The Hellfire Conspiracy (27 page)
Read The Hellfire Conspiracy Online
Authors: Will Thomas
Tags: #Fiction, #General, #Historical, #Mystery & Detective, #Traditional British
“I accept.”
There was no other man in London I would trust with such a task. For that matter, there was no one else in the world.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my editor, Amanda Patten, and my agent, Maria Carvainis, for their support and suggestions. I would also like to thank my daughters, Caitlin and Heather, who act as sounding boards, and my dear wife, Julia, who works tirelessly to help me with these novels because she believes in Barker and Llewelyn and most of all in me.
The Hellfire Conspiracy
- 1.
The Hellfire Conspiracy
opens with Major Trevor DeVere of Her Majesty’s Horse Guard unceremoniously forcing his way into private inquiry agent Cyrus Barker’s office. Why is the major upset? How does Barker get the major to shape up before he suffers a complete breakdown?
- 2. With what kind of tone does our narrator, Thomas Llewelyn, assistant to Cyrus Barker, describe the opening events? What does Llewelyn’s tone reveal about him? What words would you use to describe him from the way he tells the story?
- 3. What is the meaning of “white slavery?” How does it differ from any other slavery? Discuss why this is or isn’t a racist phrase in 1885.
- 4. When Llewelyn mentions the legal age of consent—13 years old—are you surprised? What does “legal age of consent” mean? Does its present meaning differ today from that of 1885? What should the legal age of consent be? Why is it not 13 today?
- 5. What reason does Barker give when Llewelyn asks why the government doesn’t put an end to white slavery? What does Barker’s answer tell you about his beliefs regarding class and social justice?
- 6. William Stead, editor of the
Pall Mall Gazette,
is also investigating the disappearance of young girls. What is the goal of his investigation, and how does it differ from that of Barker and Llewelyn? From the goals of the police? What happens to Stead in the end?
- 7. How does the rivalry between Scotland Yard, the Thames Police, and the Metropolitan Police influence the plot? Do similar rivalries exist between governmental service groups today?
- 8. What is the common factor among the girls who have gone missing? How does this commonality lead Barker to the murderer? Are you surprised when you learn who the murderer is? Were clues provided prior to the revelation? If so, what were they?
- 9. Each installment in Will Thomas’s series of books reveals a little more about Llewelyn’s past. What new fact do we learn about his past in
The Hellfire Conspiracy
?
- 10. What do you think about journalism that has a social goal behind it—can it be unbiased, as journalism is supposed to strive to be? Does this type of journalism have a legitimate place in the greater arena of news reporting?
Book Club Tips
- 1. Visit willthomasauthor.com and share some of what you’ve learned about the author at a future meeting of your club.
- 2. Read the previous Barker and Llewelyn books chronologically, and discuss how the characters change and what keeps them interesting to you.
- 3. Sample Joseph Jacobs’s
English Fairy Tales,
and compare and contrast the Mr. Miacca you find there with the character who appears in
The Hellfire Conspiracy
.
- 4. Discuss who should play each of the characters in the film version of
The Hellfire Conspiracy,
and why.
- 5. Find an English-style pub in your town and hold your meeting there.
A Conversation with Will Thomas
1. Llewelyn and Barker continue to become more complementary to each other as partners (Llewelyn’s book learning coupled with Barker’s street smarts) in each succeeding novel. How do you envision their relationship in future stories? Will Llewelyn ever become Barker’s equal? Or must Barker remain somewhat aloof and mysterious to Llewelyn in order to keep the interplay between the two characters interesting?
Eventually, most of Barker’s secret past will tumble out. As Llewelyn moves from apprentice to journeyman agent, he will face increasing dangers and will grow. Both men must rely upon each other to survive and will go through trials and changes in their personal lives. Beyond that, Llewelyn hasn’t told me yet.
Eventually, most of Barker’s secret past will tumble out. As Llewelyn moves from apprentice to journeyman agent, he will face increasing dangers and will grow. Both men must rely upon each other to survive and will go through trials and changes in their personal lives. Beyond that, Llewelyn hasn’t told me yet.
2. You write your books using pen and paper rather than a computer. Why? Do the pen and paper spark more creativity in you?
Pen and paper bind me closer to the characters. Sometimes I draw a character in the margin before I create a word portrait. In fact, the drawing left by Inspector Bainbridge in
The Limehouse Text
began as an actual sketch I made when I first plotted the novel.
Pen and paper bind me closer to the characters. Sometimes I draw a character in the margin before I create a word portrait. In fact, the drawing left by Inspector Bainbridge in
The Limehouse Text
began as an actual sketch I made when I first plotted the novel.
3. How much do the highly developed characters drive your story? What other factors help determine which plotline comes next?
My characters provide good vehicles for moving the plot along, but ultimately it is social issues that drive my novels, such as anti-Semitism, terrorism, and child abuse, issues we are still struggling with today. At the same time, the entire series could be considered a bildungsroman about Thomas Llewelyn, as he grows from callow youth into full adulthood under Barker’s tutelage.
