The Devil in the Marshalsea

A historically accurate whodunit set in 18th century England, set in a London debtors' prison, that Charles Dickens wrote about, who was there with his father locked up himself, had a reputation as a place before the reform, where one can easily get to, but maybe never out again. < br> < br> The year is 1727 and Thomas Hawkins, a young gambler, flunky and drunkard, is about to pay off a debt so he doesn't have to go to the Marshalsea prison. He manages to win the money, but is mugged and robbed - and so he must eventually go to the dreaded penitentiary. Only here, for the first time in his life, does he regret that he did not follow the career of a clergyman, as his father had wished. < br> There are different rules in the Marshalsea than outside the high walls, and the Warden is the absolute boss. Those who have some money from relatives can buy a dry bed and good food. Those who don't have them are put in a separate wing for the poor, infested with rats and dysentery and suffering from a high mortality rate. As if that wasn't enough, Captain Roberts is murdered, one of the prominent prisoners, and Thomas, to get out, they have to catch his killer.