In the Tenth House: A Novel

By Laura Dietz

"London, 1896: Dr. Ambrose Gennett can't shake the fear that gripped him when he heard her voice. On the train platform in Kensington, he went to the aid of a woman hurt in an accident. He didn't know her, but she knew him - she saw things he had never revealed to anyone. She spoke prophecy and then disappeared into the crowd." "Gennett is a "mad doctor," one of the few physicians in London aware of the new Freudian theories of the mind. His confidence shaken by the encounter, Gennett vows to find this young woman again, partly to help her and largely to prove to himself that she is not as supernatural as she seems. She has to be either mistaken or mad." "The truth is much worse. Lily Embly is a fake medium but a real psychic - or at least she believes she is. Struggling to free herself from a lifetime of poverty and schooled as a charlatan by her mother, Lily works the strings and magnets of trickery at seances that have become wildly popular in Victorian England. Her false spirit messages are guided by the tarot cards and horoscopes she consults in secret. But when her mother falls ill, debt threatens to destroy them both." "Desperate, Lily has teamed up with a dangerous con man, Monsieur St. Aubin, to pull off a risky - and potentially very lucrative - seance. And when Gennett discovers that his own sister has fallen under the sway of a spiritual frenzy that has gripped the city, his sanity depends on exposing Lily as a fraud. Only one can be right, and only one will survive."--BOOK JACKET.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307352846
• ISBN13: 9780307352842
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Crown
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.4" x 1.3" x 6.6"

Customer Reviews

Taut story about obsession in Victorian England

In the Tenth House by Laura Dietz is a literary thriller full of twists and turns. Ambrose Gennett, respected alienist in Victorian London, observes Lily Embley at the Victoria Station as she bumps into a man and is knocked down. He rushes to her aid and her reaction to his help startles and intrigues him. Her ramblings sound like prophesies or do her prophesies sound like rambing? Her words about a threat to his mother's safety causes him to rush to his family home, only to find his mother is perfect, if absent-minded, health. He curses himself for believing Lily's nonsense, but finds that he can't get her out of his head and begins to pursue her. Lily and her mother Carola are mediums, and masters at their game of deception and misleading, but they are behind in the rent and living in fear of a loanshark named Bettering. Lily sees Gennett as the Page of Cups and decides that fate has brought them together, but for what reason she doesn't know. Gennett and Lily justify their fascination and obsession with each other in their own way. Gennett determines to expose her trickery and that of all spiritualists in an attempt to free not only his sister from their sway, but also for the betterment of the world's mental health. Lily sees their relationship as deemed by fate and refuses to aid or deter Gennett. Lily is truly a passive vessel in the story. She is whatever is expected of her and when she finally takes action on her own, it brings about destruction for them both. Gennett won't admit to desiring Lily, so he sabotages his own career and reputation. Working in the background against them both are Bettering and Gennett's sister Ernestine. Each work as puppetmasters manipulating everyone for their own reasons. Dietz gives detail about both the spiritualism movement as well as the beginnings of Freudian psychology with engaging ability. The tension in the story tightens subtly, almost unnoticeably, until the climax between Gennett and Lily. The epilogue is almost a given, but a sad one at that. Victorian mores are present in every scene and the writing is equally restrained. It's not always an easy read, but it's worth the effort.

A Victorian Thriller

I really liked this Victorian thriller. It has an upper-class London doctor controlling his womenfolk's lives, and oblivious to the danger. Early psychiatry versus spiritualism. This is a part of Victorian society I knew nothing about. It's full of delicious detail and a very good read. A Clever Sheep

An excellent read

"In the Tenth House" is about the conflict between two people's ideas about how the world works. In addition to their different professions-- Ambrose is a scientist, and Lily a psychic-- the main characters represent the divides of male vs. female, wealth vs. poverty, and status vs. infamy. As Lily and Ambrose's lives become intertwined, they begin to question their fixed viewpoints, but not soon enough to avert tragedy. I liked the complex characters and how the historical setting is shown through their eyes. This novel is a bit heavy on the ideas, but it's still a fast-paced and enjoyable read.

Like being there

The best novels for me are the ones that create a whole world. I like history, like Sebastian Faulks, for what you learn, and fantasy, like Philip Pullman, for the imagination. This book has both. The research is incredible. Victorian settings can be kind of tired, but the ghost stories and weird happenings made it fresh and surprising for me (is she psychic, or is she crazy?). Altogether, it's like stepping through a door into a different time.