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　　From Publishers Weekly
　　Starred Review. British author Clark's second novel, a movinghistorical set in early 18th-century London, surpasses heracclaimed debut, The Great Stink (2005). When teenager Eliza Tallygets pregnant, her mother sells her into servitude to anapothecary, Grayson Black. Eliza struggles to survive in a bizarrehousehold, unaware that her new master is interested in the effectsof various emotions on her unborn child. Isolated save for akindly, slow-witted fellow servant, Mary, Eliza develops anunlikely relationship with a French bookseller, Mr. Honfleur, whosupplies Black with the scientific treatises he uses to inform hissadistic researches. Eliza hopes Honfleur will provide her with themeans for escape. Unlike The Great Stink, this suspenseful talecontains no whodunit element, but as in her previous book, Clark'sempathetic portrait of the powerless and the victimized will remindmany readers of Dickens. Author tour. (May)
　　Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of ReedElsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to theHardcover edition.
　　
　　From School Library Journal
　　Adult/High School–Clark is a first-rate storyteller. The settingis 18th-century London, a dark and unwelcoming city of massivesize. Eliza Tally, pregnant and unmarried, has been sent there byher mother to begin service as a maid for apothecary Grayson Black.His shop is managed by Mrs. Black, who holds an unyielding gripover all the affairs of the elusive man. Upon her arrival, Elizameets Mary, the other servant, whom she finds annoying andbothersome at first. Eliza's new home sits in the shadow of theimpressive landmark of St. Paul's Cathedral, and the young womanbecomes readers' eyes and ears as she vividly conveys the sightsand sounds of the city's bustling life. She is disturbed by thechanges in her body as the baby within her grows. At the same time,she discovers that all is not right with the mysterious apothecaryand his ever-vigilant wife. His interests in her and her conditionmake her increasingly uncomfortable as she perceives that she issomehow an unwitting party to his secrets, and she and Mary come torely on one another for warmth and companionship. Ultimately, Elizalearns that monsters can take many forms, and that human behavioris oftentimes most fearsome. The novel's well-described setting andits well-realized themes of unplanned pregnancy and exploitedfemale labor will engage teen readers.–Catherine Gilbride, FarifaxCounty Public Library, VA

