a Foundling Trained In The Art Of Thievery, Jack Maggs Was Betrayed And Deported To Australia For Life. But Now, Having Reversed His Fortunes, He Seeks To Fulfill His Innermost Desire. Returning To London Under Threat Of Execution, He's Quickly Embroiled In Various Entanglements Among A Handful Of Characters — Each With Their Own Secrets. And As Their Various Schemes Converge, The Captivating Figure At The Epicentre Is Maggs Himself, At Once Frightening, Mystifying, And Utterly Compelling.
...the Reader Is Willingly Drawn Along, Charmed By The Story's Details, Susceptible To The Plot's Contrivances, Always Surprised By The Reversals, Misunderstandings, Coincidences, Exaggerations, Interlocking Narratives And Other Entertaining Devices Of Vintage Victorian Storytelling. As Always, Mr. Carey Writes With Energy And Fantastic Inventiveness. But He Seems More In Control Here Than He Has In Any Of His Previous Novels. -- the New York Times