In Jakeman's ingeniously plotted third Lord Ambrose historical (after 2005's The Egyptian Coffin
), the relationship between Lord Ambrose and Elisabeth Anstruther deepens, despite her rejection of his marriage proposal. In May of 1833, Elisabeth takes a position as companion to Lady Jesmond, who lives at Jesmond Place in the secluded West Country village of Combwich. A few weeks later, Elisabeth summons Ambrose to the village, where he finds her in a rundown and unsettled household, one of whose members, a young doctor, has just been poisoned. Not even a second death, following hard on the doctor's funeral, can convince Elisabeth to leave Jesmond, so Ambrose installs one of his own friends at Jesmond Place while he goes to Oxford to pursue his investigations. While minor characters aren't as fully realized as the principals, two Oxford dons, in conversations with Lord Ambrose, serve to add insight into the nature of scientific thought and inquiry in the early 19th century, a time when the line between science and superstition frequently wavered. (Feb.)