From Publishers Weekly 
　　Starred Review. British author Clark's second novel, a moving
historical set in early 18th-century London, surpasses her
acclaimed debut, The Great Stink (2005). When teenager Eliza Tally
gets pregnant, her mother sells her into servitude to an
apothecary, Grayson Black. Eliza struggles to survive in a bizarre
household, unaware that her new master is interested in the effects
of various emotions on her unborn child. Isolated save for a
kindly, slow-witted fellow servant, Mary, Eliza develops an
unlikely relationship with a French bookseller, Mr. Honfleur, who
supplies Black with the scientific treatises he uses to inform his
sadistic researches. Eliza hopes Honfleur will provide her with the
means for escape. Unlike The Great Stink, this suspenseful tale
contains no whodunit element, but as in her previous book, Clark's
empathetic portrait of the powerless and the victimized will remind
many readers of Dickens. Author tour. (May) 
　　Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the
Hardcover edition. 
　　 
　　From School Library Journal 
　　Adult/High School–Clark is a first-rate storyteller. The setting
is 18th-century London, a dark and unwelcoming city of massive
size. Eliza Tally, pregnant and unmarried, has been sent there by
her mother to begin service as a maid for apothecary Grayson Black.
His shop is managed by Mrs. Black, who holds an unyielding grip
over all the affairs of the elusive man. Upon her arrival, Eliza
meets Mary, the other servant, whom she finds annoying and
bothersome at first. Eliza's new home sits in the shadow of the
impressive landmark of St. Paul's Cathedral, and the young woman
becomes readers' eyes and ears as she vividly conveys the sights
and sounds of the city's bustling life. She is disturbed by the
changes in her body as the baby within her grows. At the same time,
she discovers that all is not right with the mysterious apothecary
and his ever-vigilant wife. His interests in her and her condition
make her increasingly uncomfortable as she perceives that she is
somehow an unwitting party to his secrets, and she and Mary come to
rely on one another for warmth and companionship. Ultimately, Eliza
learns that monsters can take many forms, and that human behavior
is oftentimes most fearsome. The novel's well-described setting and
its well-realized themes of unplanned pregnancy and exploited
female labor will engage teen readers.–Catherine Gilbride, Farifax
County Public Library, VA 
　　Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the
Hardcover edition. 
　　 
　　From Booklist 
　　Clark's sophomore novel, after the well-received The Great Stink
(2005),is another authentically detailed and atmospheric
historical. Set in the aftermath of the Great Fire in the fetid
streets of eighteenth-century London, the complex plot involves a
pregnant unmarried teen shunted off into domestic service as an
apothecary's maid. As it becomes increasingly clear to Eliza Tally
that her shrouded employer has sinister motives, she must uncover
the nature of his dubious experimentations and his unhealthy
obsessions with the monstrous and the malformed before it is too
late to save both herself and her half-witted fellow maid. Readers
who are not put off by the graphically documented grotesqueries and
perversions will be drawn into the spellbinding gothic netherworld
Clark spins. Margaret Flanagan 
　　Copyright © American Library Association. All rights
reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. 
　　 
　　Review 
　　"As a storyteller, Clark is endowed with verve and intelligence,
but her larger gift, dazzlingly in evidence throughout both her
fine novels, lies in the originality of her imagination. She gives
us a world that feels alive and intense, magnificently raw." -- The
New York Times Book Review 
　　 
　　"Brave, full-hearted . . .A compelling story which will draw in,
for different reasons, fans of Sarah Waters' dense narrative
complexities and Andrew Miller's metaphysical horrors. Clark meets
the 18th century on its own terms: knocks its wig off, twists its
private parts and spits in its eye." -- Hilary Mantel, The
Guardian 
　　 
　　"Clark has emerged as a writer of style and energy . . . Clark's
evocations of both rural Northumberland and London, then the
largest city in the world, are beautifully achieved. It is the
balance between her exemplary historical research and her narrative
skills that make The Nature of Monsters such a pleasure. The voice
of Eliza is a delight: sharp, crude, defiant and vulnerable." --
Times Literary Supplement 
　　 
　　"[A] triumph... [A] stunning new gothic novel, driven by mystery
and drenched with menace. The author has absorbed her research so
completely that, instead of getting in the way, her meticulous
detail enriches the story.... The Nature of Monsters is a
spellbinder. Writing with grace and energy, Clark has the power to
pull her readers into the deep past and hold them prisoner long
after the story ends." -- St. Petersburg Times 
　　 
　　"[T]he pleasures here are many, and one hopes this latest
excursion into the underside of historic London won't be her last."
-- Bookforum --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. 
　　 
　　Review

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内容简介

　　1666: The Great Fire of London sweeps through the streets and a heavily pregnant woman flees the flames. A few months later she gives birth to a child disfigured by a red birthmark.1718: Sixteen-year-old Eliza Tally sees the gleaming dome of St. Paul's Cathedral rising above a rebuilt city. She arrives as an apothecary's maid, a position hastily arranged to shield the father of her unborn child from scandal. But why is the apothecary so eager to welcome her when he already has a maid, a half-wit named Mary? Why is Eliza never allowed to look her veiled master in the face or go into the study where he pursues his experiments? It is only on her visits to the Huguenot bookseller who supplies her master's scientific tomes that she realizes the nature of his obsession. And she knows she has to act to save not just the child but Mary and herself.

作者简介

　　CLARE CLARK's first novel, The Great Stink, was a New York Times Editors Choice, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year, and the winner of the Quality Paperback Book Club New Voices Award. She is also the author of The Nature of Monsters. She lives in London.

媒体评论

　　"Clark has talent and energy to burn." (Kirkus Reviews )"Brave, full-hearted . . .A compelling story which will draw in, for different reasons, fans of Sarah Waters'' dense narrative complexities and Andrew Miller''s metaphysical horrors. Clark meets the 18th century on its own terms: knocks its wig off, twists its private parts and spits in its eye." (Hilary Mantel, The Guardian )"Clark''s empathetic portrait of the powerless and the victimized will remind many readers of Dickens." (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )

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Nature of Monsters（ISBN=9780156034081）

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