The Hole in the Wall

First published in 1902, this novel is narrated in part by young Stephen Kemp, sent to live with his grandfather Nathaniel, a retired seaman who keeps a lopsided riverside public house of that name at Wapping. Sailors, thieves, and a blind fiddler use the bar; Grandfather Nat fences stolen goods while trying to keep the boy clear of the trade. After Stephen's father is lost at sea in a rotten, over-insured ship, a murdered owner's money and the men who want it draw violence to the house. The book is a docklands crime novel, not a guidebook to the Thames.

Bound in white cloth printed with a wrap-around design in black and dark green by Biro. Pale grey endleaves. Dark grey-blue slipcase.