In 1788, exactly one hundred years before Jack the Ripper terrorizes the people of London, a sexual miscreant known as the London Monster roams the streets in search of his next victim…
Thomas Hayes, having lost his mother in a vicious street assault, becomes an underground pugilist on a mission to rid the streets of violent criminals. But his vigilante actions lead to him being mistaken for the most terrifying criminal of all.
Assistance arrives in the form of Sophie Carlisle, a young journalist with dreams of covering a big story, though she is forced to masquerade as a man to do it. Trapped in an engagement to a man she doesn’t love, Sophie yearns to break free to tell stories that matter about London’s darker side—gaming, prostitution, violence—and realizes Tom could be the one to help. Together, they come up with a plan.
Straddling the line between his need for vengeance and the need to hide his true identity as a politician's son becomes increasingly difficult as Tom is pressured to win more fights. The more he wins, the more notoriety he receives, and the greater the chance his identity may be exposed—a revelation that could jeopardize his father’s political aspirations and destroy his family’s reputation.
Sophie is also in danger as hysteria spreads and the attacks increase in severity and frequency. No one knows who to trust, and no one is safe—Tom included, yet he refuses to end the hunt.
Little does he realize, the monster is also hunting him.
What inspired you to start writing?
A dream, actually. I awoke one morning with a vision of two people arguing in the dark hull of a square-rigged ship. They were wearing 18th century clothing and speaking with an English accent. I had no idea why these people wouldn’t go away or why they were in my head in the first place. All I knew is that I couldn’t get rid of them, so when my sons left for school, I sat down at the computer and started writing what I had envisioned. Before I knew it, I’d written over 270,000 words, enough for three novels. It was a wonderful adventure, and I learned an awful lot about craft and about myself. I never did anything with that book, but it set me on my path to becoming an author.
What was the hardest part about writing this book?
The hardest part was finding the right characters to tell this story. I like to write in multiple points of view, so I needed to select characters that not only fit in with the history but also came from different backgrounds and experiences that would logically place them in the world of the London Monster. Once I figured out who they were, the story fell into place.
Does one of the main characters hold a special place in your heart? If so, why?
That would probably be Maeve since she is the one who suffers the most. She’s undoubtedly a tragic figure. When she is just a baby, she and her family flee Ireland for England with hopes of living a better life. Soon after, her parents die, and relatives take her in. When she is barely a teenager and they can no longer afford to feed her, she is sent to work at a milliner’s shop where she is seduced by the owner. Now ruined, she becomes a prostitute at a brothel in order to survive. She falls in love with a man she thinks will be her keeper but instead leaves her when he discovers she is pregnant with his child. Ultimately, she sends her sickly daughter to live with a wet nurse until she can one day afford to care for her herself. And that’s just where her story begins. How can you not feel for a character like that?
If your book was to be made into a movie, who are the celebrities that would star in it?
I can never picture famous actors as the characters in my books. I think I’d have to say that I’d like “unknowns” to play the parts. Besides, the actors selected for books made into movies are never as good as the ones you imagine.
What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
I think a lot of people will say they’d never heard of the London Monster before reading this book. Some are surprised to read the story behind the real man in my Notes at the end so, in essence, they’ve learned something new about him, the setting, or the period. That’s always good. But ultimately, my hope is that I’ve entertained my readers and have made them laugh or cry or just feel.
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Donna Scott
Donna Scott is an award-winning author of 17th and 18th century historical fiction. Before embarking on a writing career, she spent her time in the world of academia. She earned her BA in English from the University of Miami and her MS and EdD (ABD) from Florida International University. She has two sons and lives in sunny South Florida with her husband. Her first novel, Shame the Devil, received the first place Chaucer Award for Historical Fiction and a Best Book designation from Chanticleer International Book Reviews.
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