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The Conviction of Cora Burns (2019)

par Carolyn Kirby

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694381,277 (4.07)1
"Birmingham, 1885: Cora Burns has always struggled to control the violence inside of her. Does this temperament come from the mother she never knew, a convict who gave birth to her in jail? Or is Cora a product of her harsh upbringing in the workhouse, where her only light was a girl named Alice Salt, so like Cora that they were almost sisters. Just released from Birmingham Gaol, Cora sets out to find Alice. But her memories of Alice are hazy, entangled with the memories of a terrible crime: the murder of a little boy in the workhouse. Her sole clue is a bronze medal cut in half, engraved with the word SALT. Cora finds work as a servant in the home of Thomas Jerwood, a gentleman-scientist obsessed with the study of hereditary criminality. Here Cora befriends a young girl, Violet, who seems to be the subject of a living experiment into upbringing and character. But are there two identical girls called Violet? And is Jerwood also secretly studying Cora? As the secrets of her past unravel, Cora must decide if her own scarred nature is an unalterable product of biology or if she has the strength to change"--… (plus d'informations)
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4 sur 4
5 stars, Are you a convict simply because you are born from a convict?

THE CONVICTION OF CORA BURNS
by Carolyn Kirby

Cora Burns is a product of institutionalization. Born in a workhouse in Birmingham, England, in the 1880s, she is used to being held back, punished for no reason. She worries that she may have violence inside of her, caused by her unfortunate mother who was a convict in the Birmingham gaol.

She is given a new chance when she is noticed by a local scientist who is running unethical social experiments on various citizens. She will be a servant in his house. The mysteries surrounding the household occupants disturb Cora, she is quite determined to discover what is going on.

Highly recommend a gothic, suspense, thriller.

Many thanks to #edelweissplus #noexitpress @noexitpress for the complimentary copy of #TheConvictionOfCoraBurns I was under no obligation to post a review. ( )
  HuberK | Aug 21, 2021 |
After her release from Birmingham Gaol, Cora Burns has nothing except the promise of a job working as a maid in a country house. Cora has been institutionalised for her entire life, living in the workhouse, working in the asylum and then jailed, Cora blames her friend Alice for the crimes she has apparently committed. At The Larches she discovers that the master is a scientist who can be very manipulative, the mistress is a deranged woman and that, actually, Cora is a good worker. However when she discovers something about the master's research she also discovers something about her past and suddenly Cora has a chance for a future.
As a debut novel this is very impressive. I found Cora an interesting character and liked the links with photography and amateur psychology. Less well-developed was the idea of Cora as a schizophrenic, all the signs were there but this part of the story didn't seem to go anywhere. As a novel about the poor in the Midlands of mid-Victorian Britain the tale is well-researched and different. A strong debut novel from a writer to watch. ( )
1 voter pluckedhighbrow | May 5, 2019 |
Oh, Cora. Your story is simply wonderful. I enjoyed every single second I spent reading it.

Cora got off to a bad start in life. She was born in gaol and then ended up in a workhouse, but she never knew any different. Is it any wonder though that she has an anger inside of her that she can hardly control? After committing a terrible crime and returning to gaol, she is eventually released and finds herself working as a 'tweeny' at the house of Thomas Jerwood, a scientist conducting experiments into likenesses and considering the effects of nature/nurture. But his motives are dubious and the young girl, in Jerwood's care, Violet, further raises Cora's suspicions.

There is so much more to this book that at first meets the eye. The story is as multi-layered as an onion and I thought the author did an amazing job at plotting Cora's journey through life. Most of the story is set in 1885 when Cora is released at the age of 20, and by then she has experienced unimaginable things, even by the standards of the harsh Victorian times. We are also sent back into Cora's childhood in the workhouse, to 1874 and we see what has shaped her into the young woman she has become.

Make no bones about it, Cora is not always an easy person to like. As mentioned before, she has an anger that tends towards violence and life has made her hard around the edges. Yet despite this, her character is written in a sympathetic way and I felt so incredibly sorry for the life that she had endured.

And so we follow Cora through a year or so of her life. Will she come out the other end triumphant or back where she started? All I can say is: 1. the ending is absolutely perfect and 2. go and read it for yourself!

