Victorian crime/supernatural fiction

[Effnjeff]

Anyone suggest any good novels set around Victorian era. I quite enjoy dark, eery tales, set in this period.
Although not Victorian quite enjoyed 'Her Fearful Symmetry', with a good twist at the end.

The little hand ( or something like that!) Susan hill. Short but enjoyable.

Gillespie and I by Jane Harris is wonderful. Set in 1888. No supernatural element but it's a fantastic story well told - a real page turner!

MR James stories are Victorian suspense/horror stories.
I loved The Alienist by Caleb Carr but was so disappointed by the next book.
I've just finished The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl which is set in 1860s New England and was a good read.

Thank you for all the suggestions

That list will keep me going for a while!

'Dora Damage' is good fun.

Some of the steampunk stuff might be worth a look too - they are chaotic and crazy, usually, rather than dark and eerie but they have a good Victorian feel. Mark Hodder's 'The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack' is one I've enjoyed recently.

'The Glass Book of the Dream Eaters' made me cross. It began with such promise, and really didn't live up to it in the end. Agree that it needed heavy editing and was self indulgent - I also didn't bother with the next one.

I have to say, I read 'Glass books' on a camping holiday, so I was probably more tolerant of long and rambling than I normally would be. This is a good thread, I've got a nice list too :)

I'd forgotten the Somnambulist and Gilespie and I. Both great.

The Crimson Petal isn't supernatural or crime, but it's atmospheric and if you like Victorian set novels it would keep you going for a while...

Agree with Remus you need to give Lady Audley's Secret a go. By Mary Elizabeth Braddon.

Lady Audley's secret is excellent. It's got everything in it - love, madness, murder and much more. It's gripping and also quite funny iirc.

If you want Victorian supernatural, what about Dracula?

Guy Boothby's Dr Nikola, Master Criminal books are cracking pageturners.

In memory of the late Sir Terry Pratchett, I'd also recommend Maskerade, which is pretty much a rewrite of The Phantom Of The Opera (so has a definite Victorian vibe, crime and supernatural elements). It's clever, wise, incredibly funny and, despite being strongly based on other stories, fresh and original.

See, I'm not a huge fan of, 'Lady Audley's Secret' but I do think the OP would like it. I found that the voice of the author was overly intrusive, and got in the way of the story, although the story itself is good.

It's very much of the overblown Victorian shock novel ilk that I used find when rummaging through the book's that my grandmother and her sisters got as Sunday School prizes around the Tur. of the century. I have fond memories of those books and loved to laugh at the over the top scenes of high drama. Mrs Henry Wood is another author of that sort

books. .... and turn of the century (autocorrect fail yet again )

Speaking of over the top schlock, I've just downloaded, 'Clarissa' for a re-read!

Looking lots of these up now! I enjoyed Crimson and the White (there's a short sequel too) and adore Sarah Waters.

I'd recommend...

Frog music by Emma Donoghue (set in San Francisco)
Slammerkin, also Donoghue
The Observations Jane Harris

Try Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate books, starting with 'Soulless'

I love the Parasol Protectorate wholeheartedly, but I wouldn't call them dark and eerie

Fair point, well made Tak . But they do deal with the supernatural - and they are great fun.

If you like Lady Audley's Secret, there's another Braddon novel called Aurora Floyd which is more of the same.

Then there's the ultimate Victorian potboiler, East Lynne. Absolutely bonkers plot.

The Quincunx and The Unburied both by Charles Palliser. Both v.spooky and compelling.

The Seance, by John Harwood. Also Sarah Waters' Affinity. Barbara Hambly's Those Who Hunt the Night. All lovely atmospheric Victorian settings with supernatural elements, and all very well written. Harwood's other books are good that way too.

Murder Most Welcome by Nicola Slade. Not supernatural but crime with a sense of humour, several literary jokes to spot and a kleptomaniac heroine.