The Arsenic Eater's Wife - Tonya Mitchell - ★★★★

AUTHOR: Tonya Mitchell

GENRE: Historical Fiction

RATING: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: A compelling historical fiction about a woman accused of murdering her husband. Quick pace, complicated characters. Based on true events. A bit dissatisfied with the ending scenes, but overall, definitely recommended.

Plot Preview:

1889. Liverpool, England. Twenty-six-year-old Constance Sullivan has been accused of murdering her husband William. As the whole world turns against her, the only person on her side is her mother, who promises to hire the best legal counsel to prove her daughter's innocence.

As we see the proceedings of Constance's trial, we also see in flashbacks, the events that led to the trial.

The story comes to us in Constance's third person perspective, and is written entirely in present tense.

Bookish Yays:

😍 Constance as the lead character is exceptional - complicated and morally grey. I love how she wasn't portrayed as a picture-perfect innocent just because she was accused of a heinous crime she may or may not have committed. It's a credit to the author that she still makes us feel sympathetic to Constance's situation, though the character isn't entirely likeable.

😍 The remaining characters are also interesting. Constance's much older husband is such a person that I didn't know whether to sympathise with him or be glad that he was dead. Some of the other characters might appear clichéd but they do justify their role. Many of the characters cannot be categorised into definite good/bad slots. The most impressive was Sir Charles; I wish he had had a greater active role in the story.

😍 The structure of the writing added to the intrigue. I love how the story begins with William’s death and Constance’s arrest, and then moves back and forth in time. So we already know the future but the journey to understand what led to it is most interesting.

😍 I found the abuse of arsenic among the Victorian era people fascinating to read. I had heard of arsenic being used in wallpapers but never knew that people actually ate arsenic compounds in small quantities to improve their health, appearance or sexual potency.

😍 The pacing of the story is steady almost all the way. It doesn’t plod through needless descriptions, and yet offers enough of a glimpse of the 1890s to get the setting accurately.

😍 The author's note is brilliant. I always love it when historical fiction authors clarify which part of their story is based on facts and which events have been fabricated to add to the narrative. Her research shows!

Bookish Mixed Bags:

😐 Some of the scenes at the end felt exaggerated, with too many coincidences and too much drama. I admit, I was still caught by surprise by a couple of the reveals, but overall, this was a relatively weak section in an otherwise great book.

😐 There were too many characters at the start, which made the introductory chapters a bit confusing of me. But after a while, the going became easier.

😐 There are minor shifts back and forth in the timeline as we see the story from the present (the trial) and the past (Constance's life with William from a few years before the trial and leading to his death.) The timelines are clearly marked at the start of the chapter, so in that sense, there isn’t any doubt about which timeline we are reading. However, the entire story is written in the present tense. This doesn't work well for me because I like flashbacks to be in the past tense. It might not bother those readers who aren't bothered by such writing choices.

All in all, this is a powerful story about a woman's struggle to clear her name, and whether the law does her justice. The factual elements add to the impact. I'm very impressed by the author's dedication to being as faithful as possible to the actual events and yet adding enough to make it a work of fiction. I can't wait to try more of her works.

Strongly recommended to readers of historical fiction who would appreciate a legal drama based on facts.

My thanks to Bloodhound Books for a complimentary copy of “The Arsenic Eater's Wife”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

The digital version of this book is currently available free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

Triggers: infidelity, self-harm, domestic abuse, animal death.