Historical novel set in Barcelona (The Secret of Vesalius)

3rd March 2020

The Secret of Vesalius by Jordi Llobregat, historical novel set in Barcelona.

The year is 1888 and in Barcelona preparations are underway for the World Fair. Twenty-four days before the commencement of this auspicious event, Daniel Amat, a young Oxford-based professor with a troubled past, receives a telegram summoning him back to his native city to attend his father’s funeral. A father he has not seen for seven years. Filled with misgivings he arrives in Barcelona to be confronted by hardboiled, down-at-heel journalist Bernat Fleixa who insists Daniel’s father was murdered. There’s the not insignificant matter of a series of gruesome murders; the bodies of young women washing up in the waters down by the port had become his father’s obsession shortly before his death. There’s also a cache of documents hidden in the sewers under Barceloneta. That cache contains a notebook penned by the mysterious and elusive Dr Homs. The stage is set and the countdown to the World Fair begins.

From this complex yet smooth opening, the suspense builds and builds. Daniel’s quest to find his father’s killer and to some degree assuage the guilt he feels over his own brother’s death leads him into extreme danger. Fleixa is struggling to hold on to his job at the newspaper and pay off debts to a money lender. As the story unfolds, more characters appear, not least Daniel’s old love Irene, now married to the brutal industrialist Bertomeu Adell. Then there’s the studious medical student Pau Gilbert thwarted by his nemesis, the vile upstart Fenellosa. Everyone has a story and none of them are pretty. Throw in a corrupt police inspector, a local prostitute and a host of minor characters and the worldbuilding is complete.

As the pages turn, the reader is treated to a feast of secrets, blackmail, elicit trysts, cruelty, brutality and murder. There are thrilling chase scenes and ladles of intrigue and just when you might think you have things figured out, the pace quickens and quickens some more, and the twists come thick and fast. The climax and denouement are flawless.

There is nothing to fault in The Secret of Vesalius in terms of either the thriller or historical fiction genres. Llobregat builds a moody, seedy, partially lit Barcelona, a port city undergoing rapid industrial expansion, with its underbelly of prostitution and crime, a city eager to present its best face to the world in a sudden rush of civic pride. Here is a portrait of Barcelona as it was. Leaving the streetscapes to languish in darkness and the stench of factory smoke, Llobregat provides evocative descriptions of interior spaces: the stately homes, the university and its library, the antiquated hospital, the asylum and the sewers. The history of anatomy and medical procedures, of diagnoses and various treatments, is well-presented and not overplayed, and serves as a stark reminder of how far modern medicine has come.

In all, The Secret of Vesalius is a high-calibre historical thriller reminiscent of literary giant Umberto Eco and an absolute must read.

Guest review by Isobel Blackthorn for the TripFiction Team

Isobel is a prolific Australian novelist. She writes both contemporary/literary, thrillers and dark fiction. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and via her website. 

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