{"id":9507,"date":"2017-12-06T10:53:28","date_gmt":"2017-12-06T15:53:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=9507"},"modified":"2021-12-15T21:52:52","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T02:52:52","slug":"the-hellfire-conspiracy-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9507","title":{"rendered":"The Hellfire Conspiracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Hellfire Conspiracy<\/a><\/em> (2007) Will Thomas<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Set in London in 1885.<\/p>\n

Barker and Llewellyn are pulled into a case possibly involving the white slave trade–the sale of girls into prostitution.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d seen women in the East End, pursuing their occupation boldly in the light of day, but it had never occurred to me that they might not have come to the work willingly or were below the legal age of consent, which was thirteen years.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A man comes into their office demanding they find his twelve-year-old-daughter, who has disappeared, presumably kidnapped.<\/p>\n

\u201cI questioned Hypatia and all the staff. Then I spent an hour riding about the area. After that, I thought to tell Scotland Yard, so I rode back here. A fine lot of good that did me. They claimed Gwendolyn must be missing for twenty-four hours before they would lift a finger! Damned incompetence!\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cTheir hands are tied by regulations, Major. You must not blame them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s always horrifying to be reminded how children lived and were treated in the past–even if that past was just over 120 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been hired to find a child\u2019s murderer. I will associate with whomever helps me find him.\u201d <\/p>\n

The man got a tight smile on his face. \u201cYou have no clue what this is about, do you?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cEnlighten me,\u201d Barker murmured. <\/p>\n

\u201cStead has vowed to see that the age of consent is raised from thirteen to sixteen. I represent a consortium of men who will not allow that to occur.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hell, it’s horrifying to see how adults were treated, even by those supposedly looking out for them.<\/p>\n

\u201c(T)here are socialists and then there are socialists. I am a Christian socialist. I believe it is our duty when the churches have been unable to help and some people have fallen through the cracks to step in and save them. It is the only alternative to the workhouse.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Interestingly, we also get some of Baker’s social beliefs, which themselves (to me) are horrifying. Yet somehow drop right into today’s political climate.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do not approve of socialism? If it makes any difference, I believe the term Miss Hill used was \u2018Christian socialist.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cChristian socialist,\u201d Barker muttered. \u201cThat is even worse.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the difference, pray, in the good works you do in the Tabernacle and the work of the Christian socialist?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt starts with their entire worldview, lad. They believe that man is basically good, and that, given the proper nudge by such crusading women, they can turn the earth into a utopia and usher in the millennium.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you believe\u2014\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThat man, from the time he is born is at heart selfish and any attempt at utopia shall fail miserably. Heaven shall not be attained on earth.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ugh.<\/p>\n

The mystery is not bad, but the kidnapping, rape, and murder of children is a hard thing to read. (The rape occurs off the page, but you still know it happens.) This is not my favorite of these books.<\/p>\n

Publisher: Touchstone <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Hellfire Conspiracy (2007) Will Thomas Set in London in 1885. Barker and Llewellyn are pulled into a case possibly involving the white slave trade–the sale of girls into prostitution. I\u2019d seen women in the East End, pursuing their occupation boldly in the light of day, but it had never occurred to me that they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[30,33,8,43,41],"tags":[396,557,395],"class_list":["post-9507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-british","category-historical","category-mystery","category-private-eye","category-reread","tag-barker-llewelyn","tag-victorian","tag-will-thomas"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2tl","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1116,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1116","url_meta":{"origin":9507,"position":0},"title":"The Hellfire Conspiracy","author":"Michelle","date":"May 7, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Hellfire Conspiracy (2007) Will Thomas Barker and Llewelyn are pulled into an ugly case--girls are going missing and then later turning up violated and dead. There seems to be a connection--however tenuous--to Charity Organization Society. Once again Llewelyn falls in love, and once again he gets beat up--although this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/Hellfire-Conspiracy.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1005,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1005","url_meta":{"origin":9507,"position":1},"title":"To Kingdom Come","author":"Michelle","date":"March 8, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"To Kingdom Come (2005) Will Thomas The sequel to Some Danger Involved find Barker and Llewelyn involved in a case involving the IRB. Fearing that Scotland Yard and the Home Office will be unable to solve the problem, Barker proposes that he and Llewelyn go undercover and attempt to help\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/Kindgom-Come.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1085,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1085","url_meta":{"origin":9507,"position":2},"title":"The Limehouse Text","author":"Michelle","date":"April 12, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Limehouse Text (2006) Will Thomas The book starts with Barker getting ready for a fight--a fight that is entirely Llewelyn's fault. As with the last book, we then go back to see how Llewelyn got himself (and Barker) into that fix. (Everything isn't Llwelyn's fault, they are investigating the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/The-Limehouse-Text-e1510879960825.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":965,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/965","url_meta":{"origin":9507,"position":3},"title":"Some Danger Involved","author":"Michelle","date":"February 15, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Some Danger Involved (2004) Will Thomas Thomas Llewelyn is at the end of his rope. He's spent time in prison, his wife is dead, and he cannot find a job--all but a death sentence in Victorian London. So he eventually applies for the position as assistant to the private inquiry\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/Some-Danger-Involved.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1366,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1366","url_meta":{"origin":9507,"position":4},"title":"The Black Hand","author":"Michelle","date":"September 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Black Hand (2008) Will Thomas Barker is called down to the docks, where a barrel containing a dead Italian had been pulled from the river. This single body draws Barker and Llewelyn into a case involving an attempt by the Sicilian mafia to start in London--something Barker, Scotland Yard,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Black-Hand.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9386,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9386","url_meta":{"origin":9507,"position":5},"title":"To Kingdom Come","author":"Michelle","date":"October 31, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"To Kingdom Come (2005) Will Thomas Set in London in 1884. Unknown Irish bombers have blown up Scotland Yard and several others places in London, as part of their fight for freedom. Because they have threatened another bombing within a month, and because Scotland Yard has been unable to infiltrate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/Kindgom-Come-e1511038047578.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9507\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}