The White Devil by Justin Evans
Published by Harper Books, an imprint of HarperCollins
Andrew Taylor is on his last chance. After getting in trouble time and time again back at home, Andrew has been shipped overseas to Harrow School in London, with the promise that if he steps out of line again, he will be disowned. It becomes obvious very quickly that Andrew can’t escape trouble, when students begin dying and getting desperately ill. Somehow this is all linked to Andrew, and the fact that he is a spitting image of the school’s most famous student – Lord Byron. Suddenly Andrew must court the very trouble he was hoping to avoid to solve the mystery of Lord Byron’s past and figure out how to save his own life in the present.
Evans has written a spooky and engaging story. The way he melds Byron’s story with Andrew’s is smooth and effortless, bringing the past into the present in a truly horrifying way. I love the idea that it is only by solving the mysteries of history that Andrew can save himself, it brings to life the ways in which the past influences our lives today – even if the past is not typically so visceral, in more ways than one. Byron is not a literary figure I know much about, but The White Devil inspired me to learn more about him and even try his work (although I only made it about a page into Childe Harold when I did try).
Any book that can alternately terrify me and interest me in literary history is a winner no matter how you slice it. Highly recommended.
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It took me awhile to get into this book but then i eventually liked it.
This one sounds like a winner! I really need to read it.
I really enjoyed this one too. And somehow afterwards I made it through the whole of Don Juan…
I’m impressed! Maybe I would like Don Juan better? Childe Harolde did nothing for me.
This isn’t my normal read but boy, do you make it sound good. I’m going to give this a try.
I’ll have to make sure Carl is home if I decide to read this one.
I like spooky, and I’ve read a little about Byron (but not any of his works). He was a real piece of work I think. I love books that inspire passion in a subject though. That is what its all about.
I really enjoyed this one as well when I read it. I’m looking forward to reading this author’s other book as I liked it so much. Great review!
I really enjoyed this one as well. It was spooky and informative in a weird way.
I think I’m one of the few that couldn’t even finish this book. Maybe it was a wrong time scenario.