The Gods of Gotham (original 2012; edition 2012)

by Lyndsay Faye (Author)

Series: Timothy Wilde (1)

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1,380	123	14,565	(3.96)	260
New York City, 1845. Timothy Wilde, a 27-year-old Irish immigrant, joins the newly formed NYPD and investigates an infanticide and the body of a 12-year-old Irish boy whose spleen has been removed.

▾Book information

Member:	z-bunch
Title:	The Gods of Gotham
Authors:	Lyndsay Faye (Author)
Info:	Penguin Adult HC/TR (2012), Edition: 1, 432 pages
Collections:	Wishlist
Rating:
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Work Information

The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye (2012)

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Showing 1-5 of 122 (next | show all)

The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye is an interesting read.

"After a fire disseminates a swathe of lower Manhattan, and following years of passionate political dispute, New York City at long last forms an official Police Department. The same summer the great potato famine hits Ireland. These events will change the city of New York forever.

Lyndsay Faye does an amazing job of bringing to life the sense of time and place of 1845 New York City. You certainly get a feel for this city and its people.
She has also clearly undertaken meticulous historical research and creates a convincing insight into New York's criminal underworld for the time.

I am afraid I did not gel with any of the characters in this novel, and while I thought the book started off strong and quite a page turner, I found it dragged quite a lot towards the middle and found myself plodding towards the end.

I am not a big fan of mysteries but I did enjoy the historically elements of this novel.

A well written novel and will look forward to more books from this author. (

)

DemFen | Oct 31, 2024 |

This was a real good read. If you want to know about 19th century New York and the start of the police force in New York be sure to read this. (

)

Eiketske1004 | Sep 18, 2024 |

Very well written. Fleshed out characters and well thought out plot with nice historical details. *****
Spoiler alert****** I was a bit upset that she decided to have her admirable leading female character prostitute herself. Maybe it is some sort of feminist twist that in a repressive society, where you can’t control anything, selling your body is some sort of admirable act of defiance, but I don’t buy it (

)

cspiwak | Mar 6, 2024 |

A well written historical mystery. Clever plot twists at the end. Characters that were engaging. Yet... The writing wasn't jiving with me. It was good, and I could see many really enjoying her descriptive use of language, but it just didn't wring a perfect tone with me. Still... I will probably read the next in the series. Very good. (

)

wvlibrarydude | Jan 14, 2024 |

More like a 3.5 stars. I absolutely loved the setting and the characters. The book started off really strong but then towards the middle started to drag for me. I actually put it aside for a bit and then came back to it. It was strong enough for a first book that I will read the next one. (

)

cdaley | Nov 2, 2023 |

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▾Published reviews

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thingScore 100

New York City of 1845 is a cacophany of competing lexicons. In The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye, the city’s political bosses, religious leaders, starving Irish immigrants, impoverished nativists, civil leaders, race-baiters, headline writers, popular novelists, street hawkers, sinners, lovers, and criminals each employ language as distinctive as a police report’s. But also whispering among the leaning hovels of babble in Five Points are secret loyalties, monstrous acts, and madness.
...
Amid many intersecting factions, venues, and intents, the novel retains a glorious and tragic coherence. Without being epigraphic, The Gods of Gotham is a feast of language, 1845’s New York City as a magnificent assembly of newspaper articles, poems, sensational novels, crime reports, advertisements, amateur theatrics, hawkers’ calls, political promises, and flash conversations, making those tender and awful things that can’t be said even more keenly felt.

added by feeling.is.first | editCriminal Element .com, Clare Toohey (Mar 12, 2012)

▾Other authors

» Add other authors (16 possible)

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Faye, Lyndsay	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Gobetti, Norman	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

Timothy Wilde (1)

Belongs to Publisher Series

Stile libero [Einaudi] (Big)

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Edgar Award (Nominee – Novel – 2013)

RUSA CODES Reading List (Winner – Mystery – 2013)

Distinctions

Historical Novel Society Editors' Choice (Mystery/Crime Thriller)

Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Mystery/Thriller – 2012)

Notable Lists

Bookriot's 100 New York City Novels

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▾Common Knowledge

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Canonical title

The Gods of Gotham

Original title

The Gods of Gotham

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2012

People/Characters

Timothy Wilde 'Tim'

Valentine Wilde 'Val'

Mercy Underhill

Julius Carpenter

Aibhilin O'Dalaigh 'Bird Daly'

(show all 10 items)

Important places

New York, New York, USA

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

For my family,
who taught me that when you are
knocked considerably sideways, you get up and keep going,
or you get up and go in a slightly different direction

First words

When I set down the initial report, sitting at my desk at the Tombs, I wrote:
On the night of August 21, 1845, one of the children escaped.

The history of New York's Five Points is rife with legend, speculation, and controversy, but I have done my best to present its condition accurately. (Historical Afterword)

Quotations

Last words

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Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

▾Book descriptions

New York City, 1845. Timothy Wilde, a 27-year-old Irish immigrant, joins the newly formed NYPD and investigates an infanticide and the body of a 12-year-old Irish boy whose spleen has been removed.

▾Library descriptions

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▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

In 1845 New York City Timothy Wilde, a twenty-seven-year-old Irish immigrant, joins the newly formed NYPD and investigates an infanticide and the body of a twelve-year-old Irish boy whose spleen has been removed.

Haiku summary

Timothy Wilde is
one of New York's first police
investigators.
(passion4reading)