The Mourning Emporium

Queen Victoria is dying and, in an Australian penal colony, a Pretender, Harold Hoskins, is planning to seize the British throne with the help of an army of ghost-convicts, vampiric sea-creatures and spying seabirds. In league with him is Bajomonte Tiepolo, the ghost of a mediaeval Venetian traitor who has already brought Venice to its knees by inducing an ice-storm and heavy flooding. Sailing from Venice to save London from the same fate are young Teo and her friend, Renzo, who have certain advantages over most adults, including the ability to talk to animals and see ghosts.

This summary provides only a flavour of the immense detail and intricate mythologies contained in this book, the second of a trilogy set in a fantastical alternative to the years around 1900. Without reading the first volume, The Undrowned Child, it may be hard to absorb the dizzying kaleidoscope of characters and mythologies, although some space is taken up in the second book in summarising and re-introducing them. The author also provides an extensive appendix explaining the historical bases for the ingredients of the story in which Venice, the old maritime empire with artistic spirit, provides a catalyst for the emergence of imperial London’s own ghosts – including Roman soldiers, minstrels and sweeps – to help save the day.

Pursuing this theme, the text is enriched by references to writers such as Captain Marryat, John Ruskin and J M Barrie, which are slipped in between the lines of a plot embellished with numerous incidents in the style of high adventure. These incidents are supported by ripely eccentric characterisations and humorous dialogue – a mermaid who has learned English from pirates says she ‘were at her wits’ end and gnawin’ on her tether’. Some of the incidents are undeniably harsh, as when a mother-seal which has just rescued Teo is killed by a villainess. Lovric also demonstrates great descriptive verve – the British coast ‘opens like a grim grey smile in the water’ – and clearly has a precise understanding of the geographies of both Venice and London, potentially encouraging her readers to turn to their maps. The book will appeal to all readers who appreciate adventure, fantasy and humour, although the centrality of Teo, albeit disguised as a boy for much of the time, may particularly attract female readers. Its sharp characterisation and direct dialogue make it accessible for those of 11 upwards.