The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins by Antonia Hodgson
Reviewed by Keith McCoy, Somerset County Library System
Originally Submitted to Library
Journal
Occurring a few months after the excellent tale that was The
Devil in the Marshalsea, ne’er-do-well parson’s son Tom Hawkins is once again
in trouble in Georgian London. Recently
out of debtor’s prison, he is living off his girlfriend’s money while
translating erotica for her bookstore.
First, he finds himself in the debt of one of London’s most notorious
underworld figures. Then he gets
involved in a late night fight with the husband of King George’s mistress,
followed by a secret meeting with a conniving Queen Caroline. A priggish neighbor is stabbed to death in
his bed, right after an inebriated Tom publicly threatens him. This all unfolds in confessional retrospect,
as Hawkins is being wheeled off to the gallows for murder. It all comes to a “head” at the end. Hodgson has provided another pell mell romp
through the top and bottom of English society, seen through the eyes of a
gentleman who is both a rogue and a naif.
Verdict: Those who enjoy
their historical action fast and vivid will enjoy the second installment of
Thomas Hawkins’ misadventures.