The Conviction of Cora Burns is a fantastic read, absolutely dripping with atmosphere. I could almost imagine myself in Victorian Birmingham, with the smells and sights of the time being quite vivid in my mind. This book is a triumph and makes me want to read more Victorian fiction, particularly the kind set in asylums and prisons - not sure what that says about me! Thank you, Carolyn Kirby, for allowing me to step into Cora's world, however briefly. I wouldn't have missed it for anything. ( )
2 voter nicx27 | Mar 27, 2019 |
‘’Cora Burns. Born to crime.’’

A young woman, named Cora Burns, hears the gates of Birmingham Gaol closing behind her. She is free from her incarceration but not from her past. A horrible dead has been haunting her for three years and doubts over her mother will not let her rest. Her chance comes when she starts working as a maid in the house of a scientist who hides his own secrets, feeding his own obsessions. In the search of her past, she needs to discover herself and this is the most terrifying prospect.

‘’And what of yourself, Cora burns? Where would the crosses lie upon your own chart of tempter? To the left or to the right? More agreeable than these here, or less so?’’

The story of Cora Burns is memorable not because of the plot but because of the questions it poses and the opportunities for discussion. The plot is intricate and complex but it is not unique. We’ve seen this premise before and we will see it again. This is not a negative feature when the writer has the means to create a successful result and Kirby definitely knows what to do. Through confident and atmospheric writing and with an accurate, faithful depiction of the era, she focuses on themes that are always relevant and highlights the endless fascination to unlock the depths of the human nature.

What is the difference between social assumptions and reality? What is it that makes each one of us unique? Billions of people call this planet ‘’home’’, each one of us with a unique background, a personal story and yet closely connected to each other. What constitutes our temper? How easily can our mood change? How can our temperament lead us to happiness and success or to misery and punishment? Can our genes make us criminals? Is evil inherited and developed? Can we escape a dark heritage? And, ultimately, what turns a human being into a ruthless murderer?

A Historical Fiction novel that poses such questions can only be successful in conception and execution alike. Through scientific essays, medical accounts circa 1880s that may be fictional but no less interesting, following a route that passes through the horrible reality of the gaol and the asylum, through the slams where mothers need to sell one of their children in order for the rest of them to survive and the wealthy estates whose owners play a wicked game with the fate of those who are less fortunate, we are guided by a young woman who is one of the most gifted characters I’ve seen in recent Literature. I’ve always had an affinity for the name ‘’Cora’’, ever since I first read The Last of the Mohicans and Cora Burns didn’t disappoint me in the slightest.

Although it is hard to end such a complex story in a fully satisfying and plausible way, Kirby succeeded. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the closure which I found to be realistic and a bit unpredictable based on my personal perception of the story. A truly exciting debut.

Also, repeat after me: A well-written novel doesn’t need silly romances to become ‘’interesting.’’

‘’Even though it was morning, lights still burned in some of the terraced houses across the street. The creamy glow of parlours fringed by velvet and lace would not long ago have seemed as remote from Cora Burns as a gentleman’s country estate. Buit no longer.’’

Many thanks to Carolyn Kirby, Catherine Sinow and Dzanc Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com ( )
1 voter AmaliaGavea | Mar 13, 2019 |
4 sur 4
Kirby’s assured debut depicts the travails of a displaced daughter in Victorian England...The convoluted plot promises a thematic bombshell that never drops, although a Marxist gloss is attempted. Kirby makes no concessions to sentimentality even at the risk of alienating readers with an unappealing protagonist: Cora’s personality approaches the sociopathic as she guiltlessly exploits those around her. Still, the language is atmospheric and perfectly pitched, and the dialogue is spare and evocative.
An ambitious effort that, despite its imperfections, will keep readers riveted.
 
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"Birmingham, 1885: Cora Burns has always struggled to control the violence inside of her. Does this temperament come from the mother she never knew, a convict who gave birth to her in jail? Or is Cora a product of her harsh upbringing in the workhouse, where her only light was a girl named Alice Salt, so like Cora that they were almost sisters. Just released from Birmingham Gaol, Cora sets out to find Alice. But her memories of Alice are hazy, entangled with the memories of a terrible crime: the murder of a little boy in the workhouse. Her sole clue is a bronze medal cut in half, engraved with the word SALT. Cora finds work as a servant in the home of Thomas Jerwood, a gentleman-scientist obsessed with the study of hereditary criminality. Here Cora befriends a young girl, Violet, who seems to be the subject of a living experiment into upbringing and character. But are there two identical girls called Violet? And is Jerwood also secretly studying Cora? As the secrets of her past unravel, Cora must decide if her own scarred nature is an unalterable product of biology or if she has the strength to change"--

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