Kirkus Spotlights a Victorian Romance Where the Devil Visits London

Kirkus Reviews is flagging a new Victorian-era romance that turns London’s most famous exhibition into an infernal diplomatic event. In the book, England has already endured the “Great Revelation,” a destabilizing moment when the public learns that supernatural beings are real, humans are relatively powerless, and Queen Victoria is a vampire.

At the center of the story is Miss Cora Hastings, who has become England’s first and only “species ombudsman,” a role created to help manage relations in a world newly filled with vampires, demons, and other nonhuman powers. Cora is used to handling extraordinary problems with poise, but even she is caught off guard when the Devil himself comes up from Hell to attend the Great Exhibition in London.

The Devil does not arrive alone. His entourage includes his son, Marcellus, a demon and the Marquis of Hell, who quickly becomes the most striking figure in Cora’s orbit. According to the Kirkus description, Cora is tasked with escorting the Devil around the city, a responsibility that keeps her in close contact not only with her supernatural charge but also with Marcellus, whose interest in her is unmistakable.