This was always going to be a hit for me – a pioneering heroine taking on the exclusively male Oxford University in Victorian times. Yes, yes and yes. Add in poison, intrigue and murder and I’m totally sold.
The story follows the investigation into the death of a solitary undergraduate from Jesus College, Oxford, in 1881. His body is discovered in his lodging house by his landlady – but a search of his possessions yields little but some dodgy-looking proprietary medicines. Both his tutor at the university (Basil Rice) and a headstrong young woman attending lectures at the university (but not allowed – by virtue of her gender – to be a student) suspect that all is not as it seems…
Continue reading Book Review: ‘A Bitter Remedy’ by Alis Hawkins