Synopsis
'Robert Dinsdale mixes history and mythology with great panache . . . Richly textured and with an appropriately labyrinthine plot, this is a book that explores the monster inside man — and vice versa. Book of the Month' Sunday Times
London, 1861: Ten-year-old Nell belongs to a crew of mudlarks who work a stretch of the Thames along the Ratcliffe Highway....
Details
21 September 2023512 pages
9781529097382Imprint: Macmillan
Reviews
[An] imaginative mash-up of the mythical with Victorian gothic.The Times
A wonderful magic trick of a story, full of very human monsters and monstrous humans. Dinsdale is a beautiful, evocative story teller.Stuart Turton, bestselling author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Robert Dinsdale mixes history and mythology with great panache in Once a MonsterThe Sunday Times Book of the Month (Nick Rennison's historical fiction picks)
What if the Minotaur survived, and followed Ariadne’s string out of the twisting darkness of the labyrinth? From this thread, Dinsdale spins an engaging yarn about dreams, second chances, and monsters both ordinary and supernatural. The story flows as smoothly as the waters of the Thames, and is just as dark and deep. Of note is Dinsdale’s ability to turn a phrase, shimmering like fine crystal held to the light. A dazzling and heartfelt book.Luna McNamara, author of Psyche and Eros
