The Wages of Sin: A compelling tale of medicine and murder in Victorian Edinburgh

(Paperback)

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An irresistible mystery set in 1890s Edinburgh, Kaite Welsh's THE WAGES OF SIN features a female medical student-turned-detective, and will thrill fans of Sarah Waters and Antonia Hodgson.

Sarah Gilchrist has fled from London to Edinburgh in disgrace and is determined to become a doctor, despite the misgivings of her family and society. As part of the University of Edinburgh's first intake of female medical students, Sarah comes up against resistance from lecturers, her male contemporaries, and - perhaps worst of all - her fellow women, who will do anything to avoid being associated with a fallen woman...

When one of Sarah's patients turns up in the university dissecting room as a battered corpse, Sarah finds herself drawn into Edinburgh's dangerous underworld of bribery, brothels and body snatchers - and a confrontation with her own past.

Reviews

An enthrallingly gothic murder mystery - The Herald

This powerful novel combines a disturbing look at late Victorian attitudes towards women and morality with a satisfying murder mystery - Sunday Express

A gripping story, a great central character and full of riotous, beautifully drawn period detail - Kate Hamer

Edinburgh is the superb gothic setting for this nail-biting debut - Fabulous Magazine

Welsh makes clever use of the conventions of the genre while throwing in a twist informed by modern sensibilities. Damp, sooty, moralistic, and sinning Edinburgh is convincingly evoked. A gritty detective story as unflinching as its heroine, rich in well-researched period detail - Kirkus Reviews

Author Bio

Kaite Welsh is an author, critic and journalist. Her work has appeared in everything from the Times Literary Supplement to Cosmopolitan and she covers LGBT issues for the Daily Telegraph. Her short fiction, featuring roller derby, Greek myths and ghosts, have appeared in several anthologies and she guest lectures on Creative Writing at universities around the UK.

She lives in Edinburgh with her wife, three cats and a lot of books.