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A history lesson wrapped in a tale of theft, friendship and the social classes.

1829, London: Arthur Marshall and Lord Horatio Carlton are two University of London students from good families who spend their free time reciting jokes and relaxing at the local coffee house. When a cruel hoax sees them briefly incarcerated they are befriended by Frank Hoskins, a charismatic charmer who seems to move easily between the social classes and longs to become a ‘gentleman’. Arthur and Horatio soon find themselves beholden to Frank and when family friends are touched by his questionable world, the two boys seek a way to escape his influence and set things right.

Ostensibly a memoir, Wisdom and Rubies is narrated by Mr Adolphous Winterbourne, a lawyer and friend to the two young men. The style seeks to emulate that of nineteenth century novels and does so well. The language and turns of phrase seem to fit the time period and the setting and events are beautifully realized. It is dense with detail and shows the beginnings of the ‘Peelers’ (what became the police force we know today), the ‘swell mob’ of thieves targeting the upper classes, and the absolute destitution that could so easily befall the unwary or unlucky. This faithful attention to detail and to the narrative style of the time period extends to the verbosity of its narrator. As a consequence, the central story line of the mob targeting wealthy homes is at times almost lost within the detailed set up. Part one, particularly, is thick with a preponderance of jokes and details about the boys’ life before they meet Frank. Once the hoax is perpetuated and the central story becomes clearer the novel is far more enjoyable.

Overall, Wisdom and Rubies is an entertaining though wordy novel opulent with likeable and believable characters and details that firmly transport the reader to another time.