THE LODGER
by Marie Belloc Lowndes
Chicago Review Press
Publication Date: 1913
From Goodreads:
Somewhere in London a madman was at large. And then one night there came a knock at the door of a quiet lodging house in the Marylebone Road. . . . This novel, based on the Jack the Ripper murders, was made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock.
This book is over 100 years old! Normally, that would make me hesitate to pick it up. But, if the POPSUGAR Reading challenge has been good for one thing, it’s pushing me outside of my comfort zone. Not that this book was uncomfortable to read. It wasn’t. In fact, I enjoyed it quite a bit.
There isn’t much in the synopsis of this book, so I’ll elaborate a little. There’s an older couple, who makes their living renting out the extra rooms in their home to lodgers. They cook, clean, and serve any lodgers they get. Problem is, they haven’t had a lodger in some time. Money isn’t tight anymore, it’s non-existent. They’re on the verge of starvation when, on the unlikeliest night, a lodger comes knocking.
It’s a fiction, though it’s loosely based on the Jack the Ripper murders. As you can imagine, with the murders happening, and our Mr, and Mrs. Bunting not knowing their new lodger very well, suspicions are likely to run wild. Especially when their lodger turns out to be a very odd duck.
This book does an incredible job of showing London during one of its most stories events, completely from the view of a normal everyday person. No murder scenes, no visits to the scene of the crime, no investigations. All their information is from the rumour mill and a friend who works on the police force.
We mainly ride with Mrs. Bunting, as she deals with her own suspicions of the lodger, battling them with reasons and excuses. Insisting to herself he’s a good man. Even lying to herself in certain cases. Surely she doesn’t want to have a murderer in her house, but if he left, how could they afford to eat?
The Lodger was a fun read, despite the age of the book. I do think it could use a little updating. The amount of times the characters said the word ‘queer’ to refer to something strange was staggering. It certainly never confused me, but it’s just a bit jarring.
One thing I didn’t expect to get out of this book was a sudden interest in Jack the Ripper and all the history around those murders. Fascinating stuff!
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