One September evening in 1785, the merchant Jonah Hancock hears urgent knocking on his front door. One of his captains is waiting eagerly on the step. He has sold Jonah’s ship for what appears to be a mermaid.
As gossip spreads through the docks, coffee shops, parlours and brothels, everyone wants to see Mr Hancock’s marvel. Its arrival spins him out of his ordinary existence and through the doors of high society. At an opulent party, he makes the acquaintance of Angelica Neal, the most desirable woman he has ever laid eyes on… and a courtesan of great accomplishment. This chance meeting will steer both their lives onto a dangerous new course, a journey on which they will learn that priceless things come at the greatest cost…
What will be the cost of their ambitions? And will they be able to escape the destructive power mermaids are said to possess?"
The scene is set for a picturesque romp through the teeming wharves, poverty stricken alleyways, gentrified squares and quaint rural areas, all of which we now know as inner London! The sights, sounds and smells of the time roll off the page.
The theme of mermaids and how they lure sailors onto the rocks seems to mirror the plight of some of the women in the novel who, in these deeply misogynistic times, use their femininity to lure men to gain influence, riches or simply to survive. Angelica Neal the grand but fickle courtesan is a wonderfully flawed and nuanced character and a key player in the story.
Part gritty and realistic, part whimsical and magical, this story of eighteenth century life is well told. However is didn't fully deliver. I was expecting magical realism, fantasy and mermaids based on the blurb. What I got was a well written historical romance novel, steeped in descriptive prose that felt a little flat to me.
The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock follows a humble merchant and his love for a courtesan, whom he meets after a chance encounter with a mermaid. Jonah was a little dull in character, and felt as though he was severally lacking in any emotional depth (and backbone). Angelica, our courtesan, in comparison is scatty and all over the place. I wasn't keen on her characterization either at first, as she felt so different to Jonah, and I couldn't really understand her interest in him at all. She did become more sympathtic as the story porgresses but the romance was still incrediably forced.
The pace is agonizingly slow, and the romance takes a long time to develop. I understand that the constraints of the time meant a romance of this nature would be upheld with trepidation and many longing glances - but unfortunately I felt it meandered too much before anything really happens. The ending, although it took a long time to get to, also left a lot of loose story lines which annoyed me. The real mermaid come completely out of left feild and it was so late in the story it felt like an odd addititon.
I really didn't get what I expected out of this unfortunately. If it was targeted more as a historical romance it would perhaps find a better audience.
Age Rating 17+. Way, way more sexual then I thought it was going to be. Trust me, there is a bloody orgy in a brothel in one scene.
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