My characters provide good vehicles for moving the plot along, but ultimately it is social issues that drive my novels, such as anti-Semitism, terrorism, and child abuse, issues we are still struggling with today. At the same time, the entire series could be considered a bildungsroman about Thomas Llewelyn, as he grows from callow youth into full adulthood under Barker’s tutelage.
4. What was your inspiration for the plot of
The Hellfire Conspiracy
?
I came across a quotation while researching
Some Danger Involved,
something about every Jewish mother in the East End fearing that her children would be snatched by white slavers. When something like that intrigues me, I always ask myself what the worst is that could happen. Then I throw that threat into Barker’s lap.
The Hellfire Conspiracy
?
I came across a quotation while researching
Some Danger Involved,
something about every Jewish mother in the East End fearing that her children would be snatched by white slavers. When something like that intrigues me, I always ask myself what the worst is that could happen. Then I throw that threat into Barker’s lap.
5. Is the character William Stead based upon a real person from history? If so, is he someone you admire?
Stead’s final moments were aboard the Titanic, helping women and children into the lifeboats, and calming those around him. He was a paradoxical mixture of socialist and Christian, as well as a newspaperman known for shocking headlines and hyperbolical expression. It was his efforts that finally produced a law against child prostitution. He was real, and yes, I admire him very much.
Stead’s final moments were aboard the Titanic, helping women and children into the lifeboats, and calming those around him. He was a paradoxical mixture of socialist and Christian, as well as a newspaperman known for shocking headlines and hyperbolical expression. It was his efforts that finally produced a law against child prostitution. He was real, and yes, I admire him very much.
6. In this exchange between Llewelyn and Barker, whose views do you sympathize with more, and why?
Llewelyn:
“I thought this was a Christian country.”
Barker:
“Then you are misinformed. We live on a mean, sinful planet, Thomas, and it shall only get worse if the Lord should tarry.”
This question cuts close to the bone. Do I think we live on a mean, sinful planet which shall get worse before it gets better? Absolutely. But that doesn’t mean we should stop trying to change it, or give up all hope that it can be improved.
Llewelyn:
“I thought this was a Christian country.”
Barker:
“Then you are misinformed. We live on a mean, sinful planet, Thomas, and it shall only get worse if the Lord should tarry.”
This question cuts close to the bone. Do I think we live on a mean, sinful planet which shall get worse before it gets better? Absolutely. But that doesn’t mean we should stop trying to change it, or give up all hope that it can be improved.
7. Why did you introduce Beatrice Potter into the story?
When I first read of Miss Potter’s thorny involvement with Joseph Chamberlain, I said to myself, here’s another way to break Llewelyn’s heart. I cannot recall another story in which a fictional character actually dates a historical figure, so I wanted to try it. Most of the characters in
The Hellfire Conspiracy
were real people, so it was a challenge to bring them into the story and yet render them faithfully.
Beatrice Potter (who should not be confused with children’s author Beatrix Potter) eventually wed Sydney Webb, and the duo were famous political radicals during the 1880s and early 1900s, responsible for the passage of several laws on welfare and labor issues.
When I first read of Miss Potter’s thorny involvement with Joseph Chamberlain, I said to myself, here’s another way to break Llewelyn’s heart. I cannot recall another story in which a fictional character actually dates a historical figure, so I wanted to try it. Most of the characters in
The Hellfire Conspiracy
were real people, so it was a challenge to bring them into the story and yet render them faithfully.
Beatrice Potter (who should not be confused with children’s author Beatrix Potter) eventually wed Sydney Webb, and the duo were famous political radicals during the 1880s and early 1900s, responsible for the passage of several laws on welfare and labor issues.
8. The role of Jews in socialism and in many social causes is highlighted in
The Hellfire Conspiracy.
What inspired you to focus on this topic? What are some little-known aspects of social change or of the socialist movement in the late 1800s?
Jews have a long tradition of doing good works for the community, both through donations to public works and through championing causes. The East End of the 1880s had severe social problems, such as poverty, crime, poor working conditions, and crowded tenements, and educated Jews worked to improve all of them. I chose to focus on this subject after studying the historical Jewish figures Israel Zangwill and Amy Levy. Also, most people don’t know that Christian organizations were active in such causes, too—the Salvation Army, for example, was a militant participant in the socialist movement of that era.
The Hellfire Conspiracy.
What inspired you to focus on this topic? What are some little-known aspects of social change or of the socialist movement in the late 1800s?
Jews have a long tradition of doing good works for the community, both through donations to public works and through championing causes. The East End of the 1880s had severe social problems, such as poverty, crime, poor working conditions, and crowded tenements, and educated Jews worked to improve all of them. I chose to focus on this subject after studying the historical Jewish figures Israel Zangwill and Amy Levy. Also, most people don’t know that Christian organizations were active in such causes, too—the Salvation Army, for example, was a militant participant in the socialist movement of that era.
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