Patrick McGrath, born in England in 1950 and an American citizen since 2003, has long been considered the "reinventer" of the English Gothic novel, exploring dark areas of the psyche, flirting with the fantastic, fascinated by the indecisive zone that separates in some the rationality of what is a little easily called "madness".
With
La Costumière
, he remains faithful to his troubled universe, while enriching his usual theme with reflections on politics and history.
It is not, however, a "historical novel" strictly speaking, whatever ... The action takes place in the frozen London, and still hungry, of 1947. A dark and sad London, which still remembers the Blitz , and in which followers of Oswald Mosley try to rekindle the flame of English fascism.
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As is often the case with McGrath, outdoor scenes are scarce - and the streets of poorly lit London of the time are hardly any less gloomy than pubs, apartments, and public buildings anyway.
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