Jane Robins Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Before she became a full time author, Jane Robins worked as a journalist for BBC, Independent, and the Economist. As an author, Robins specializes in the historical crime genre, specifically in forensic history. Jane Robbins is widely known for her bestselling historical novels; the Magnificent Spilsbury and Rebel Queen.

Jane Robins Best Books
White Bodies
Author Jane Robbins makes her debut in fiction by delivering a deliciously spine-chilling psychological thriller, White Bodies. In White Bodies, author Robins introduces the readers to Callie Farrow, a young lady who works in a London bookstore. Callie Farrow is obsessed with each and every aspect of the life of Tilda her twin sister, who works as an actress after she got married to a controlling wealth financier, Felix Nordberg. From Felix’s perfection including volatile reaction to a minor error, all the way to the arrangement of his silverware signals a strong liking domestic violence. Convinced that her twin sister, Tilda is in grave danger, Callie Farrow begins to monitor Tilda, reads her hidden diary and even from time to time, snoops in her home.

Moreover, Callie Farrow joins a website which revolves around domestic violence. Ultimately Callie becomes fixated on women abused by their loved ones. As Callie Farrow continues to teeter on the edge of insanity, Callie resorts to taking drastic measures to save Callie. As the plot continues to slowly and forcefully build to a shocking finale, author Robins explores the mechanics between sisters, manipulative behavior, and mental health issues. Callie begins to get alarmed, when her larger than life sister, ultimately begins to shrink right before her eyes. Apart from losing her spark, Tilda also begins to drift away from her twin sister. Moreover, instead of spending time together, Tilda begins to spend time with her husband Felix, something which does not go well with Callie. As time goes by, Callie begins to notice bruises on Tilda’s arm. Tilda.

When Callie tries to ask her about the bruises, Tilda ends up becoming defensive and angry. As the narrative progresses, the readers begin to get flashbacks into the childhood days of the twin sisters, where it becomes apparently clear that Callie has for such a long time been obsessed with her sister. Callie has always wanted to look out for Tilda and also know what Tilda is up to all the time. Ultimately, Callie’s concern eventually reaches a boiling point. Apart from the fact that she suffers from the obsessive compulsive disorder, readers will root for Callie. For all of Callie’s odd quirks, she come across as an extremely sweet individual. From time to time, she admires Felix and Tilda’s fine bones, smooth and translucent skin, while belittling her own. From the statements and observations of the other characters, the readers get to see that Callie is not an objective observer.

Apart from being consumed with anxiety, Callie also has a tendency of catastrophizing everything. Around every corner, Callie sees danger lurking. Because she does not seem to trust herself, readers will not trust her perception. With that said, White Bodies is an intricately designed web of suspense, which is tied lies and the truth perfectly together. Overall, the writing quality is fantastic, while the storytelling, on the other hand, is excellent. Readers will enjoy every moment in this spellbinding and spine-chilling debut book from author Jane Robins.
Magnificent Spilsbury
The year is 1910, and author Jane Robins introduces the readers to Bessie; a 30-year-old spinster, who is more than determined to find a husband. Finding a husband during the 1900’s was no easy task, because most men were leaving their home countries heading towards different colonies. In the process, the men left behind a surplus of single women, desperate to find potential husbands. Despite the fact that Bessie was not quite attractive, she still had the advantage of acquiring her family’s estate. Someone might think, the huge inheritance was what attracted the charming Henry Williams to Bessie. After ensuring that her will was in favour of her husband, Bessie dies under mysterious circumstances in her bathtub. Many people begin to suspect that her husband, Henry Williams was behind Bessie’s mysterious death. The jury eventually rules that Bessie’s death was purely accidental and thus, Williams is set free.

Apart from Bessie and Williams, author Jane Robbins introduces the readers to Bernard Spilsbury, a forensic pathologist, who was beginning to make a name for himself. Due to his hard work, Bernard Spilsbury is given the Crippen’s case. A decomposed corpse is found within the Crippen’s basement, several weeks after Crippen went missing. To identify the body, a small piece of skin with what appeared to be a scar, was what was used to identify the body. This time around, Henry Williams is found guilty of killing his second wife and the verdict is death by hanging. Later on, one Edward Marshall comes out openly to claim that if he were the defense attorney to Henry Williams, then he would have managed to scrape off all the evidence in the case, and acquitted Williams of all the charges he was facing. Bernard, Marshall, and Smith will eventually come to face each other once again in what would be known as the case-of-the Brides in Bath. Author Jane Robins narrates the tale extremely well, by widening from the details to look keenly at the 1900’s society.

Apart from discussing the place of the women in society, Robins also highlights the importance of marriage. With a shortage of men, especially after the commencement of World War, author Jane Robins shows how most women would resort to placing advertisements in the newspaper and mentioning their financial standings as incentives. If one were successful in finding a husband, then the lady would end up becoming subordinate to the man, irrespective of the man’s behavior. During this time divorce was not only difficult to obtain but it was also quite scandalous. Majority of vulnerable women were quite easy to prey on for men such as Smith, who many at times preferred to take from their wives, instead of working for a living. Just like any other historical thriller, the Magnificent Spilsbury is quite gripping. Readers will find themselves fully invested in the lives of Alice Burnham, Margaret Lofty, and Bessie Mundy.