The Small Museum
London in the latter part of the 19th century. Madeleine, a young woman from rural Cheshire, is newly married to Dr Lucius Everley and goes to live in his gloomy London townhouse. The rushed marriage, her husband’s distance, unwelcoming servants and all sorts of whispered secrets and unconventionalities in the house provide the ingredients for a traditional Gothic story. Madeleine’s own father was a medical doctor, and she has an interest in the subject and is a skilled draughtswoman. The extent of Dr Everley’s obsessive medical interests, supported by his possessed sister and the invidious position that Madeleine finds herself in the hostile household, becomes slowly clear to the reader, and a hideous secret is revealed at the conclusion of the story. From the beginning of the narrative, some chapters delineate the path of subsequent events – the proceedings against Madeleine Everley, who is on trial for her life for murder and seems to be the subject of some foul plot from her husband and sister-in-law.
The story, very capably narrated, is engaging and entertaining enough, but given the subject matter, it is highly melodramatic and lacks any real sense of credibility or indeed reality. The historical setting is not substantial, although there is a noteworthy emphasis on the vibrant scientific atmosphere surrounding the debate on evolution. Madeleine’s trial for murder continues for several days, which would have been exceedingly unlikely with the conventions of criminal proceedings in 19th-century England. Nonetheless, an enjoyable novel.
