Page 31
